Does Steuben County, NY Landfill Accept Drilling Wastewater?

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The Steuben County landfill in Bath, NY was approved and ready to accept shale cuttings (leftover soil and rock from drilling) at the landfill in early August of this year (see this MDN story). They now are accepting some shale cuttings. Earlier this week a local environmental lawyer raised concerns at a meeting of the county Legislature’s Public Works Committee that the landfill may also be receiving flowback water—water that comes back up out of the bore hole after drilling—in the landfill along with shale cuttings. Flowback has high concentrations of minerals making it salty or “briny.”

County Public Works Commissioner Vince Spagnoletti said the landfill does not accept flowback direct from drillers. However, the landfill does accept some treated wastewater from another landfill. Here’s the details:

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