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Fracking Waste Moratorium Signed Into Law

Tar Sands Blockade
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The new law, effective July 1st, will temporarily ban the importation of fracking waste to Connecticut until the DEEP drafts regulations.

Governor Dannel Malloy has signed a bill imposing a moratorium on bringing fracking waste into Connecticut. The moratorium will extend to at least to July 2017. In the meantime, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will draft regulations about what, if any, fracking waste can come to Connecticut.

The waste can contain high levels of salt and other toxic chemicals -- and is a byproduct of the hydraulic fracturing process, which is used to produce natural gas. Under the new law, waste providers would be required to disclose the chemical composition of their fracturing waste. And the waste would be labeled as "hazardous" in Connecticut. 

Anyone who wanted to use the highly saline waste as a road deicer would also be required to seek approval from the DEEP.

The moratorium was a compromise on a bill favored by environmental advocates who wanted a total ban. 

Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. He can be reached at pskahill@ctpublic.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.