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VIEW: Newspaper concerned about Niagara Falls fracking proposal

The Niagara This Week editorial board writes, “The Niagara Falls Water Board has apparently hired a consultant to look at whether its plant could treat the fracking fluid. The Council of Canadians group has written to the board, saying it’s concerned that fracking water will end up flowing into Lake Ontario via the Niagara River.”

“Sewage treatment plants discharge effluent into waterways after treating wastewater. But there’s concern about what will be released into Lake Ontario and the Niagara River if the fracking water is treated.”

“(So) environmentalists are sounding the alarm that the drinking water of people in places such as Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines, as well as Toronto, could be threatened by the nearby treatment of toxic wastewater.”

The editorial concludes, “Ontario and New York State have a long history of responsible co-management of our shared water resources… Hopefully, our two governments will work closely on this issue. If there’s any risk to our drinking water supply, they should ban the treating of fracking water at the sewage treatment plant.”

Last Thursday, the Toronto Star reported, “The Council of Canadians issued a letter to the board on Thursday, suggesting waste water facilities are rarely able to fully decontaminate fracking fluid.” The CBC also reported that day, “The Council of Canadians has written to the board, expressing concerns that fracking water will end up flowing into Lake Ontario via the Niagara River.” For Council of Canadians blogs on this issue, please see http://canadians.org/blog/?s=%22niagara+falls%22+%2B+%22fracking%22.