On June 30, 2014, the New York State Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision allowing New York municipalities to use zoning ordinances to ban all oil and gas exploration within the town limits, despite the existence of a comprehensive state regulatory scheme. The decision was a setback for WLF, which filed a brief in support of a challenge to the Town of Dryden’s municipal ordinance. The suit was brought by Norse Energy, which owned leases on 22,200 acres of land in the Town of Dryden. When the Town of Dryden’s board voted to ban all oil and gas exploration within the town limits, Norse Energy saw over five million dollars in investment capital wiped out. In its brief, WLF argued that the New York Legislature reserved exclusive jurisdiction over oil and gas regulation. As a result, zoning ordinances like the one enacted by the Town of Dryden are expressly and impliedly preempted under State law.