Editor, The Spotlight;
The Albany County Legislature has taken an enormous step forward to protect public health and safety by unanimously passing Local Law D of 2014, banning the disposal of fracked gas well wastes in our landfills. Legislator Bryan Clenahan of Guilderland deserves recognition for taking the lead on this legislation, and Glenmont’s Charlie Dawson was an early supporter as well.
Despite New York’s ongoing moratorium and movement toward banning high-volume fracking due to significant public health concerns, fracking waste from Pennsylvania continues to be disposed of in our landfills and has been for years. As we unveil in our report, “License to Dump,” hundreds of thousands of tons of solid and liquid fracking waste, often laden with toxic chemicals and radioactivity, has been accepted in landfills across the state, which could cause irreversible water contamination.
There are simply no benefits in burying someone else’s mess in our backyard. If fracking isn’t safe for New Yorkers, then fracking waste isn’t safe for New Yorkers.
We encourage county Executive Dan McCoy to sign this bill into law and hope leaders in state government follow the Albany County Legislature’s lead by applying these protections statewide.
Elizabeth Moran
Water and Natural Resources Associate
Environmental Advocates of New York
