Wagner, Ball Differ on Hydrofracking
Democratic State Senate hopeful Justin Wagner said there’s a clear difference between him and incumbent Greg Ball (R/C-Patterson) on the controversial issue of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”
Standing on the edge of the Hudson River at Riverfront Green Park in Peekskill, Wagner, a Croton attorney, stressed he favors a full ban on the unsafe natural gas drilling and extraction process, while Ball supports a nine-month moratorium.
“We have to protect our watersheds at all costs,” Wagner said. “The science is clear; hydraulic fracturing for natural gas is not safe. The industry can’t safely guard against groundwater contamination yet, and we don’t have the proper procedures to deal with hazardous waste.”
If elected, Wagner said his one of his first priorities in Albany would be pushing for legislation banning hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, something he claimed Ball had been all talk and no action during the last two years in the Senate.
“We’ve all seen Ball’s lawn signs and billboards that say ‘getting’ it done,’ but Greg Ball hasn’t gotten anything done on fracking,” said Wagner. “It’s time the Hudson Valley had a senator who works for results, not just headlines.”
Wagner also said he would support a full health impact statement on the effects of hydraulic fracturing, hazardous waste materials standards and ban the use of chemicals that are known to be toxic.
Ball’s campaign press secretary Joe Bachmeier responded to Wagner’s press conference by continuing to allege Wagner had accepted campaign donations from law firms that defend polluters like BP.
“Using Wacky Wagner’s Trojan horse candidacy, big oil and gas is attempting to lay out the welcome mat in New York for fracking,” Bachmeier said. “Unlike Wacky Wagner, Greg Ball has not and will not accept money from fracking companies or those who defend them.”
Bachmeier also criticized state Senator Tony Avella (D/Queens), who stood with Wagner in Peekskill and criticized Ball, saying, “We need clear leadership, not just elected officials who pose with environmentalists and say they’re going to do something and not do it.”
“Wacky Wagner’s invitation of Senator Avella, who has personally attacked our governor, is a fatal rookie mistake. Attacking Governor Cuomo and aligning with the senator who has so polarized himself from this good governor is not the way to move forward on this complicated issue,” Bachmeier said. “We must partner with Governor Cuomo, appealing to his fairness, to institute a proper moratorium until the funding, manpower and regulations are in place to safely oversee this industry; an industry that has proven it is outright incapable of regulating itself.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
