PROSPECT — An ordinance that would ban fracking waste is making the rounds across the state.
On March 20, Mayor Robert Chatfield presented the Town Council with a proposed ordinance to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, waste from being disposed of in Prospect.
The ordinance, which was created by Jennifer Siskind of the international nonprofit Food and Water Watch, was distributed to each municipality by the various Councils of Governments across the state, Chatfield said.
Fracking is a process of using high-pressured water to force open fissures in rocks, usually with the goal of obtaining oil or natural gas underground.
Chatfield said there is always waste materials left over. There is a chance that the remaining oil and natural gas can seep out of the waste and into the ground where it was dumped, he said.
“It is important with the fact that we have so much wetlands and six reservoirs in town. Four aren’t being used but the other two are being used for the water we drink right here,” Chatfield said.
The Town Council sent the ordinance to the Ordinance Subcommittee for review. Once the subcommittee reviews it, it will come back to the council and a public hearing date will be set.
Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said the borough’s legal counsel reviewed the proposed ordinance. A public hearing on the ordinance is set for Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. at Naugatuck Town Hall, 229 Church St., Naugatuck.
Beacon Falls First Selectman Christopher Bielik said the town is currently weighing it options before deciding how to move forward.
“It is something that is worth debating and looking into,” Bielik said.
