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History
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to environmental conservation
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S6895
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of wastewater for road and land spreading
Purpose or general idea of bill
To prohibit the use of wastewater for road and land spreading.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 defines "flowback fluid," "high-volume hydraulic fracturing," and "production brine" or "produced water."
Section 2 prohibits the use of wastewater associated with high-volume hydraulic fracturing for the purpose of road and land spreading.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
Justification
Production brine, or produced water, contains high concentrations of salts that make it a useful agent for de-icing and dust control. Production brine, however, also has properties that raise public health concerns. The department notes in the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement that production brine may contain elevated concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) such as radium and its decay products. The department further states that activities with the potential to concentrate NORM need to come under regulatory oversight to ensure adequate protection of workers, the general public and the environment. Moreover, independent testing has identified increased levels of hydrocarbons such as benzene in production brine from drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale. In recognition of the potential health impacts from releasing production brine into the environment, this legislation will prohibit its use for road- a~d land-spreading. This legislation further prohibits the use of flowback water, which contains high concentrations of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, for these purposes as well.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.