A multistate agency that has spent years developing regulations for natural gas drilling in the Delaware River watershed abruptly canceled a key vote scheduled for Monday after two members announced their opposition.
The Delaware River Basin Commission said Friday it was postponing a vote on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to give the agency’s five commissioners more time to review the draft regulations.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said the commissioners failed to agree.
The DRBC said no new date had been set.
“Pennsylvania is ready to move forward now,” Corbett said in a statement released Friday. “We have demonstrated a willingness to compromise and to address issues brought forth by other members of the commission. We have worked with our commission partners in good faith, and it is disappointing to not have these efforts reciprocated.”
But New York’s Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, said an environmental risk-assessment is needed to win public confidence and ensure that the commission’s actions are based on science.
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