Landfill poised to take fracking debris

Landfill poised to take fracking debris by Mary Perham, August 12, 2012, Bath Courier
Bath, NY — Steuben County is ready to accept soil and rock from Marcellus Shale drillings at the county landfill. … The material will be brought in from drilling in shale deposits in Pennsylvania. … The recent decline in drilling in Pennsylvania will reduce how much the county takes in — and privately operated landfills in Chemung and Allegany counties now accept the cuttings, which will cut back how much debris Steuben receives. Spagnoletti said the county will not accept any materials left from hydrofracturing, which releases natural gas from forcing massive quantities of chemically treated water through the shale. … The county’s decision to accept cuttings has been opposed by some local environmental groups, which charge the debris is unsafe because it is radioactive or could be used to hide other highly radioactive materials. … In addition, annual loads of all radioactive material accepted at the landfill will be restricted to 50 percent of the level the DEC considers safe. County officials would not allow opponents to discuss their concerns, saying they could speak during the public comment period held at the beginning of the full Legislature Aug. 27. One opponent, Rachel Treichler, of Hammondsport, agreed to speak with Spagnoletti after the meeting, and passed out information cautioning against the cumulative effect of radioactive materials stored in one area. Spagnoletti said he did not expect the topic to be discussed by the committee again, because cuttings will be treated as industrial waste.