Governor Dannel Malloy has signed a bill imposing a moratorium on bringing fracking waste into Connecticut. The moratorium will extend to at least to July 2017. In the meantime, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will draft regulations about what, if any, fracking waste can come to Connecticut.
The waste can contain high levels of salt and other toxic chemicals -- and is a byproduct of the hydraulic fracturing process, which is used to produce natural gas. Under the new law, waste providers would be required to disclose the chemical composition of their fracturing waste. And the waste would be labeled as "hazardous" in Connecticut.
Anyone who wanted to use the highly saline waste as a road deicer would also be required to seek approval from the DEEP.
The moratorium was a compromise on a bill favored by environmental advocates who wanted a total ban.
