On the same day that the energy industry lobbyists were clamoring for an expedited review process so that they get to work faster on pumping billions of gallons of toxic crap into the ground, the Senate's Environmental Conservation Committee killed a bill by Senator Liz Krueger (D-Sanity) that would require the energy companies to actually disclose what the hell is in that fracking fluid after all.
A bill by Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, to require the state Department of Environmental Conservation to make companies disclose the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing and to prohibit fluids that pose a health risk was rejected this morning in the Senate's Environmental Conservation Committee.
Democrats are knocking Republicans' rejection of the bill, saying they are standing with "big oil and gas companies" instead of New Yorkers' health.
The bill required eight votes to move out of committee to be considered on the Senate floor, but it only mustered seven. All five Democrats on the committee-Sens. Tony Avella
Adriano Espaillat, Bill Perkins, Jose Serrano and Andrea Stewart-Cousins-voted in favor of the measure, but six Republicans were no votes-Sens. Owen Johnson, Carl Marcellino, George Maziarz, Betty Little, Cathy Young and Tom O'Mara.
Two Republicans voted "aye with recommendation"-Sens. Mark Grisanti and Kenneth LaValle. Their votes would have allowed it move to the Senate floor for a vote, but they needed one more Republican on board.
Krueger ripped Senate Republicans for rejecting the bill. She said her GOP colleagues talked during the meeting about the need to create jobs in upstate New York, where the drilling would take place.
"It's jobs and the environment. Not one of the other," she told Gannett. "I'm sorry, you're not allowed to create jobs for short-term gain while destroying clean water in the state of New York for the future."
So, let's get this straight. The energy companies are telling everyone - despite all evidence to the contrary - that fracking as a process is safe and that the fluids they use are safe, though they and their bought and paid for GOP senators don't want you to know exactly what it is they want to blast into our land and water. They also want to speed up and shorten the review process because, well, all this concern about the future of the drinking water supply for tens of millions of people is simply misplaced.
This just doesn't add up, folks. If the process is safe, we have nothing to lose by a process that tells us so definitively, even if that takes some time. If the fluids themselves are safe, then the energy companies should have no problem telling the public what exactly those fluids contain. Period.
Or maybe the energy companies and their wholly owned legislators in the New York State Senate are full of shit.
I'm going with full of shit. |
