It has been 2 years since the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted to ban fracking in the Delaware River Basin and the public is clamoring for a final vote to fully ban fracking, frack waste imports, and the withdrawal of Delaware River water for fracking elsewhere. The question is: What is taking so long? The public says: 2 years is too long! Call the vote!

Representatives of advocacy groups from throughout the region are calling for the Commissioners to vote as soon as possible to adopt a full ban on fracking throughout the Basin, including banning the treatment, storage and disposal of wastewater produced by fracking, and banning the export of water from the Watershed to enable fracking elsewhere. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Delaware Governor John Carney, have all publicly pledged to vote for the full ban, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has kept silent.

Comments on frack waste by DCS Director Barbara Arrindell (from the press release): “That the DRBC would consider allowing these wastes into the Delaware River Basin in order to “regulate” them is short-sighted and a false economy of effort. It is always better to prevent pollution rather than attempt to clean up afterwards. Because of the unregulated nature of these materials how would the DRBC know what and how much wastes are coming into the Basin in order to “regulate” their transport and disposal. The DRBC is asking for the Illegal dumping and trucking accidents that happen regularly in areas near drilling. We depend on the DRBC to keep the Delaware River Basin healthy. The wastes should not be allowed into the Basin.”

Download Director Arrindell’s full comments on frack waste as a pdf (made to the DRBC on September 11, 2019).

The DRBC commissioners take their marching orders from the governors of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. If you are a resident of one of these states, a postcard to your governor call help bring the full ban to a vote in the DRBC. Now is the time to pass a full ban on fracking in the Basin! Together we can make it happen!