DRBC praised and scorned

By FRITZ MAYER

UPPER DELAWARE VALLEY — In a move that prompted both scorn and praise, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) on December 9 released draft regulations to cover gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale beneath the Delaware River Basin.

The regulations, which will likely be adjusted in reaction to public comment, address such issues as where well pads can be built in the watershed in relation to water, where the water for hydraulic fracturing might come from and how the waste waters from the wells will be treated.

Regarding the construction and operation of the wells themselves, the commission will mostly rely on the regulations that exist or will exist in Pennsylvania and New York.

Critics were quick to respond.

Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and Rush Holt slammed the DRBC for releasing the regulations before a federal study of the cumulative impacts of drilling in the basin could be completed. The congressmen wrote, “By developing and issuing draft regulations without the completion of comprehensive scientific analysis of the cumulative impacts of hydraulic fracturing, the DRBC has put in jeopardy the River’s Special Protection Waters, upon which millions of residents of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania rely for drinking water and other uses.”

Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, repeated that charge. She wrote, “It’s a grave mistake for the DRBC to rush forward with half-baked regulations before the needed scientific analysis is done through a cumulative impact analysis.”

Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum criticized the comment period. She said, “For the DRBC to offer a brief 90-day comment period on these complex proposed regulations that will require highly technical analysis and science-based review, is an insult.”

The group Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy issued a release criticizing the proposed regulation that would require that drillers put up a security payment of $125,000. The release asked the question, “Are the commissioners aware that it will cost $12 million to bring water to the town of Dimock, PA because Cabot Energy contaminated private water wells in that town?”

On the other side of the issue, Dr. Michael J. Economides, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Houston, said the proposed regulations were not helpful. He wrote, “Natural gas exploration must be guided by best practices set forth by engineers, not a one-size-fits-all approach to regulation. These rules usurp local control, and that is in no one’s best interest.”

But John Hanger, secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection, said the proposed regulations were a good first step. Hanger said, “It’s important to note that these are proposed rules that are now open for public comment. It’s time for the public to have their say on these matters.”

There will be three public hearings on the regulations, which have not yet been scheduled. Residents can go to www.drbc.net to view the proposed regulations.