For Immediate Release
September 12, 2012 Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100
Ban Fracking in the Delaware Basin NOW!
Today the Sierra Club joined hundreds of organizations at the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to deliver petitions urging the body to keep the moratorium on fracking in the Basin in place.The Sierra Club issued the following statement:
"The Sierra Club thanks you for the work you have done so far to keep the moratorium on fracking in place in the Basin as the proposed rules are inadequate and seriously flawed.We urge you to continue this leadership and keep the moratorium in place as numerous scientific and federal studies are underway and the safety of this technology has yet to be proven."
"We urge the DRBC to not take any action on any rulemaking until all the federal studies are done and there is a better understanding of the potential impacts of fracking on the Basin if it can actually even be regulated.We also need better understanding of how the waste will be handled and how water withdrawals will impact the Basin.Right now allowing fracking is too risky as it could jeopardize the drinking water for 15 million people who depend on the Basin and the billions of dollars in tourism activities."
"The DRBC must keep the moratorium in place until we know if this process can even be done safely and the federal exemptions for fracking are removed. Fracking is currently exempt from several major federal environmental laws including portions of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, Right to Know and Safe Drinking Water Act under what is know as the Halliburton loophole in the 2005 National Energy Policy Act.We need these environmental and public health protections restored before we even consider opening the Basin up to drilling."
"We also urge the DRBC to develop and include rules and regulations for the discharge of fracking waste from treatment plants into waterways under its jurisdiction. Fracking waste contains numerous toxic and radioactive compounds that treatment plants are not prepared to remove and this could seriously impair our water quality and harm aquatic ecosystems."
"The best way to protect the Basin and the drinking water supply for 5% of the nation would be to make the current moratorium a permanent ban on fracking in Basin.We need a permanent ban to protect the region's environment, water quality, and forests from industrial developement.The future of the Delaware River and New Jersey's drinking water is at stake."
"By delaying the natural gas development regulations the first time and keeping the moratorium in place, this body sent a clear message that fracking is too dangerous and not enough is known to move forward.Since then more scientific studies have come out identifying new concerns and raising more questions about the safety of the practice.We need the DRBC to continue to stand with the people not the gas industry and declare a permanent ban on fracking in the Basin.The DRBC must stand for Don't Ruin the Basin Commissioners."
-- Kate Millsaps Program Assistant NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club 609-656-7612