DELAWARE RIVER VALLEY, NY & PA — An emergent threat to the ban on fracking along the Delaware River may be no longer an issue, as the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) has passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee without including an amendment targeting the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). 

The DRBC banned fracking throughout the Delaware River in 2021, 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 State's statewide ban on the practice. 

PA-10 Representative Scott Perry introduced H.R.1341, the DRILL Now Act, on February 13, 2025. That bill proposed to amend WRDA to prohibit the DRBC, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin from implementing or enforcing any regulation relating to hydraulic fracturing, except through the authority of the state in which the regulation is to be implemented or enforced. 

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure took up the WRDA for a mark-up session on Tuesday, July 14, which would have provided an opportunity for the bill to be adopted. The DRBC told the River Reporter that Perry's bill was not offered, and that WRDA passed out of committee without that amendment being included. 

"Our understanding is the House still intends to consider WRDA 2026 under a suspension of rules, meaning that no further amendments would be offered and preserving the status quo in the Mid-Atlantic river basin, but that may be subject to change," said the DRBC. "Currently neither the rules committee nor the full House has any action noticed on this bill."

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which initially raised the alarm about Perry's amendment late last week, concurred with the DRBC's tracking. 

"This work? This is an amazing success," head of the DRN and Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum told the River Reporter. "And I have no doubt that the tremendous mobilization of all of the advocates, organizations and every day people who care about our river, communities, region, nation and planet are largely responsible for this success."

"We made clear to the members of congress that the DRBC frack ban was critical for protecting our communities, was based on sound science and the reality of devastation we can see playing out elsewhere in the region and nation when fracking for fossil fuels happens," she said. 

Storm warnings

The passage of the WRDA sans Perry amendment leaves in the wind the potential of a threat to the DRBC's fracking ban. The story around this amendment has taken place in a federal context that's increasingly friendly for the fossil fuel industry. 

In 2025, PA-08 Rep. Rob Bresnahan brought EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to the district to meet with pro-fracking industry figures, elected officials and advocates. Together, they talked about the need to unleash natural gas resources in the Delaware River Basin and throughout the country. 

Bresnahan introduced a bill in June 2025, the Mid-Atlantic River Basin Commissions Review Act, calling on the federal General Accounting Office to review the workings of the three commissions also named in Perry's bill. That bill passed the house, but has not passed the senate. 

Since then, little outward action has been taken. In a recent letter to a constituent, shared on the Upper Delaware Community Network, Bresnahan emphasized the economic necessity of natural gas, writing, "I remain committed to commonsense, science-based energy policy that keeps costs down and strengthens our economy without compromising our environment." A news inquiry to Bresnahan's office remains pending as of initial publication of this story. 

PA State Representative Jonathan Fritz, who represents parts of Wayne and Susquehanna Counties, posted on Facebook on April 20 regarding a meeting with Senator Dave McCormick. Fritz said they had met to discuss the DRBC's "unfair treatment" of regional landowners.

"The DRBC, primarily funded and led by private interests that oppose industry and fossil fuels, has stripped property owners of their property rights and denied them economic opportunity," wrote Fritz. "I am happy to announce a partnership is being formed with Sen. McCormick and other federal leaders to seek a remedy. Stay tuned…"

The DRBC is an interstate commission comprised of the four states with land in the Delaware River Basin (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware) and the federal government. Each member has a vote in the committee's actions. All four states voted to ban fracking; the federal representative abstained, due to the timing of the vote early in 2021 and the need to coordinate with the incoming Biden administration. 

The DRBC emphasized in its statement on Perry's amendment that its actions in banning fracking helped all water users along the river, including power plants that draw water from the river for energy generation purposes. The proposal to strip the DRBC of the ability to regulate fracking "could give favorable status to one industry above all others including public water supply, energy generation, agriculture and more," wrote the DRBC. 

Tom Shepstone, a land-use consultant and consistent pro-fracking advocate, told the River Reporter that statement mischaracterized the DRBC's fracking ban. Every other industry follows the same set of regulations from the DRBC, Shepstone said; only fracking faces an outright ban, whether or not it follows the DRBC's overall regulations.

Shepstone said that, while the Perry amendment may not go anywhere, it's not the only thing that's going to be a challenge to the DRBC. There are other "rumblings" and things in the works he can't talk about at this point in time, he said. 

"I really think they're running scared," he said. "And I hope they are."