Senator Ten O’Brien proposed a bill on Monday to prohibit landfills in New York from accepting drill cuttings waste. O’Brien, a member of the Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee, voiced concerns of the potential environmental damage that could be caused by the waste. This measure is supported by groups such as the New York League of Conservation Voters.
O’Brien’s proposal is one of several proposals targeted at hydraulic fracturing waste in New York. Another proposed bill requires municipal wastewater treatment facilities to satisfy additional statutory requirements before accepting hydrofracking wastewater. Other legislation targets the transportation of hydraulic fracturing byproducts into and from water treatment plants. In fact, local laws in Niagara Falls and Buffalo prohibit the transportation of those products.
Attempts to impose additional regulations on fracking have failed, however, to garner sufficient support in the State Senate. For more information about the bill proposals discussed above, please visit the New York State Senate website and review Bill S7783-2013 and Bill S5123A-2013.
This post was written by Barclay Nicholson (barclay.nicholson@nortonrosefulbright.com or 713 651 3662) and Johnjerica Hodge (johnjerica.hodge@nortonrosefulbright.com
or 713 651 5698) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.
