WHEN PROHIBITION IS NOT REGULATION: ANALYZING THE COURT'S DECISION IN WALLACH V. TOWN OF DRYDEN, 16 N.E.3D 1188 (N.Y. 2014)

I. INTRODUCTION It would be natural to think of drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, sexual assault, lack of affordable housing, and petty theft as symptoms of economic decline. These social problems, however, are the face of the hydraulic fracturing boom in some parts of the United States. 1 Hydraulic fracturing, also called "fracking," has brought prosperity to formerly struggling regions, but it has also brought problems. 2 Drug abuse and the violence accompanying it have been particularly problematic in North Dakota's Bakken shale region. 3 Increased use of hydraulic fracturing has also led to increased concerns about its environmental effects. 4 Concerns about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing have led to bans and proposed bans on fracking in places as diverse as Denton, Texas, 5 and Santa Cruz County, California. 6 The New York Court of Appeals dealt with a local zoning ordinance prohibiting hydraulic fracturing in Wallach v. Town of Dryden . 7 The Town of Dryden enacted an amendment to its zoning ordinance that prohibited all oil and gas exploration and production. 8 New York state law regulates the oil, gas, and solution mining industry, and the state law contains a supersession clause that preempts local regulation of these industries. 9 The Court of Appeals had to decide whether state law preempted the zoning ordinance, which turned on the question of whether a local zoning ordinance constituted a local regulation of the oil, gas, and solution mining industries. 10 The ...