MyCentralJersey

Gov. Chris Christie has until noon Monday to do the right thing and sign a bill on his desk that would prohibit the treatment, discharge, disposal or storage of toxic fracking waste in New Jersey.

The bill, passed by the state Senate in May and the Assembly last month by an overwhelming bipartisan majority, also would stop the use of fracking wastewater on roads for deicing and dust suppression.

Fracking refers to the process of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them to open further. The larger fissures allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formation so it can be extracted.

Toxic waste byproducts from fracking are now being treated at four facilities in Deepwater, Kearney, Carteret and Elizabeth, environmentalists say. The wastewater is then either directly discharged into rivers and streams or allowed to seep into the groundwater. There is nothing iffy about the toxicity of this wastewater. Activists have called it a “witch’s brew” of more than 700 chemicals, some of which are known carcinogens.

The Sierra Club has pointed out that New Jersey’s wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to handle the toxins found in fracking waste and cannot remove all the chemicals and radioactive materials before discharging the waste into our waterways.

And not all of the fracking waste is being treated. Some drilling companies in Pennsylvania have already dumped their waste sludges and cuttings in our landfills, according to Clean Water Action.

A 2012 study by Stony Brook University found that the disposal of fracking wastewater is the most environmentally destructive piece of the fracking process, with a 99 percent probability that waterways used for disposal will be polluted even after the wastewater is treated.

This has to stop.

Unfortunately, two years ago, Gov. Christie vetoed nearly identical legislation, saying he had concerns about its constitutionality. Let’s hope that in this case, the past is not prologue, and that with two years to examine both the science and constitutionality of the issue and the bill, Christie has seen the light. Although as recently as last month at a town hall in Belmar, he said he still harbored concerns about the bill’s constitutionality. This, despite the fact that the Office of Legislative Services reviewed the legislation and issued a memo saying it was constitutional.

We also hope Christie’s decision on whether to veto the bill this time around won’t be influenced by his desire to burnish his conservative bona fides for a possible 2016 presidential run. Political considerations should have no place here. This is about the health of the environment and the citizens of New Jersey.

The only question that remains is what has taken the governor so long to sign this legislation into law. He should do so now.