Fracking Ban in Delaware River Watershed Survives GOP Challenge

July 23, 2026 | njspotlightnews.org

A Republican-led effort to end the Delaware River Basin’s fracking ban fell short after an amendment to the federal Water Resources Development Act was not brought before a congressional committee.

The amendment, authored by Rep. Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, would have stripped the Delaware River Basin Commission, an interstate regulator, of its authority to stop hydraulic fracturing in the 330 mile-long watershed from upstate New York to the mouth of the Delaware Bay. The region supplies drinking water to millions of people.

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NJ SEED: An estimated $40 billion in natural gas in the Delaware River watershed is enticing, however, Delaware River commissions in three states have the responsibility to see that drinking water is safe. Defeat of the amendment preserves their authority.