Family Life

11.16.12 | Sarah Harnisch

There was a victory for land owners who hold high volume hydrofracking leases in New York yesterday. In separate but similar decisions Thursday, a judge ruled Chesapeake Energy and Inflection Energy could not continue leases with 65 landowners in Tioga and Broome counties, because the state hasn't allowed high volume hydrofracking since 2008. There is a clause in the original contracts that allows the agreement to be extended in the event of an act of God or an unforeseen circumstance. The gas companies call the state's ban an unforeseen circumstance, but the judge disagreed. The ruling benefits landowners, many of whom signed leases for 3 dollars an acre before the drilling boom started. It means if gas drilling is eventually allowed in the Empire state, they'll get paid much more. Both gas companies have 30 days to appeal.