Three Governors Take Significant Action to Ban Fracking

WEST TRENTON, N.J. -- Today, Governors Tom Wolf (PA), Andrew Cuomo (NY), and John Carney (DE), commissioners of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), voted to direct the executive director to prepare a revised set of draft regulations on fracking within the Delaware River Basin. This would start the process of enacting a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River watershed, including 42 counties across Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, an area that provides drinking water for more than 15 million people.

The DRBC, a regulatory body that has representatives from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the federal government, plans to replace its current moratorium on fracked gas development near the Delaware River with a permanent ban. In addition, the vote directs the DRBC to produce regulations allowing for the storage, treatment, disposal and discharge of highly contaminated wastewater as well as inter-basin water and wastewater transfers.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:

“The Sierra Club applauds Governors Wolf, Cuomo, and Carney and the Delaware River Basin Commission for taking this step to protect communities and clean air and water in the Delaware River Basin from the dangers posed by fracking. Whether it be through drilling, transportation, or burning of gas, the fracking process threatens millions of Americans every day, and our states must take immediate action to put the public’s health and safety above polluter profits. We thank the Commission and these governors for acting in the best interest of their constituents and their state, and look forward to reviewing their rules for wastewater disposal and ensuring the ban covers the entire Basin.”