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A state judge on Monday dismissed a pair of lawsuits that sought to force Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration into deciding whether to authorize shale-gas drilling in New York.

frackingelmbrdActing Supreme Court Justice Roger McDonough of Albany County tossed the lawsuits Monday afternoon, ruling that a group of upstate landowners and the bankruptcy trustee for a defunct oil-and-gas company lack the authority to bring the legal challenge.

The Binghamton-based Joint Landowners Coalition of New York and Mark Wallach, the trustee for Norse Energy, separately sued Gov. Andrew Cuomo and members of his administration last year, arguing that Cuomo has acted based on politics—not science—in delaying a decision on whether to allow large-scale hydraulic fracturing.

The lawsuits were dismissed, however, because neither the landowners group nor the gas company suffered any environmental harm, McDonough ruled. The state’s review of fracking, which was first launched six years ago, is guided by the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which requires an extensive analysis when a government action could have an impact on the environment.

”(The Joint Landowners Coalition has) not alleged that they will suffer any form of environmental harm as a result of (the state’s) actions/inactions relative to the (review) process,” McDonough wrote. “The three claims in the petition/complaint, and all of petitioners’ other submissions, make clear that the potential injuries are solely economic in nature.”

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office represented Cuomo’s administration in the court proceeding, praised the judge’s decision.

“The court’s decision to allow the state review of hydrofracking risks to continue is an important victory in our effort to ensure all New Yorkers have safe water to drink and a clean, healthy environment,” Schneiderman said in a statement.

Thomas West, an Albany-based attorney representing Wallach, said he would “likely” appeal the decision.