Good Turnout for Fluid Ban Meeting

It appears that the issue of dumping the detritus of hydraulic fracture drilling onto Ulster County's roadways is an issue that transcends political boundaries. At last week's meeting at UCC SUNY Ulster, virtually every speaker came out against the practice, which, for the uninitiated, involves using the fluids left over from drilling -- which includes nasty stuff like the carcinogen benzene -- onto our roads to help the fracking industry dispose of its waste keep our roadways clear of ice:

Hundreds of residents turned out at the SUNY Ulster gymnasium Tuesday night, to support Ulster County's proposed law banning fracking fluids from being used on county roads. A public hearing was held by the legislature, seeking input from the community.

“Fracking” refers to hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting natural gas from deep shale by injecting what some say are toxic concoctions at high pressure, deep below the ground.

[. . .]

More than 60 speakers told the legislature that fracking is generally a bad idea. Their only criticism of the bill was universal desire to increase criminal penalties, and eliminate any possibility for legally sidestepping the prohibition.

Ulster is the first county in New York to consider such a bill prohibiting frack brine on roads. Last year, Ulster's legislature unanimously voted to ban fracking on county-owned land. Home rule law prevented the ban from extending throughout the county as a whole.

And it appears our legislators are on board, though Ken Ronk is on the record as having no problem with the practice, at least if his statements during legislative sessions are any indication. Get with the program, Ken. Your constituents are way ahead of you on this, as usual.