What's happening
This bill prohibits the use of wastewater from high-volume hydraulic fracturing for road spreading, dust control, de-icing, or land spreading in New York.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Fracking Waste on Roads
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 56–6
- Ordered to third reading cal.1570
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to environmental conservation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban Fracking Wastewater on Roads
In Assembly Committee · Environmental Conservation · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5826
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 15, 2019
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of wastewater for road and land spreading
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 23-0101 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding three new subdivisions 4-a, 7-a and 16-a to read as follows:
4-a. "Flowback fluid" means liquids produced during initial completion and cleanup of the well or cleanup of a well following refracture or work over of a well.
7-a. "High-volume hydraulic fracturing" or "HVHF" means hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction using greater than three hundred thousand gallons of water regardless of whether the well is vertical, directional or horizontal.
16-a. "Production brine" or "produced water" means liquids co-produced during oil and gas production.
§ 2. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new section 23-0315 to read as follows: § 23-0315. Wastewater for road and land spreading; prohibited.
Wastewater associated with the production of natural gas using highvolume hydraulic fracturing, including flowback fluid, production brine or produced water, shall not be used for the purpose of road spreading for dust control or de-icing or land spreading.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03319-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of wastewater for road and land spread- ing
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill prohibits the use of wastewater for road and land spreading.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one amends Section 23-0101 of the environmental conservation law by adding three new subdivisions 4-a, 7-a and 16-a to define necessary terms for this law.
Section two amends the environmental conservation law by adding a new section 23-0315. Which prohibits the use of wastewater for certain purposes.
Section three sets forth 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 Envi- ronmental 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- and land-spreading. This legislation further prohibits the use of flow back water, which contains high concentrations of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, for these purposes as well.
Legislative history
2017-18:A.4745- Ref. to EnCon; S.3910- Ref. to EnCon 2015-16:A.1043- Ref. to EnCon; S.4314- Ref. to EnCon 2013-14:A.9039- Ref. to EnCon; S.4656- Ref. to EnCon
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.