Dear Friends,
Like many of you, I have concerns about the potential environmental impact of hydraulic-fracturing or hydro-fracking.
Hydro-fracking involves injecting water and sand along with chemicals into rock formations at high pressure to fracture the shale and release the natural gas trapped within it. The resulting flow back of liquid slurry is a dangerous mixture of chemicals that could, if not handled properly, contaminate the underground water supplies of nearby communities. The process has not been approved in New York and is currently a source of debate, much of it centering on that liquid slurry.
I’m clearly not alone in my concern about the possibility of hydraulic fracturing chemicals seeping into our drinking water. We can’t afford a mishap with hazardous waste, certainly not in areas that rely on a sole source for water.
That’s why I am sponsoring a bill (S.6583) that bans the treatment, storage or processing of that drilling fluid as well as any waste resulting from the exploration, development, extraction or production of crude oil or natural gas, in areas that rely primarily on a single water source such as Long Island. This bill will protect our water from hydro-fracking waste.
When it comes to hydro-fracking, my philosophy is simple: we can’t let economics trump environmental safety. I need your support to help protect Long Island’s drinking water. Please sign my online petition so that we can send a message that we will stand together to protect our most precious resource.
Sincerely,
Jack M. Martins
