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On April 16, 2012 the Germantown Town Board held a public hearing on a resolution for a local law permitting “an 18-month moratorium on natural gas and/or petroleum exploration activities” in the town of Germantown. To understand the legal history and context of municipalities prohibiting “fracking" within their borders, Kendall spoke to George Rodenhausen, a partner at the Hudson-based firm called Rapport Meyers. Rodenhausen defended the town of Middlefield in Ostego County, NY in a landmark decision that gave municipalities the right to ban fracking within their borders – one of the first rulings in New York to affirm local powers in the controversy over drilling over the Marcellus Shale in this state. In this interview, Rodenhausen talks about the Middlefield case, and its implications for other municipalities in NY state. Kendall also speaks with Roy Brown about the Germantown hearing and the proposed moratorium.