Sheriff Testifies before House Science Committee, Endorses Boehlert Meth Bill

WASHINGTON - Tioga County Sheriff Gary Howard and a top official from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation testified before the House Science Committee March 3 at a hearing examining the environmental dangers associated with the production of methamphetamine. 

 Methamphetamine, or "meth" as it is commonly known, is a growing problem in Upstate New York. Between 1999 and 2003, the number of meth labs discovered in NY increased by 3,650 percent, and meth labs have been discovered throughout the 24th Congressional District. Sheriff Howard  discussed how meth is posing a severe threat in Tioga County and the challenges he faces in addressing it.

The availability of meth is particularly hard to control because the drug can be cheaply and easily manufactured in small clandestine laboratories, which are located primarily in motels, rental apartments and other residential settings. While the greatest and most obvious impacts of meth are on those who use the drug, meth labs also pose harm those who come in contact with them, even after a lab is abandoned. The toxic brew involved in manufacturing meth can harm innocent parties, including first responders (the volatile chemicals used in meth production often lead to fires or explosions), future inhabitants of a former lab site (due to lingering chemical contamination), and others through the environment (production chemicals are often poured down drains).

 Cleanup and remediation of residential meth labs is a top issue for state and local governments. On February 15, 2005, Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-New Hartford) introduced H.R. 798, Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2005, which would authorize a Federal research program to examine the health effects of meth production chemicals, and establish voluntary guidelines to help states clean up and deal with the environmental consequences of methamphetamine laboratories.