Agency bans fracking in Delaware River Basin

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A multi-state and federal government agency permanently banned natural gas drilling in the watershed that leads to the Delaware River on Thursday, a move the oil and gas industry blasted as ignoring sound science and the positive impact on Pennsylvania’s economy.

The practice of high volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was ended in a 4-0 vote by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), a regulatory agency overseen by the federal government and the governors of the basin states of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. The commission oversees the nearly 14,000 square miles of land surrounding the Delaware River, which provides water for more than 13 million people. Almost 6,500 square miles of that land is in Pennsylvania, including Wayne, Pike, Schuylkill, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Carbon and Monroe counties.

“The DRBC’s decision to ban responsible energy development is entirely misguided and neglects consumers’ needs for reliable, affordable and cleaner-burning energy from natural gas, risks regional job opportunities, limits government revenues and defies private property rights,” said American Petroleum Institute Pennsylvania Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman.

Gov. Tom Wolf, who serves as the Commission’s current second vice chair, said the move would preserve the drinking water and water resources of the region. “After careful analysis and consideration of the unique geographic, geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the Delaware River Basin, DRBC Commissioners acted today under the authority of the Delaware River Basin Compact to protect the water resources of the Basin, the source of drinking water for millions of Pennsylvanians,” Wolf said.

A ‘de facto moratorium’ on natural gas drilling in the region was created in 2010, when the DRBC voted to develop regulations for fracking – something it has yet to do.

The four basin governors voted in favor of the ban and Brig.-Gen. Thomas Tickner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers abstained, citing the agency needing more time to coordinate under the Biden Administration.  In a 5-0 vote, the DRBC also approved a measure that would begin a rulemaking process for the export of water for fracking elsewhere as well as the import of fracking wastewater.

Fracking is a process by which high-pressure water drills and chemicals are used horizontally to break through the Marcellus Shale to access natural gas.  It’s estimated Marcellus Shale sits beneath 60 percent of Pennsylvania’s land.

While environmental groups applauded the commission’s move, the natural gas industry argued the action will mean billions of dollars of loss in economic impact.

“This ill-informed decision directly impacts residents in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware and ignores a robust regulatory system and strict industry standards that ensure the environment, public health and local communities are protected,” Wissman said.

API PA cited a study by the Environmental Protection Agency that found no widespread effects from hydraulic fracking as it correlates to drinking water, if proper design and industry standards are followed.

David Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said the move harms working-class Pennsylvania families.

“It may be a good day for those who seek higher energy prices for American consumers and a deeper dependence on foreign nations to fuel our economy, but this vote defies common sense, sound science, and is a grave blow to constitutionally protected property rights,” he said.

Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Gene Barr said the commission’s action was a political decision uninformed by science.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have been told by government leaders to trust the science,” Barr said. “The science is clear: as both the EPA and other water quality regulators, including the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, have noted, there is no support to any claim that drilling results in widespread impacts to drinking water, rivers or groundwater.”

Barr noted that while Texas and many other states were crippled by rolling blackouts due to unprecedented winter storms, Pennsylvania continued to export significant volumes of gas and electricity due to its vast portfolio of gas, coal and nuclear resources that provide baseload power. “It is quite clear the region and nation rely heavily on Pennsylvania’s resources to keep the lights on, and we must oppose any efforts to restrict the production and transmission of our natural resources,”Barr said.

In January, two Pennsylvania state senators – Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Lehman) and Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Williamsport) – along with Damascus Township, which sits entirely in the Delaware River watershed, filed a lawsuit against the DRBC seeking to overturn the ‘de facto moratorium.’  The lawsuit claims Pennsylvanians are being robbed financially by not being allowed to have fracking take place.

“The DRBC ban is not just an assault on a highly regulated industry that employs thousands of Pennsylvanians, but it’s another example of neighboring state’s dictating our energy policy,”  Sen. Yaw said on Twitter.