As members of community, the problems of our neighbor often become our problems, too. Fracking, which has become a hot button issue in the state of Pennsylvania, is now becoming an issue for one of our closest neighbors, New Jersey.
With a name like “The Garden State” you would think that New Jersey would uphold strict environmental regulations. However, last week, everyone’s favorite Republican non-presidential candidate vetoed a bill that would prohibit out of state fracturing operations from dumping their waste fluids in The Garden State.
Christie argues that the passage of the ban would have been unconstitutional. “Because the nation is one common market in which state lines cannot be barriers to commerce, the Dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution limits a state's ability to regulate interstate commerce”
Assemblywoman, Connie Wagner, supported the ban. She argued that the last thing New Jersey wants “is the dumping of radioactive waste, especially the waste produced by someone else's callous environmental practices.”
Chris Christie assured the public that waste dumping in New Jersey is not an issue, and that it is not likely to be an issue in the foreseeable future. What about down the road? It’s now public knowledge that he vetoed this bill. Fracking operations that have not previously considered exporting their waste to New Jersey may now take this option into consideration.
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