Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a bill that would have banned wastewater generated by gas drilling from being treated or disposed of in New Jersey.

Governor Chris Christie
Governor Chris Christie (Governor's Office)
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The veto Christie issued Friday disappointed but did not surprise the environmental community, which had pushed to ban drilling byproducts from other states, including Pennsylvania, from winding up in New Jersey.

The governor in his veto message cited the unlikelihood that the gas drilling technique generating the waste — called hydraulic fracturing or fracking — would occur in New Jersey anytime soon.

He also says such a ban is premature since the federal Environmental Protection Agency is still studying fracking.

Fracking involves blasting chemical-laced water deep into the ground.

Christie agreed to a one-year moratorium on fracking in January, not the permanent ban environmentalists had sought.

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