SC Urges Governor Murphy: Protect Our Drinking Water, Ban Fracking!

The New Jersey Sierra Club and other environmental groups are urging the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for a complete ban on fracking including the dumping of fracking waste. Over 100,000 petitions have been collected calling on the DRBC for a full ban and will be delivered to Governor Murphy.  Representatives of the New Jersey groups that collected the signatures will hand deliver the petitions to Governor Murphy’s office after the conclusion of the event. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club released the following statement.

“We need Governor Murphy to stand up to fracking and lead the fight for a complete ban in the Basin. We need a full fracking ban including not allowing dumping fracking waste or taking water for fracking activities elsewhere. Having a partial ban that actually allows the dumping of fracking waste still puts the drinking water and environment of the Basin at risk. This could lead to pollution and contaminated drinking water for tens of millions of people. Over 100,000 people have signed petitions asking Murphy to stand strong against fracking. It is time that he listens!

“The DRBC needs to make sure the Basin doesn’t turn into toxic dumping ground by implementing a fracking ban that includes banning fracking waste. Dumping fracking wastewater is dangerous because it contains over 600 different toxic chemicals, many of them carcinogenic. A study of fracking wastewater disposed of in rivers and streams found that chemical contaminants in the waste were transformed into more toxic substances when they chemically reacted with chlorinated compounds discharged from downstream drinking water treatment plants. What’s even worse it that our waste treatment plants are not designed to treat fracking waste. Our Water filtration plants can filter fracking wastewater either.”

“The Delaware River Basin Commission current proposal to ban fracking still allows fracking waste in the Delaware Basin, creating incentive for Elcon to be built. We could see the treated waste from the facility being dumped right on top of our drinking water sources. This could lead to pollution and contaminated drinking water.  The air and water pollution from this hazardous waste facility will come across the River right into our towns and communities. If there is a spill or a leak, our drinking water would be impacted for millions of people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The facility would directly threaten three different water supply intakes: Trenton, Delran, and Philadelphia.

“Governor Murphy came out a year ago for a full ban while he was running for Governor. When he first came into office, he sent a letter to the DRBC calling for a full ban but since that time his staff has vacillated. When asked about it, Murphy’s staff said it was still under study.  The people of the Delaware River Valley want to be protected from all forms of fracking, including the contaminated waste that comes from it. Having a partial ban that actually allows the dumping of fracking waste still puts the drinking water and environment of the Basin at risk. There is overwhelming data on the damage and destruction fracking will do to our environment and our health. That is why it is critical that the DRBC approve a full fracking ban that includes no dumping of fracking waste or taking of water for fracking purposes.”