DRBC Fracking Hearing: We Need Complete Ban

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is hosting a hearing today for their proposal to amend Special Regulations to address natural gas development activities within the Delaware River Basin. These amendments include a ban on high-pressure hydrofracking within the rock formations in the Delaware River Basin. It also includes language to allow for the dumping of frack waste and removal of water from the Basin under certain circumstances. There are no scheduled hearings for NJ, NY, or DE. Today’s hearings are taking place from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm and again from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Airport, 4509 Island Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19153.

Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“The DRBC having a ban on fracking is not only critically important for the Delaware River Basin, but it protects the property rights for tens of millions who live there. Not only will fracking pollute their waterways and threaten water supply for 17 million people, but it could destroy billions of dollars of ratables owned by those in the Basin. If their land is polluted or taken by eminent domain for pipelines, it destroys their property values and interferes with their Constitutional rights. People have a right to life, liberty, and property; and fracking and pipelines destroy these inherent rights. Zoning and regulations come into play to protect one person’s property from being impacted from pollution dumped on someone else’s property. This is why we need a complete ban on fracking and fracking waste.

“We need a complete ban of fracking activities, including not allowing dumping fracking waste or taking water for fracking activities elsewhere. You do not protect the Basin from fracking by allowing the dumping of fracking waste. Having a partial ban that actually allows the dumping of fracking waste still puts the drinking water and environment of the Basin at risk. Dumping fracking wastewater is dangerous because it contains over 600 different toxic chemicals, many of them carcinogenic. This could lead to pollution and contaminated drinking water. The DRBC needs to not only implement this ban but also be sure not to turn the Basin into a dumping ground for fracking waste water.

“Fracking involves injecting huge amounts of water and chemicals in rock formations that can pollute surrounding aquifers and waterways. This requires mixing millions of gallons of water with toxic chemicals including volatile organic chemicals like benzene, methyl benzene, formaldehyde, and others that are linked to cancer. The process also releases toxic chemicals like arsenic and mercury that are naturally trapped in the shale. The average well uses 2.5 to 4.5 million gallons of water for fracking, many wells are fracked two to three times. Drilling will also require trillions of gallons of water.

“The people of the Delaware River Valley want to be protected from all forms of fracking, including the contaminated waste that comes from it. That’s why it’s important for the DRBC to go forward with a fracking ban includes complete protections for the Basin. We have fought for ten years to ban fracking and the dumping of frack waste in the Basin. We want the DRBC to protect the Basin by banning all dangerous fracking activities in the entire basin. The New Jersey Sierra Club joins Governor Murphy in supporting a complete ban to protect us from this dangerous process.”