New Jersey Environmentalists Encourage Override of Fracking Ban Veto (ContributorNetwork)

According to the Times of Trenton, New Jersey environmentalists are encouraging the state senate to override a veto of legislation that would ban fracking. And if the senate doesn't do it on Monday, the last day of the legislative session, then the chance will be lost. Here are the details.

* In June, the New Jersey state legislature passed a bill banning hydraulic fracturing -- known as "fracking" -- in that state. However, in August, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the bill, instead instituting a yearlong ban on fracking so the environmental impacts of the practice could further be studied.

* According to an Aug. 25 news release from Gov. Christie's office, "S-2576 would permanently prohibit fracking in New Jersey, a drilling technique used for the exploration or production of natural gas, even as concurrent studies on the practice are underway by the federal government and no known natural gas deposits necessitating use of the fracking process have been proposed for development in New Jersey." Christie stated that the one-year moratorium on fracking would allow studies by the federal government to be completed.

* In spite of the fact that, according to an August report by the Huffington Post, there is not enough gas in New Jersey for the fracking issue to make the issue more than a symbolic concern, environmentalists hoped with the legislation to send a message about the importance of water quality with the statewide fracking ban. The ban had bipartisan support in both the State and the Assembly, the Huffington Post reported, and passed by wide margins.

* According to an op-ed authored by Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, "The bill was passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority and on Monday the Legislature can again stand up for the drinking water for New Jersey's residents by overriding the governor's veto." Tittel states that drilling is underway in Pennsylvania and is scheduled to take place soon in the Delaware River Basin. "It is only a matter of time until natural gas drilling will begin in New Jersey - making it utterly important that the legislature has the opportunity to override the governor's veto protecting New Jersey residents from the dangers of fracking," Tittel wrote.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120108/pl_ac/10807993_new_jersey_environmentalists_encourage_override_of_fracking_ban_veto

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