Giving Bans the Teeth They Need

FrackBustersNY urges municipalities to go a step further have the

state
make fracking and related industrial harms crimes in law, as they are
in life.
On June 30 the states highest judiciary issued its long-awaited decision in Matter of Wallach,
Trustee for Norse Energy v. Town of Dryden. The Court of Appeals upheld communities right to
protect themselves from pollution and other harms perpetrated y oil and gas corporations! The
towns were sued for anning frac"ing and related industrial activities# now all three high courts
have upheld their right to do so!
The many municipalities in $ew %or" that have enacted ans can celerate! Those whose officials
awaited legal assurance now can proceed to an!
&ans protect residents water' air' lands' property values and health! Theyre effective while
legislatures that passed them maintain the same alance ( ut can e overturned as easily as
candidates can e voted in and out! And while the )ryden ruling seems a win for local control' the
victory is tenuous! The court noted that towns have only *the power the state chooses to give them+
and *the ,tate -egislature has the right .to override local ans/ if it chooses to e0ercise it!+
The statewide 1rac"&usters$% and siling grassroots group ,2A$ 3,overeign 2eoples Action
$etwor"4 are wor"ing to give ans *teeth!+ 1ormed in 5066' they drafted a law to ma"e frac"ing
and related industrial activities crimes in the $ew %or" ,tate 2enal Code!
They wrote *$ew %or" 2ulic -aw $o! 6+ ecause' says -inda -eeds of 7lster County' a
cofounder of oth groups' *regulations and ans are only as good as their enforcement! Thousands
of rule violations occur in frac"ing states yearly' and fines total a few million dollars! Thats chump
change for a multitrillion-dollar industry ( just a cost of doing usiness!+
8irginia 9asmussen of Allegany County adds' *The many local ans in $ew %or" have not halted
frac"ing-related water withdrawals' silica importation and distriution' pipelines' compressor
stations' rine spreading' waste dumping in landfills or e0port terminals!+
*The criminali:ation idea was a it ahead of its time then'+ ac"nowledges %ates County resident
Jac" Ossont! *;e who had een doing environmental protection wor" for years had figured out the
system was rigged! $ew activists soon reali:ed the systems een stac"ed against the people in
favor of corporate <persons ( legal fictions!+
=n 506>' *1rac"ing is a crime?+ has ecome a popular refrain! *2eople everywhere agree its
criminal to poison people' animals' water' air' and croplands'+ says @ary 1inneran of Areen
County! *,o the idea of 2ulic -aw $o! 6 isnt really a stretch!+
The Regulatory System Is Broken
$ew %or"ers have een watching as 2ennsylvanians are sic"ened' impoverished' terrori:ed and
dying from harms of frac"ing and related industries! Theyve heard hollow assurances from
Barrisurg and Alany!
Theyve discovered that national' state and local legislatures and courts are corrupted! And theyve
watched as the *moratorium+ on frac"ing' as well as local ans' have done nothing to slow down
industriali:ation!
*A tremendous fossil fuel infrastructure is eing uilt' even as many $ew %or"ers have een lulled
into the false hope that frac"ing wont hit here'+ says Carl Arnold of )elaware County and
&roo"lyn! *2eople are finally reali:ing the <regulatory system has permitted corporations to
perpetrate a dreadful amount of poisoning ( what any reasonale person would consider crimes!
=ts time to <get tough on crime! +
1rac"usters recently strengthened 2ulic -aw $o! 6 and is presently wor"ing with municipalities
to gain governing odies endorsements! They hope enough sign-ons will move Alany lawma"ers
to sponsor the ill in the Assemly and ,enate! The first town to pass a support resolution was
;oodstoc"' in 7lster County' last year!
*The oil and gas industry was e0empted from environmental oversight in the Cnergy 2olicy Act of
500D'+ says Austi &ogo" of @anhattan! *2eople still find it hard to elieve that our government
failed us so adly! Once they learn more' this ill ma"es perfect sense!+
*=n desperate times'+ notes @ar" )e$at of Areene County' *municipal leaders ignore the evidence
of harm and hope it wont happen in their districts! &ut they endanger the communities theyre
supposed to protect!+
1or e0ample' ,chuyler County officials have co:ied up to Crestwood @idstream' which plans to
use salt caverns along ,eneca -a"e to store volatile gases from frac"ing processes! =n Chemung
County' legislators want to doule the si:e of the landfill to accept more 2ennsylvania frac" waste'
which is radioactive!
*These are the "inds of crime against a eautiful region' famed for wineries' waterfalls' rivers'
la"es' and agriculture' that 2ulic -aw $o! 6 will punish'+ says @i"e &ernhard of Chenango
County! *The corporate igwigs' not their employees' are the criminals! Those convicted will pay
with mandatory jail time and hefty fines for polluting water sources' for e0plosions' spills and other
crimes! Theyll receive real punishments' as efits those who commit crimes against real people!+
To read 2ulic -aw $o! 6 and the reasoning ehind it' reEuest a spea"er and find out how your
municipality can pass a resolution endorsing it' visit www!frac"ustersny!org!