Debby Mayer reports in The Columbia Paper the Germantown Town Board is considering a moratorium on the natural gas-extraction process, commonly referred to as hydrofracking. A public meeting will be held April 16, to discuss a proposal put forward by Supervisor Roy Brown to impose an 18-month moratorium on natural gas and petroleum exploration or extraction within the town limits. Brown told the board a local business owner was recently contacted and asked if his property could be used for gas exploration. Last month, the state Supreme Court found state law “does not preclude a municipality from using its power to regular land use to ban oil and natural gas production.” The state Department of Environmental Conservation is currently weighing a proposal to allow hydrofracking in New York. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.