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An Ounce of Prevention

Currently our Board of Selectmen is considering adopting an ordinance that would ban fracked waste in Madison. This comes at the urging of more than 200 residents who have signed a petition. Why would Madison residents want a fracked waste ban in our town, and why have 34 Connecticut towns and municipalities already passed such an ordinance?

In five years, the Connecticut General Assembly has failed three times to ban wastes from fracking. Currently, there is a temporary moratorium which only bans some wastes from gas wells, leaving loopholes for other wastes to enter the state. These wastes come from fracked oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania and New York.

These wastes pose a threat not only to our health from the chemical and radioactive contamination they pose, but they also present a threat to our property values and natural resources, including our well and surface waters.

We don’t want to end up like our friends in Greenwich. More than six years ago, PCBs and arsenic were found in their high school sports fields. To date, the town has already spent $5.6 million for testing and partial remediation, with an additional $14 million and four additional years needed to complete the remediation.

As the adage states, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Our state statutes allow municipalities to act pro-actively to protect, preserve and promote public health, safety and welfare. Let’s join the 34 other Connecticut municipalities who have already decided to preserve and protect their future.

Lynne Charles

Madison