JOSH FOX’S STATEMENT TO THE DRBC AND PRESIDENT OBAMA

“It is unthinkable, reprehensible and indefensible for the Delaware River Basin Commission to issue regulations that would allow for large scale fracking in the Delaware River Basin. It is an act that betrays the DRBC’s mission to protect the Delaware River, the source of drinking water for 15 million people, and borders on the criminally negligent.  This is truly a “watershed” moment for President Obama as it is becoming clearer that the administration will have the deciding vote on the issue.

What is striking is that President Obama has done nothing to prevent these regulations from being issued in the first place. If President Obama continues down this road and votes to frack the Delaware, he will do it with the world watching and the civil strife and contamination that will result will forever mar his legacy.  Clearly, both the Obama Administration and the DRBC are not listening to the unprecedented numbers that came out against their draft regulations and are kowtowing to big gas in what amounts to a sellout of our public resources for the private gain of the multinational corporations that pollute and contaminate and the banks that finance them.

If anyone needed evidence that our public commissions are bowing to the pressure of big business and that the fundamental principles of the democratic process in America is in trouble, this is it.  There is no public comment on this disastrous plan to allow big gas to take over the river basin which will force the huge numbers of people opposed to this plan into the streets to protest. Along with dozens of national and local organizations I am calling upon the Obama Administration and the Governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania to unequivocally reject this proposal and ban fracking in the Delaware River Basin and I am calling upon citizens to come out and protest this motion to forever industrialize and contaminate the watershed on November 21st at the DRBC’s meeting in Trenton, NJ.”

Please see my video on the subject:

Josh Fox-

Director, GASLAND

Resident of Milanville, PA within the Delaware River Basin

Safe Water for Millions of Families? Nov. 21 Determines That

November 21 is an important day for Delaware River communities, for the citizens/families of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware, and for the future of our country. “Wow, that’s a big day? What could possibly be happening?” you might be asking.

November 21, in Trenton, NJ, the Governors of the four states and a representative for the President will decide how much they value life – or whether they value corporations and political contributions more. On November 21 they will be voting whether to open the Delaware River watershed up to gas drilling or not.

Contrary to the slick marketing campaigns of the shale gas companies, drilling makes communities sick.

The drilling and blasting used to get the gas, consumes, permanently, billions of gallons of our finite freshwater, locking it underground and poisoning it with dangerous toxins such as arsenic, lead, mercury, benzene, m,p-Xylene, barium, chromium, radium, and strontium.. The drilling, blasting and fracking release benzene, toluene, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, lung-irritating particulates, volatile organics and more into the air we breathe.

In just a three month period this year Pennsylvania papers reported an explosion in a water well that forced a family from their home because of nearby drilling; drinking water wells for three homes in one community and 7 homes in another community contaminated because of drilling, as well as methane bubbling up through the Susquehanna River; a driller fined for an hydraulic oil spill that polluted the soil, and another company fined for discharging drilling poisons into two high quality creeks; two workers injured in an explosion at a gas drilling site; a blowout at a well site dumping thousands of gallons of drilling waste on farm lands, into creeks and forcing 7 families to evacuate. During this same period Cornell University published a report documenting that fracking contributes to global warming as much, or even more, than coal and Duke University published a paper analyzing the increased contamination found in groundwater of homes located near drilling rigs.

Mothers, fathers, doctors are coming out talking about their children that have been harmed by drilling– children suffering nose bleeds, headaches, high levels of dangerous substances in their blood. The stories are heart wrenching. Government is supposed to protect the people. On November 21 there is an opportunity to protect from gas drilling the 15 million people who drink Delaware River water, and the millions who breathe the air, eat the fish, and feed from the lands in the River’s watershed. Learn more at  www.delawareriverkeeper.org

Established in 1988 upon the appointment of the Delaware Riverkeeper, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization. DRN’s professional staff and volunteers work throughout the entire Delaware River Watershed including portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. DRN’s staff and very active volunteers have a breadth of knowledge about the environment as well as expertise specific to rivers and watersheds. DRN provides effective environmental advocacy, volunteer monitoring programs, stream restoration projects and public education. In addition, DRN goes to court when necessary to ensure enforcement of environmental safety laws.

SIGN UP!  ATTEND THE MEETING IN ON NOVEMBER 21ST IN TRENTON AND CONSIDER ATTENDING THE PEACEFUL NON VIOLENT ACTION TRAINING THE NIGHT BEFORE HERE.

Josh Fox and Matt Sanchez have created this video because the Delaware River Basin is in severe danger. The Delaware River Basin Commission will vote onNovember 21st on regulations that would permit over 20,000 gas wells in the river basin. Now is the time to act!

Protect the Delaware River Watershed from pollution created by toxic gas drilling. The Delaware River Basin, an intergovernmental body, is about to move forward with regulations to permit fracking.  This is a public health hazard and we cannot let this occur!

Three things you can do:

1) Call the Governors and President Obama TODAY and tell them Don’t Drill the Delaware, and Don’t approve ANY regulations to permit fracking!

1. Governor Christie’s office  – 609-292-6000
2. Governor Cuomo’s office – 518-474-8390
3. Gov Corbett’s office – 717-787-2500
4. Gov Markell’s Wilmington Office – 302-577-3210
5. And the white house comment line is 202-456-1111

2) Come to the DRBC meeting!

When: November 21, 8 am,

Where: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J. Coming from another location? 

Bus sign up HERE.

Sign up for email updates HERE.

3) Delaware Riverkeeper Network will host a training session in lawful, peaceful, first amendment activity.  For more information, Click HERE.

