Corbett Urges Delaware River Basin Commission to End Moratorium
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett recently sent a letter to the Delaware River Basin Commission urging the Commission to end a three-year moratorium on hydraulically fractured wells. Corbett reportedly wrote that “[o]perators interested in developing natural gas have closed offices and laid off employees, lease payments have been withheld . . . and communities have watched their neighbors outside the basin benefit tremendously.” The Delaware River Basin Commission governs water quality in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. The Commission released proposed rules addressing oil and gas activity in the Basin but these have yet to be finalized. A vote on the proposed rules was scheduled in November 2011, but was cancelled when Delaware Governor Jack Markell withdrew his support and New York expressed that it wanted to complete its own environmental and health studies, which are still ongoing.