A commission that oversees water quality for the watershed that supplies Philadelphia and half of New York City with drinking water took another step on 30 November toward permanently banning natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, despite industry opposition.
The Delaware River Basin Commission’s newly published draft regulations would enact a formal ban on hydraulic fracturing, as well as put additional restrictions to make it harder, if not impossible, for the industry to dispose wastewater within the watershed or use water from the river and its tributaries for hydraulic fracturing outside the basin.
It scheduled four hearings in January and a public comment period through 28 February, with a final vote possible next year. The area supplies drinking water to 15 million people.