County Leg. Considers Ban on Fracking Waste

A group of concerned citizens are asking the Putnam County Legislature to enact a ban barring the waste produced from the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing from being used or treated inside of Putnam County.

The group, led by Garrison resident Paula Clair, made the presentation at the legislature’s Health, Social, Educational and Environmental Committee meeting last Wednesday evening.

Despite a request for more information from the committee, legislators in attendance seemed receptive to the idea of establishing the ban.  

Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly referred to as “fracking,” is a drilling technique that allows producers to extract natural gas from underground shale reserves, according to the organization Grassroots Environment Education.

Clair gave a power point presentation, outlining what companies do with fracking waste and the problems it may cause. She said the waste can be disposed in multiple manners, like being dumped in rivers and streams and spread on roads throughout winter to melt snow and ice.

Clair presented the legislature with two recently passed laws in the City of Beacon and Ulster County, banning the waste products from fracking. She also informed the committee that Westchester County was moving toward establishing a ban, too.

The problems listed off by Clair included multiple environmental and health issues that ultimately could translate into economic ones. In one slide, she said that allowing the waste products from fracking into the county could result in a decline in agriculture, a decline in tourism and also involve a decline in property values.

Ellen Weininger, the educational outreach coordinator for Grassroots Environment Education, who also spoke during the presentation, said she wanted to make clear how harmful fracking could be.

“The message I brought is that hydrofracking is the single greatest public health threat facing New York today, on every level,” Weininger said afterward. “It will contaminate our air, pollute our water, it will also contaminate our food supply.”

“These are real serious issues,” Weininger added.

While there might not be any hydrofracking in Putnam County, Clair said that the drillers are required to dispose of the brine that is created as result of fracking and some give it away to municipalities to use on roads, which could eventually seep into ground water.

Legislator Vincent Tamagna said he wanted to know what were the exact contaminants in the waste byproducts that are a cause of concern and the potential impacts those contaminants could pose to both water supplies and air quality.

“I don’t want to pass legislation that might not impact here in Putnam County,” Tamagna said afterward. “I’d rather know what the impact is exactly so that we can have the best legislation possible to protect what we need to protect.”

Chairman Sam Oliverio Jr. said during the meeting he was in support of taking action against fracking. While he said the well drilling is a problem in itself, the bigger problem is the waste produced as a result of the fracking and where it goes.

Oliverio said afterward he’d ask for a resolution that would “absolutely not” allow any  brine from fracking to be spread on Putnam County roads. Additionally, Oliverio suggested the resolution include a request to the towns in Putnam County to never accept the brine from fracking at their waste water treatment plants.

Clair and Weininger, along with others who oppose fracking, will discuss the proposed ban with the committee again in November. Oliverio said following that meeting, he expected that a resolution would be drafted.

“When they present the data that was missing this evening… we’ll present it to the legislature and hopefully pass it at the full [legislature] and have it enacted by the first of the year,”Oliverio said.