Elizabeth "Betty" Little (R - Warren County), the long-time representative of New York's 45th State Senate District, has run unopposed for re-election since 2006, even despite maintaining
one of the most right-wing voting records in the New York State Legislature in a region which continues to trend Democratic in federal elections and voted for President Barack Obama by fairly wide margins in both 2008 and 2012.
Perhaps what's most disturbing, though, about Little's actions during her long tenure in the legislature is her continued use (or abuse) of her position on the State Senate's Environmental Conservation Committee, where she has a history of blocking bills from reaching the floor of the chamber concerning the protection of public health and safety, particularly pertaining to hydraulic fracking and gas drilling. Last year, Little was one of seven State Senators who killed legislation which would have banned the importation of fracking waste fluids into New York from other states (
S.5123-A). In 2011, Little also played a role in killing legislation which would've required gas drillers to disclose the full contents of the chemical contents used within hydraulic fracturing fluids (
S.425). According to a report, "
Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets," by watchdog group
Common Cause, Betty Little is one of the top recipients of campaign contributions by pro-fracking interests in the state legislature, receiving $53,130 in recent years from businesses standing to profit from either gas drilling or disposing fracking fluid waste chemicals in New York, such as ExxonMobil, which has made several contributions to Little's campaigns over the past three years. (
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While it increasingly appears unlikely that high-pressure hydraulic fracturing will ever occur in Upstate New York now with a formal ban recently issued by top environmental regulators in the Cuomo Administration, the transportation and disposal of fracking waste fluids could still present some serious challenges for communities throughout the state in the years ahead. Fracking fluids are increasingly being used as a de-icing agent on New York roads and some financially-distressed reservoirs have considered treating toxic fracking waste from surrounding states as a means of obtaining additional revenue.
Overall, though, you would think that State Senator Little would be much more conscious of activities which could potentially threaten both the economic and environmental integrity of the regions that she represents, such as the Adirondacks, which have long relied on a tourism economy, in addition to the Champlain and St. Lawrence Valleys, which have long relied on an agrarian economy.