Questions: savethedelawareriver@gmail.com and/or continue to check back. The members of the DRBC – the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware and the Army Corps of Engineers as the federal representative – will decide the future of this Watershed, the Wild and Scenic Delaware River, and the water supply for over 15 million people with their action on November 21. How can they allow drilling and fracking to start with weak regulations that don’t protect our drinking water and our watersheds? We need to tell them “Don’t Drill the Delaware!” Keep checking back for updates and go to: www.delawareriverkeeper.org and our other supporting organizations.

DRBC MEETING HAS CHANGED

For Immediate Release
October 7, 2011

Vote on Gas Drilling and Fracking Postponed by Delaware River Basin Commission
to November 21, 2011

The Public Voice Is Being Heard
West Trenton, NJ – The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) announced today that it is postponing the public meeting scheduled for October 21 where a decision on natural gas drilling and fracking in the Delaware River Watershed is anticipated. The DRBC stated in a press
announcement (http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/newsrel_naturalgas100711.htm) that natural gas development regulations will now be considered by the agency at a public meeting set for 10:00 am to  12:00 pm, November 21 at the Trenton War Memorial. The approval of gas drilling regulations will mean the lifting of the current drilling moratorium in the Delaware River Watershed. The voting members of the DRBC – Governor Andrew Cuomo (NY), Governor Chris Christie (NJ), Governor Jack Markell (DE), and Governor Tom Corbett (PA), as the Governors of the four states that drain to the Delaware River and Colonel Christopher Larsen of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the federal representative – have been receiving a barrage of letters and phone calls over the past month since the October 21 meeting was set, including a virtual march on the DRBC through social media. President Barack Obama as the elected federal official has also been receiving the communications. Thousands are expected to attend the DRBC Meeting to protest the  commencement of gas drilling, traveling from throughout the 13,000 square mile basin, including buses from as far as 5 hours away. Public debate has raged over the past 3 years in the Watershed  because the DRBC has not done comprehensive environmental analyses to assess the immediate and cumulative impacts of natural gas development on the water resources of the Delaware River Basin, the sole water supply for over 15 million people, including New York City, Philadelphia and large populations in all four watershed states.
“People are speaking clearly and with one voice saying “Don’t Drill the Delaware” and perhaps the voting members of the DRBC have paused because of this strong outpouring. It is crucial that the members who will cast this vote are painfully aware that the public cares profoundly about the ramifications of gas development on drinking water, the Basin’s communities and the economic viability and health of the Watershed’s resources. Perhaps this postponement will result in deep consideration by these members and they’ll realize gas drilling should not commence”, said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper.

“With this delay we now have more time to fight and protect the Delaware River Basin. We have an opportunity now to continue to pressure our elected official to ban fracking in New Jersey and keep the moratorium in place. We can determine whether we can protect the Delaware River Basin and have clean drinking water for future generations by coming out to this meeting and showing the DRBC our opposition. Together we can not only protect the Delaware River Basin, but we can have a much cleaner, greener future. We must stop these rules and ban fracking”, said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

“As public backlash against fracking gains speed, the Delaware River Basin Commission’s decision to delay their vote on whether to open the Delaware River Basin to the process clearly indicates that the movement to ban fracking is swaying policymakers. We suspect that the commission’s motive for moving its vote to a holiday week may actually be an attempt to preclude the public from attending this historic meeting. Not only is the timing of the new vote terrible, but we feel strongly that the commission should not be voting to move forward with fracking. Instead, it should protect the drinking water of 15 million Americans by banning this dangerous practice in this critical watershed” said Jim Walsh, Eastern Region Director for Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization who is calling for a national ban on fracking.

The DRBC announced that it intends “to publish the modified draft regulations on the DRBC web site (www.drbc.net) two weeks in advance of the expected vote by the commissioners. This web posting, planned for November 7, will be for informational purposes only since comments will not be accepted”.
For more information on gas drilling go to www.delawareriverkeeper.org
###

http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/newsrel_naturalgas100711.html

SAVE THE DELAWARE!

PLEASE TAKE NOTE:  THE  DRBC HAS POSTPONED ITS MEETING UNTIL NOVEMBER 21ST.

Josh Fox and Matt Sanchez have created this video because the Delaware River Basin is in severe danger. The Delaware River Basin Commission will vote on October 21st on regulations that would permit over 20,000 gas wells in the river basin. Now is the time to act!

Protect the Delaware River Watershed from pollution created by toxic gas drilling. The Delaware River Basin, an intergovernmental body, is about to move forward with regulations to permit fracking.  This is a public health hazard and we cannot let this occur!

Three things you can do:

1) Call the Governors and President Obama TODAY and tell them Don’t Drill the Delaware, and Don’t approve ANY regulations to permit fracking!

1. Governor Christie’s office  – 609-292-6000
2. Governor Cuomo’s office – 518-474-8390
3. Gov Corbett’s office – 717-787-2500
4. Gov Markell’s Wilmington Office – 302-577-3210
5. And the white house comment line is 202-456-1111

2) Come to the DRBC meeting!

When: November 21, 8 am

Where: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J.

Coming from another location?  Bus sign up HERE.

Sign up for email updates HERE.

3) Delaware Riverkeeper Network will host a training session in lawful, peaceful, first amendment activity.  For more information, Click HERE.

Questions:  savethedelaware@gmail.com and/or continue to check back.

The members of the DRBC – the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware and the Army Corps of Engineers as the federal representative – will decide the future of this Watershed, the Wild and Scenic Delaware River, and the water supply for over 15 million people with their action on November 21. How can they allow drilling and fracking to start with weak regulations that don’t protect our drinking water and our watersheds? We need to tell them “Don’t Drill the Delaware!”

Keep checking back for updates and go to:

www.delawareriverkeeper.org and our other supporting organizations.

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