Catskill Mountainkeeper Commends Governors’ Vote for Fracking Ban

Livingston Manor, NY – Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, along with the Governors of Delaware and Pennsylvania, comprising a majority of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), announced that they voted in favor of a resolution to issue draft regulations that will permanently ban hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in the Delaware River Basin. 

“A ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin is a tremendous step in the right direction, on an issue that we’ve been battling for years. We commend Governor Cuomo and the other Commissioners who voted in favor of this resolution. New York State banned high volume fracking because of the overwhelming scientific evidence of its threats – especially those to public health. And we support the governors' votes, which we see as the only course to protect our water, air, health and communities,” said Wes Gillingham, Associate Director, Catskill Mountainkeeper.  “Now we need to take the ban to its logical end—also protecting the Basin from fracking water withdrawals, waste storage, and gas storage,” he continued. 

Gillingham was at today’s “business meeting” of the DRBC and commented in support of a full ban while also calling on the Commission to ban water withdrawals, as well as wastewater and gas storage in the Basin.  Additionally, this past July, Catskill Mountainkeeper, along with Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, NRDC, and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network joined together at the “Million Dollar Staircase” in the State’s Capitol Building to deliver a petition to Governor Cuomo signed by over 60,000 people, all of whom are were calling for a ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin.