Agency to take action on fracking ban near Delaware River

<p>WEST TRENTON, N.J. &mdash; A regulatory agency that’s responsible for the water supply for more than 13 million people is poised to take final action on a permanent ban on gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River watershed.</p>
<p>The Delaware River Basin Commission announced Wednesday that it will vote on the proposal at a <a href="https://www.nj.gov/drbc/meetings/meeting_feb252021.html">public meeting</a> on Feb. 25.</p>
<p>The commission, which regulates water quality and quantity in the Delaware and its tributaries, first imposed a moratorium on drilling and fracking — the technique that unleashed a U.S. production boom in shale gas and oil — more than a decade ago. It began the process of enacting a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dc88723cd28c4bf588615e15e2308bea">permanent ban</a> in 2017. The ban would apply to two counties in Pennsylvania’s northeastern tip that are part of the nation’s largest gas field, the Marcellus Shale. </p>
<p>Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania as well as a landowners group are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-drinking-water-quality-hydraulic-fracturing-pennsylvania-lawsuits-8f85f19cc5028d1e181cb1292b9850e3">challenging the commission’s right to regulate gas development</a> in court. The agency has representatives from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the federal government.</p>