Local anti-fracking advocates have been trying to draw attention to a court hearing, happening today, in a lawsuit against the Village of Painted Post.

Painted Post officials signed a five-year agreement with a Shell subsidiary, allowing the company to withdraw over 1 million gallons of water a day from a local aquifer, says a July article from the Corning Leader. The village will get a minimum $3.2 million out of the deal. The company uses the water for high-volume hydraulic fracturing — fracking — in Pennsylvania.

The water-shipping has stopped for now because of a lack of demand. But a press release from the Finger Lakes chapter of the Sierra Club says it could start again soon. The Sierra Club is suing the village and several corporations to block further bulk water sales by the village to the Shell subsidiary. Attorneys for the group argue that the deal didn't undergo proper environmental reviews and that large-scale withdrawals could have negative effects on the aquifer, says a recent article in the Leader.

The court hearing takes place this afternoon at the Hall of Justice on Exchange Boulevard. Local anti-fracking group R-CAUSE and members of New Yorkers Against Fracking will rally outside of the courthouse from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.