Fracking fluid is full of some nasty toxic material. Benzene, lead, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene–these are a few of the two dozen known carcinogens and compounds that can be found in fracking dirty leftovers.
Toxic mystery waste does not belong in our state. We need your help to keep it out.
Gas fracking companies in Pennsylvania and New York are having a hard time figuring out how to get rid of this toxic waste when they’re done with it, and they’re trying to ship it to other states to dispose of it.
The state legislature’s Environment Committee is considering two bills that will help protect our water from toxic fracking waste. HB 5308 will close a loophole in Connecticut’s hazardous waste regulations that currently overlooks fracking waste. SB 237 will protect our waters and communities by banning the storage and disposal of fracking waste here in Connecticut. You can learn more about fracking waste impacts at http://www.wastefreect.org.
Unfortunately the committee is also considering another bill, HB 5307, that would weaken the rules that protect our harbors and Long Island Sound from spills while ships are loading and unloading oil and gas.
All three bills will have their public hearing this Friday. We need your help this week speaking FOR the fracking regulation bills and AGAINST the spill bill.
Please take a few moments to write to the Environment Committee. You can use this model testimony as a template, adding your own words to show the committee that citizens all over Connecticut care about protecting our waters from petrochemicals and toxic waste. (If you’d like the sample testimony sent to you as an editable Word doc, just let us know.)
Email your testimony to env.testimony@cga.ct.gov by 8:00 AM Friday morning, and please send us a copy at lmcmillan@ctenvironment.org. Thank you!
Can you do more? Come to the hearing to speak!
Friday, February 28
1:00 PM
Room 2B, Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave., Hartford
Sign up to speak at 11:00 AM in the LOB Atrium, and bring the clerk six hard copies of your testimony. The first hour will be reserved for public officials and each speaker will have three minutes. If you’d like to speak but can’t be there at 11:00 AM to sign up, let us know by 8:00 AM by emailing lmcmillan@ctenvironment.org and we’ll be happy to add you to the list.
Posted by Tyler Archer, Outreach Fellow for CFE/Save the Sound.
Why have I just heard about this now?! This post was put up the day before a very important meeting. How is anyone to get work off by 1 p.m. today and make their way to Hartford to voice their concerns and say no to dumping fracking waste in CT?! Please let me know how my voice can be heard even though I can’t be there in person. Thank you.
Hi Corey, sorry for the last-minute notice. Are you on our email alert list? That’s often the easiest way to get news early (we sent the email about this meeting on Tuesday, for instance). You can sign up here if you’re interested.
I saw you were able to send testimony this morning. So glad! I’m at the hearing now and you’ll be glad to hear it’s been absolutely packed with people speaking up about the need for a fracking waste ban.
In addition to your testimony, you can email the leadership of the Environment Committee directly (contact info here), and call or email your own state senator and representative. You could also write a letter to the editor–we’d be glad to help if you’re interested in that!
There will be another bill about fracking waste in the Energy & Technology Committee on Tuesday. We’ll have more info on that soon! We anticipate this being a big issue all session, so there will be future opportunities to speak up about it as well.
thanks,
Laura
lmcmillan {at} ctenvironment.org