Amendment threatens stability of frack ban in Delaware River basin

By LIAM MAYO

Posted 7/10/26

DELAWARE RIVER VALLEY — The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an advocacy group that works to oversee and protect the environment of the Delaware River, released a call to arms this week warning of a …

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Amendment threatens stability of frack ban in Delaware River basin

Posted Friday, July 10, 2026 5:12 pm

Representative Bresnahan

PA-08 Representative Rob Bresnahan, who represents Wayne and Pike counties, is a co-sponsor of the "DRILL Now act." Bresnahan also serves on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

In March 2025, Bresnahan convened a roundtable with local pro-fracking industry figures, advocates and elected officials. Together with Lee Zeldin, newly appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they talked about the need to unleash the natural gas resources in the Delaware River Basin and throughout the country.

In a more recent letter to constituent Rose Biondi, shared on the community forum the Upper Delaware Community Network, Bresnahan spoke of the critical role of fracking in bringing energy prices down and supporting the area's economy.

"We must change the narrative on the vilification of domestic energy sources," Bresnahan wrote. "An all-of-the-above energy strategy, including natural gas, renewables like solar and wind, and advanced nuclear, is essential to ensuring a secure and sustainable energy future."

The DNR identified Bresnahan in its call to action as part of the impetus behind federal actions against the DRBC's fracking ban.

"This is a ramp-up of the frack attack we've been resisting since Rep. Rob Bresnahan began his efforts to overturn the fracking ban last year," wrote DRN. "His bill to undermine the DRBC, SRBC and Potomac River Commissions has gone nowhere so they are trying to sneak this amendment into the very popular WRDA, which always gets bipartisan and robust support."

By LIAM MAYO

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted in 2021 to ban hydraulic fracking throughout the Delaware River Basin, citing the potential for adverse impacts to surface and water resources. This regulation prohibits fracking in Wayne and Pike counties, PA, and in Sullivan County, NY; Sullivan County is also covered by New York's statewide ban on the practice.

The DRN raised the alarm about a potential amendment to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), proposed by PA-10 Representative Scott Perry, that would "strip the power of DRBC to enforce the ban on fracking that protects the Delaware River, our drinking water and our communities from the toxic contamination, polluted runoff and the depleted water uses fracking for fossil fuels would cause." According to DRN, the amendment could come up for a vote as soon as this Monday, July 12.

Perry introduced the "DRILL Now Act," H.R.1341, on February 13, 2025. The act would amend the WRDA to state that the DRBC, as well as the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, "may not finalize, implement or enforce any regulation relating to hydraulic fracking that is issued pursuant to any authority other than that of the state in which the regulation is to be implemented or enforced." Perry also introduced the "DRILL Now Act" in 2022 and in 2023.

Currently, the amendment is in the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Development, part of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The committee released the 2026 WRDA on Friday, June 26. As originally released, the text of the bill does not include Perry's amendment. The committee postponed a markup of the bill, originally scheduled for Wednesday, July 1, until further notice, according to its website.

Maya Van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper and head of the DRN, told the River Reporter that part of the problem is the structure of the amendment.

Currently, the amendment is in the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Development, part of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. If the amendment passes through the committee, it will become part of the broader WRDA, without the full House of Representatives getting the chance to vote on that amendment in isolation.

The House of Representatives is unlikely to vote down the entire WRDA based on one provision, said Van Rossum.

The DRN is rallying members of the public over the weekend to call their representatives, asking them to vote down the amendment.

"WRDA is supposed to be about advancing projects and studies carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," reads the DRN's release. "This proposed amendment would hijack WRDA in order to strip legal authority and protections that are totally unrelated."

The DRN has specifically targeted three members of the committee for outreach: NY-18 Representative Pat Ryan, NY-12 Representative Jerry Nadler and NJ-9 Representative Nellie Pou.

Van Rossum said that DRN has gotten a positive response back so far from Nadler. While he does not represent a district on the Delaware River, he represents NYC, which, while not located in the Delaware River watershed, takes water from the watershed.