For Immediate Release

February 18, 2021
Contacts:

Barbara Arrindell, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, dcs@DamascusCitizens.org

Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, keepermaya@delawareriverkeeper.org

Wes Gillingham, Catskill Mountainkeeper,  wes@catskillmountainkeeper.org

Jeff Tittel, Director, New Jersey Sierra Club, jeff.tittel@sierraclub.org

Doug O’Malley, Environment New Jersey,  domalley@environmentnewjersey.org

Eric Benson, Clean Water Action, ebenson@cleanwater.org

Eric Weltman, Food & Water Action, eweltman@fwwatch.org

Tracy Carluccio, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, tracy@delawareriverkeeper.org

From the Organizations Working for the Complete Fracking Ban
Frack Ban Coalition Expects Historic Event February 25
Download the full Press Release as a pdf.

ZOOM meeting – The Delaware River Frack Ban Coalition is looking forward to a historic vote at the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) special meeting announced for Thursday Feb. 25, 10:30 am. The meeting was publicly noticed yesterday by DRBC as a virtual meeting, with no public comment opportunity, for “final action on DRBC’s Proposed Amendments to the Administrative Manual and Special Regulations Regarding Hydraulic Fracturing Activities”. The DRBC voting members are the Governors of the four states that flow to the Delaware – New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware – and a federal representative for President Biden from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The draft gas regulations were issued for public comment on November 30, 2017. How to join the meeting: https://www.nj.gov/drbc/meetings/meeting_feb252021.html.

In the three years since the public comment period closed on March 30, 2018, organizations and the public have been advocating for a full ban to be enacted on fracking and its operations in the Delaware River Watershed. The proposed gas rules would permanently ban fracking throughout the entire Delaware River Watershed but would allow wastewater produced by fracking to be imported and processed, stored and discharged here and would allow water to be withdrawn to fuel fracking outside of the basin. The Coalition and the public have fiercely opposed the halfway measure of banning fracking but allowing frack wastewater to be dumped in the river and water to be exported and consumed to spur fracking, instead calling for a FULL fracking ban. Tens of thousands of people submitted comments to the DRBC calling for a FULL frack ban, over 100,000 petitions were submitted, and the Coalition has attended every DRBC public meeting since 2017 to present scientific, public health, and environmental evidence about the devastating impacts of fracking, frack wastewater, and water depletion caused by fracking.

In January 2019, NJ Governor Phil Murphy sent a letter to the DRBC stating that he was prepared to vote for a complete watershed-wide permanent ban on fracking and its associated activities, including a ban on wastewater storage, processing and discharges in the Basin. In doing so, Governor Murphy cited the dangers of fracking chemicals, the hazardous materials that fracking produces, fracking wastewater’s secret toxic chemicals, and the dangers of damage to the water supplies of the Delaware River Watershed. In follow up news articles to a public DRBC Summit where Governor Murphy verbally stated his support for the full ban, both PA Governor Tom Wolf and DE Governor John Carney expressed support for the complete ban as well. NY Governor Cuomo has permanently banned shale gas fracking in New York State.

The Coalition considers President Biden’s new policy to decarbonize our energy sources and protect our environment and water supplies through strict regulation to translate into a position of support for the full frack ban; under the Trump Administration, the Army Corps has consistently voted against any ban on fracking. The Coalition submitted a white paper “Why a Full Ban on Fracking is Required in the Delaware River Watershed” to the Biden Administration last month.

It is expected that many members of the public will attend the DRBC virtual meeting and since the huge demonstrations that have marked these meetings in the past cannot occur due to the pandemic, people will join the zoom meeting to witness the “final action” the Governors and President Biden will take.

B. Arrindell, Director of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, insisted that, “From its inception the DRBC’s mission and work has been to protect public health by keeping the Delaware River clean. The Commission has been very successful – the River is not the stinking sewer it was before DRBC’s inception. One of its formation documents places prevention in the forefront saying that it is so much better to prevent pollution rather than try to clean up after. Only a full ban will prevent fracking damage. Three of the 4 basin Governors have endorsed a full ban in the Basin, they must follow through on their promise to us”.