Ban on fracking is proposed in the Delaware River Basin

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To the Editor:
Today (Dec. 1) residents and organizations from throughout the Delaware River Watershed and beyond are celebrating and vowing enthusiastic support for the proposed ban on high-volume hydraulic fracturing throughout the Delaware River Watershed in all "hydrocarbon bearing rock formations." The groups will fight for a ban on all related activities (including wastewater processing and discharges from and water withdrawals for drilling and fracking operations) in the basin in the face of newly issued draft regulations posted by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC).
At 4:20 p.m. on Nov. 30, the DRBC posted draft natural gas regulations, as required by a resolution passed by the Commissioners (the Governors of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware and the Army Corps of Engineers) at their public meeting in September.
The public has been advocating for the adoption of a full and permanent ban on natural gas drilling and fracking and all related activities (including wastewater processing and discharges from and water withdrawals for drilling and fracking operations) throughout the Delaware River Watershed in a concerted public campaign.
The proposed ban is testimony to the impact that people and communities can have when pursuing the protections needed to provide clean drinking water, healthy communities and habitats and when insisting no compromises be allowed regarding the quality and durability of those protections for present and for future generations. The campaign to ban fracking in the watershed is not complete, however, until all its related activities are banned so the campaign will fully participate in the DRBC’s public participation process to achieve the goal of a full and unequivocal ban.
See the draft rules at nj.gov/drbc/meetings/proposed.
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability
Narrowsburg, N.Y.