The Energy To Do What's Right
Why do a handful of county commissioners think they have the right to force a heavily industrial deep shale extraction process into a highly protected watershed, one which supplies drinking water to more than 15.6 million people from New York City to Wilmington, Delaware? It would seem they are ready to risk it all, exposing roughly 5% of the U.S. population to fracking's secret toxic brew, while shushing valid environmental concerns with a vague promise of jobs.
Tell DRBC: Pennsylvania's Last Frack-Free Watershed Deserves A Permanent Ban!
Karen Feridun, founder of Berks Gas Truth, urges everyone who relies on this watershed to take the THE PLEDGE TO PROTECT THE DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED!
"Residents in Wayne County are urging the DRBC to lift the moratorium on #shale drilling/#fracking in the Delaware River watershed. if you have not yet taken the pledge to protect the Delaware River, all of its tributaries, forests, habitats and communities from such desecration please take a moment and do so now -- and urge your friends to as well."
Can A Watershed Get A Little Respect?
Find out what's happening in Bryn Mawr-Gladwynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Did you know that the Delaware River watershed is nicknamed "The Little Giant" because it's so darn productive? Fraccidents, such as those tracked by EarthJustice on the Fracking Across The United States page, include spills, leaks, explosions, blow outs, blow offs and leaky valves. They're in addition to new webs of pipelines, widespread deforestation, elevated chlorides and tds levels in surface water, and tons of unregulated air emissions entering the hydrological cycle. Shale gas production in the Delaware, which already generates $22 billion, will deplete water quantity and compromise water quality, and that's before drillers have dealt with their millions of gallons of briny, toxic, radioactive waste.
Pennsylvania is the second most 'water rich' state in the U.S., after Alaska, with over 2 million private water wells, yet there are now hundreds of families in Pennsylvania who have no water because their water sources have been damaged, destroyed or sucked dry after gas drilling activities arrived nearby. Recently, Amy Mall reported on a new study of fracking in Pennsylvania in Data Indicate Water Pollution From Shale Gas Operations In Pennsylvania, NRDC Switchboard Blogs, June 11, 2013.
Find out what's happening in Bryn Mawr-Gladwynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The study shows an increase in chloride and concentrations of total suspended solids downstream. Scary stuff.
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) was charged with the mission of protecting this invaluable, shared fresh water resource. DRBC has yet to commission a single study on drilling impacts or pipelines. They should refrain from approving gas drilling regulations for the basin until they do so. So far, no one can prove that fracking is safe, not now or in the longterm, and no agency can guarantee the industry will use "industry best practices" every time.
“We only know the worth of water when the well is dry.”
~ Ben Franklin
Please write, call or email the DRBC today, and tell them to keep industrial shale gas drilling out of the Delaware River Basin. Ask them to extend the moratorium indefinitely, or institute a permanent ban.
Carol Collier, Director
Delaware River Basin Commission
25 State Police Drive, PO Box 7360
West Trenton, NJ 08628
carol.collier@drbc.state.nj.us
tel. (609) 883-9500
fax (609) 883-9522
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Please Sign On Today!
PLEDGE TO PROTECT THE DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED
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Want to do more to fight drilling in the Delaware River Basin? These groups will help you get started:
