By MARY ESCH

Associated Press

ALBANY (AP) - A federal judge has ruled against nine southern New York homeowners who claimed their drinking water was contaminated by a nearby natural gas well.

U.S. District Judge Charles Siragusa in Rochester decided the homeowners had failed to prove the silt and methane that befouled their water was caused by one of two gas wells drilled a half mile from their homes in 2010. The decision was filed on Dec. 17.

The homeowners had sought $2 billion in damages from Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corp.