NY has a fracking waste problem, and we need your help to address it!
May 6, 2014
Riverkeeper Team
The state currently allows the use of brine from conventional, low-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and gas storage in New York to be spread on our roadways for de-icing, dust control and road stabilization. And despite New York’s de facto moratorium on high-volume fracking, our landfills have received more than 300,000 tons of this waste from Pennsylvania, some of which makes its way into our wastewater treatment facilities.
This poses a threat to New Yorker’s health and environment because fracking waste can contain a number of pollutants, such as chemicals, metals, and organic compounds that may be harmful to human health and the environment and excess salts that can corrode infrastructure and harm aquatic life and vegetation. Fracking waste from extraction activities in the Marcellus Shale can also contain naturally-occurring radioactive materials such as radium-226 and radium-228.
Recognizing the environmental and public health risks, at least 12 New York counties have passed measures banning improper reuse and disposal of fracking waste. Now the State Legislature has the chance to follow their lead and take action that will protect all New Yorkers.
Two bills are up for consideration in the Senate and Assembly, and we need your help to ensure they move forward. Sen. Gipson and Assemblyman Abinanti have introduced a bill (S.3333A/A.9074A) to ban road-spreading of fracking and gas storage waste. Sen. Gipson and Assemblyman Buchwald have introduced a bill (S.5412/A.7497) to ban disposal of fracking waste at landfills and wastewater treatment facilities.
LEARN MORE:
Related campaigns
Protecting Hudson River watershed drinking water at the source
Riverkeeper ensures that drinking water sources stay clean and safe through vigilant advocacy and conservation efforts
Remediating and preventing contamination
Cleaning up decades of pollution and preventing more requires scientific understanding, targeted legal action, and sustained advocacy
Renewable energy transition
Working toward a sustainable future while protecting the Hudson River and its communities