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N.Y. Legislators Look to Close Fracking Waste Loophole
A loophole in the state’s rules exempts waste from oil and gas operations from being classified as "hazardous."
1 Min Read
New York state legislators asking the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation to address an issue in the state’s regulations that are circumventing a fracking waste ban that had been passed in 2015.
A loophole in the state’s rules exempts waste from oil and gas operations from being classified as "hazardous." As a result, solid and liquid fracking waste is still ending up in New York landfills.
Public News Service has more:
"We could significantly improve the status of our water remaining clean if DEC applies the stricter definitions in the regulations they are finalizing, literally as we speak," said Kruger.
Fracking waste can contain hundreds of chemicals, including carcinogens and radioactive materials. Twenty senators and more than 30 members of the Assembly have signed letters calling on the DEC to close the loophole and ban disposal of all fracking waste in the state.
Under the proposed DEC rules, out-of-state fracking waste would still be allowed in landfills.
The waste water from low-volume fracking operations contains so much salt that it is spread on roads as a deicing agent - without routine testing," noted Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Dist. 27.
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