NJ Environmental Federation with

Gasland producer Josh Fox at the

"Don't Drill the Delaware Day" rally

and protest in Trenton on 11/21

Thanks to an outpouring of opposition, the DRBC canceled a meeting and vote to decide on whether to allow oil and gas companies to engage in a dangerous technique called 'hydraulic fracturing' in the Delaware River basin.

That's a huge victory against drilling companies that were bent on poisoning the drinking water for millions of people -- including many New Jerseyans.

This is a big win, but the fight's not over. Fracking devastation is still happening in the Marcellus Shale region and nationwide and the vote could be rescheduled, so we need to keep up the pressure. 

NJ Environmental Federation joined Clean Water Action Pennsylvania and almost 1,000 others on Monday, Nov. 21 for a massive rally at the War Memorial in Trenton to send a strong message to President Obama, NJ Governor Christie, NJ Legislators, PA Governor Corbett and Congressional Representatives and Senators in Washington that we will not allow big energy to frack in the Delaware River basin. We also urged our political leaders to conduct more cumulative and environmental impact studies on hydraulic fracturing since the process is still devastating communities nationwide. To view photos of the event, click here.

Call to Action!

• Tell President Obama and Governor Christie not to let big energy frack in the Delaware River basin and to conduct more cumulative and environmental impact studies on the fracking process.
• Ask Congressional Representatives and Senators in Washington to pass the FRAC Act: (HR 1084/S 587) to require the gas industry to publicly tell us what chemicals they use in fracking; make fracking regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and allow doctors to find out about fracking chemicals in case of an emergency. FRAC is currently stalled in both the House and the Senate.
• Ask New Jersey legislators to protect NJ's drinking water by voting YES to override Governor Christie's veto of S2576, which would ban the practice of fracking in New Jersey. 

The Dangers of Fracking

Hydrofracturing aka fracking (drilling for natural gas) involves blasting water, chemicals and sand deep into underground rock formations to unlock the natural gas they contain. The process creates millions of gallons of wastewater that can contaminate ground and surface water supplies. The risks to our water and our health are greater than industry admits.

POLLUTED DRINKING WATER

A recent study has linked natural gas drilling and fracking with a pattern of drinking water contamination so severe that some faucets can be lit on fire. The Delaware River Basin provides drinking water for 15 million people, including 3 million New Jerseyans. 

Fracking uses a toxic chemical cocktail known as fracking fluid. Companies using fracking fluid have resisted disclosing the contents of fracking fluid, claiming the information is proprietary. However, samples from well sites indicate that the fluid contains: formaldehyde, benzene, acetic, citric and boric acids, among hundreds of other toxic contaminants.

It has recently come to light that, despite the illegality of the action, companies have been caught using diesel fuel in the fracking fluid.

REMOVAL OF MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF PRECIOUS FRESHWATER FROM THE WATER CYCLE

Each well uses between two and five million gallons of locally-sourced freshwater which will be permanently contaminated by ground contaminants and toxic chemicals contained in the fracking fluid.

About half of this water returns to the surface, where it is stored in steel containers until it can be injected deep underground in oil and gas waste wells.

No one is entirely sure what happens to the other half of the water used in the process. Our best guess is that the water remains underground, though there are indications that at least some of this toxic cocktail makes its way back into the water supply.

A WIDE RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Many states have reported surface, ground, and drinking water contamination due to fracking.

In Pennsylvania, over 1,400 environmental violations have been attributed to deep gas wells utilizing fracking practices.

Pollution from truck traffic, chemical contamination around storage tanks, habitat fragmentation and damage from drilling to environmentally sensitive areas are all related to fracking. 

For More Information

Contact Jenny Vickers at 732-280-8988 or jvickers@cleanwater.org