Michael Rubinkam
A regulatory agency that’s responsible for the water supply of more than 13 million people in four Northeastern states voted Thursday to permanently ban natural gas drilling and fracking near a crucial waterway, asserting that gas development poses an unacceptable risk.
The Delaware River Basin Commission cited “significant immediate and long-term risks” from gas extraction, saying in a resolution that drillers have “adversely impacted surface-water and groundwater resources, including sources of drinking water, and have harmed aquatic life in some regions.”
The ban applies to two counties in Pennsylvania’s northeastern tip that are part of the nation’s largest gas field, the Marcellus Shale. Nearly 13,000 wells have been drilled elsewhere in the vast Marcellus formation, turning Pennsylvania into the nation’s No. 2 gas-producing state.
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Regulatory agency permanently bans fracking near Delaware River
A regulatory agency responsible for the water supply of more than 13 million people in four states has voted to permanently ban natural gas drilling and fracking in the watershed.
By MICHAEL RUBINKAMAssociated Press
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The Philadelphia side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge spanning the Delaware River on Feb. 10. The Delaware River Basin Commission voted Thursday to permanently ban natural gas drilling and fracking because it poses too great of a risk to the the river and its tributaries that supply drinking water to Philadelphia and half the population of New York City. Matt Rourke/Associated Press