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Fracking Radioactive Waste Plan In State Budget Proposal

Radioactive waste from oil and gas drilling would face new testing, reporting and tracking requirements before going to landfills under a proposal included in Governor John Kasich's state budget plan.The plan requires testing of drilling muds, dirt and rock for technologically-enhanced radioactivity, and requires that information be shared with landfills before the waste is accepted. Drilling waste containing excessive concentrations would be diverted to separate licensed disposal sites or diluted under regulatory supervision. The state says the proposal was under consideration before Ohio revoked permits last week for two companies that dumped 20-thousand gallons of fracking wastewater down a Youngstown storm sewer. It empties into the Mahoning River watershed.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.