Fracking Banned In New Jersey/ S-2576

Tim Scolnick Fracking Banned In New Jersey
On Friday, New Jersey legislators unanimously voted for S-2576, a bill which prohibits hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. fracking) for natural gas in the state.

S-2576 is largely symbolic since New Jersey does not use fracking to drill for natural gas. This bill does, however, send a clear message to the industry as well as neighbouring states looking to tap into the Marcellus Shale formation which reaches into New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and northwestern N.J.
In February, New York announced it will lift its 7-month moratorium on fracking in June despite public opposition and nearly two weeks ago, Pennsylvania’s Republican Governor Tom Corbett overturned a de-facto ban on leasing sensitive forest land for shale gas development. Additionally, the New Jersey decision to ban dangerous fracking is timely since the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), an intra-state agency overseeing the health of the Delaware River, is presently drafting regulations to control how and where fracking may proceed in the River’s bordering states.

As the New York Times has revealed, hydraulic fracturing poses a significant risk to water quality, public health and the environment.. The claim that gas is “clean” energy is also challenged by the sizable amounts of global warming pollution, comparable to coal, emitted in the entire life cycle of gas production and consumption.

In a Senate hearing earlier in the week, fracking lobbyists argued that Marcellus Shale offers vast and cheap reserves of natural gas. Ed Waters, Director of government affairs for the Chemistry Industry Council of New Jersey said, "If we don’t have that cheap supply of natural gas, we can’t compete in the global markets."

Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), Chairman of the Environment Committee, accepted that natural gas seems on the surface to represent a cheap supply of energy, but countered that:

Gasland's Josh Fox on Three Big Lies of Natural Gas

Gasland's Josh Fox on Three Big Lies of Natural Gas (VIDEO) : TreeHugger

As for the panel and conversation with the audience, it was interesting, although not entirely surprising, to see that the majority of the questions were about the recent surge of earthquakes that have rattled Arkansas.

Since last fall there have been thousands of earthquakes in Arkansas - 30+ this week alone - many citizens were wondering if the earthquakes were connected to the hydraulic fracturing. According to the Arkansas Geological Survey as quoted in the New York Times, "while there is no discernible link between earthquakes and gas production, there is "strong temporal and spatial" evidence for a relationship between these quakes and the injection wells." However, that was enough of a connection for the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission to request on Wednesday that two companies shut down 2 injection wells thought to be connected to the earthquakes.

The companies agreed to halt operations:

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy and Clarita Operating of Little Rock told the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission on Friday that they have halted operation of the wells near Greenbrier and Guy pending the panel's next regular meeting on March 29.
While this temporary halt to operations is a small step in the right direction, it will only affect two injection wells, which means there are still other wells operating and more toxic chemicals being pumped into the ground across Arkansas.

Asked what TreeHugger readers and other people moved to action should do to make a difference, Fox laid out the big picture and the steps people should take to help get there: