August 25, 2020

NY State Legislation Classifies Frack Waste as Hazardous

The League of Women Voters of NYS, with avid input and inspiration from DCS Director Barbara Arrindell and member Marge Schab, pushed for this legislation from its introduction in 2011 until this year when it passed.

The logic was to

February 25, 2020

America’s Radioactive Secret

Oil-and-gas wells produce nearly a trillion gallons of toxic waste a year. An investigation shows how it could be making workers sick and contaminating communities across America.
By Justin Nobel, Rolling Stone, January 21, 2020

Rolling Stone’s Justin Nobel reports

December 3, 2019

Proposed Battery Recycling Facility in Endicott, NY a Hazard

Bill Huston, an independent researcher and environmental activist, has done extensive research on the proposed Battery Recycling Facility, planned for the old IBM site in Endicott, NY. The NY DEC is asking for comments on the facility until December 5.

November 13, 2019

PA Wants to Allow Dumping of Toxic Drilling Waste on an Unpaved Road Near You


Published this year by PennState Institute of Energy and Environment this map shows all the unpaved roads in Pennsylvania. You can zoom way in.

A multitude of anti-environment, pro-oil and gas industry bills are moving through the PA legislature. One …

September 24, 2019

PA Oil & Gas Waste Report: 9,300,000,000 Gallons of Death

DEP found radium-226 concentrations in oil and gas wastewater samples ranging from 40.5 – 26,600 picocuries per liter. For comparison, the limit for drinking water is 5 picocuries per liter.
By John Able, The Allegheny Voice, September 14, 2019

How …

July 11, 2019

Still Wasting Away – Frack Waste is a BIG Problem

The failure to safely manage oil and gas waste continues
By Melissa Troutman, Earthworks, June 18, 2019

Download the full report – Still Wasting Away – as a pdf
Read the Earthworks press release
Download Earthworks comments on the EPA’s

July 1, 2019

Tell PA DEP: Deny Elcon’s Hazardous Waste Permit Application

DCS Director Barbara Arrindell’s Comments to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection:


I am writing for an environmental organization, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS). As the Director, I have overseen many explorations of the negative effects of both water and …

May 26, 2019

Toxic Frack Waste Damages Sewage Treatment Plant, Contaminates River

By John F. Stolz, Ph.D., Professor, Biological Sciences, Duquesne University


I was down at the Belle Vernon municipal waste water treatment plant April 11. I got samples and did tests for salts and metals. The leachate was very similar in …

May 26, 2019

PA Attorney General to Investigate Landfill Runoff Problems in Westmoreland County

Runoff contaminated by shale gas drilling and fracking waste chemicals has damaged sewage treatment plant
By Don Hopey and David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 23, 2019

The Pennsylvania attorney general’s Environmental Crimes Section will investigate how landfill runoff damaged the

March 24, 2019

Our Dirt Roads: Dump Sites For Oil & Gas Well Wastewater?

By Siri Lawson, Farmington Township, Warren County
Republished from PA Environment Digest Blog with the author’s permission
Read more on brine dumping from Siri Lawson in PA Environment Digest Blog
DCS has long had concerns about the land and road

February 22, 2019

Is Drilling and Fracking Waste on Your Sidewalk or in Your Pool?

Oil and gas waste, which is exempt from hazardous waste rules, is commonly used in commercial applications
By Melissa Troutman, Truthout, February 21, 2019

They’ve spread it on roads. They’ve irrigated almond farms and fruit groves with it. The …

November 7, 2018

Frack Brine is Ineffective for Dust Control and a Health Hazard

A variety of methods are currently being employed to dispose of oil and gas well brine (OGB), a byproduct of all gas and oil drilling, including conventional and fracked wells. One such practice is spreading OGB on unpaved roads for …

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