Baltimore City Council Passes Fracking Wastewater Bill

Food & Water Watch

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Yesterday, the Baltimore City Council passed legislation to ban the treatment, disposal, discharge and storage of fracking wastewater in Baltimore City. Baltimore has now taken a critical step in protecting citizens from dangers associated with processing wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing or fracking.

With this legislation, Baltimore speaks loud and clear: it will not become a dumping ground for the toxic waste produced by oil and gas wells upriver. Councilman James Kraft introduced the ordinance, along with co-sponsors Bill Henry, William “Pete” Welch, Edward L. Reisinger, Mary Pat Clarke, Sharon Green Middleton, Nick Mosby, Robert W. Curran and Helen L. Holton.

Modern fracking to extract natural gas from shale formations can result in millions of gallons of wastewater for every new well that is drilled and fracked. This fracking wastewater contains not only the chemicals used in fracking fluid, but also harmful natural contaminants from deep underground that are carried to the surface after fracking. Contaminants used in fracking, including benzene, xylene, ethylene glycol and 2-butoxyethanol, all of which have been linked to cancer and have negative affects on the nervous system, kidney and liver.

“We know that the wastewater resulting from fracking can have serious environmental and health consequences,” said Councilman Kraft. “This legislation will ensure that there will not be any disposal, storage, or treatment of this wastewater in Baltimore City.”

Maryland is not currently equipped to safely manage the hazardous waste produced by fracking and drilling, which would involve proper underground injection wells used for disposal of oil and gas wastewaters. The state’s wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to handle the contaminants typically contained in fracking wastewater, which includes naturally occurring radioactive material.

Since fracking wastewater is exempted from federal-and state-level regulations pertaining to hazardous waste, there would be no protections for Marylanders without legislation that specifically bans the processing or disposal of the toxic chemicals associated with fracking.

“We commend the council for recognizing the potential for negative impacts related to fracking. And we thank Councilman Kraft and his colleagues for leading on this issue. By passing this ordinance they are protecting Baltimore from dangers associated with treating wastewater, which can contain extreme levels of harmful contaminants and chemicals,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “We hope that other Maryland cities and towns, from Cumberland to Frederick to Annapolis, follow Baltimore’s lead by taking action to protect their citizens.”

“The city already has its hands full with addressing the existing contamination in its waterways and threats to the health of its residents,” said Tina Meyers, Baltimore Harbour Waterkeeper for Blue Water Baltimore. “Accepting fracking wastewater would just be another burden that our wastewater treatment plants, our waterways, and our residents cannot bear.”

“There is no disputing that the transportation and attempt to treat fracking waste fluid with its use of water laced with unidentified chemicals is a threat to the health and safety of Maryland residents, subjecting drinking water resources, rivers, wells and aquifers to the risk of contamination,” stated Andy Galli of Clean Water Action. “In passing this ordinance the Baltimore City Council has certainly establish the proper public health and environmental safe-guards for protecting the citizens of Baltimore and neighboring counties.”

Visit EcoWatch’s FRACKING page for more related news on this topic.

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Comments

http://www.acfan.org Heather Cantino

Although I am glad to see Baltimore raising awareness and saying no to frack waste, I’m disappointed (and surprised, given that Food and Water Watch authored this post) that the piece claims oil and gas waste injection wells to be ‘safe management.’ This is clearly contradicted by the exemptions from hazardous waste regulation that the authors point to as the problem!! It is exactly because of these exemptions (including exemptions from the Safe Drinking Water Act) that toxic radioactive frack waste can be dumped into Class II injection wells in Ohio. These wells are NOT DESIGNED for hazardous waste and are not monitored for fluid leaks or migration of contaminants, unlike Class I Hazardous Waste injection wells. Ban Class II injection wells now! See http://www.acfan.org water and injection well pages for resources on this issue.
darklight_413

Why is fracking wastewater exempt from environmental laws? That’s just crazy and wrong! Why do we allow these corporations to continually poison us? Why are we voting for politicians that value money over the health of citizens? When will people wake up?
- Brenda Lee
  
  People are starting to wake up all over the country and they’re getting involved like never before. Just look at who is showing up to the protests. People from all walks of life, all colors, all ages. We are uniting like never before against the fossil fuel industry.
  They need to take that same conviction with them to the voting booth. We need to speak up when amendments that benefit dirty oil are attached to bills. We need to continue to let our elected officials wether local or in Washington D.C., know that we will not rest until we have a clean energy future to leave for our children and grandchildren.
  - Gerry Seger
    
    It is up to “THE PEOPLE” to fight Fracking. For two years I have been trying to tell politicians about Methane Gas Poisoning since I received my diagnosis in Feb 2011, but NO ONE would believe me. Even my Doctors did not know how to recognize my symptoms. I had to go to Texas to find a Doctor who knew how to test and diagnose me. My lungs, brain, blood, organs, my entire body are full of TOXIC and POISONOUS petro chemicals and solvents all identified in Methane Gas. For MONTHS I have written over 500 letters sending my test results to Political leaders across the nation, but they have ALL sold their souls and careers to the Gas, Oil, Mining and BIG Corporations who are only interested in GREED and MONEY and CONTROLLING the Politicians. I finally started contacting “the people” on City and County Boards, Ban Fracking Groups, Green Groups, Environmental Groups, State and National Medical Associations and anyone around the World who I saw was fighting fracking. I did an interview on a National Radio Station in Spain, Slovakia is using my story in a Column for their newspapers, the Beroun, Czech Republic Summit to Ban Fracking World Wide used my story, several other Foreign Countries are also using it. The WSJ published a story how the EPA is lying in their reports about fracking. It is up to us to fight Fracking, as the Koch Brothers, Karl Rove, PAC Groups, Sheldon Adelson and the BIG Corporations who are putting up MILLIONS of dollars fighting against anyone running for office who wants to protect the Environment. We MUST vote for that person who is fighting for clean water, air, land, regulate our climate change and global warming and who is fighting for “the people” and STOP the GREED that drive these PAC Groups and their politician they are supporting. I will be happy to share my story with anyone: [email protected] Gerry Seger Michigan
chaitanya agarwal

It is really a horrifying case of Mr.Gerry Seger who suffered due to Methane gas ,which is poisonous for the health. Fracking waste water must be under Environmental hazardous.We must fight for the clean water ,millions of dollors are being used for the supply of clean water to world community ,but on the other side if something like this is happening is really very strange .

Baltimore City Council Passes Fracking Wastewater Bill

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