July 25: March and Press Conference Against Fracking in the Delaware Valley!

We are gathering on Tuesday to send a message to the Governor and the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to ban fracking permanently in the Delaware Valley. We will hold a press conference followed by a march to deliver tens of thousands of petitions. Recently, signals from the DRBC staff have raised alarm bells that the Commission may be taking steps to adopt regulations and lift the current moratorium. We must keep public opposition strong against fracking and urge voting members – the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, representing the Basin states, and the Army Corps of Engineers, representing the federal government to make the ban permanent. Without a permanent fracking ban, residents in the Delaware River Basin could be faced with well pads, compressor stations, drilling rigs, and countless miles of pipeline construction.

“The Delaware River is at risk from fracking and we’re calling for a permanent ban to protect it. We’re bringing tens of thousands of petitions calling for a this ban in Trenton to Governor Christie. We need our Governors and DRBC Commissioners to stand up and protect our Valley. This environmentally sensitive area supplies clean drinking water for more than 17 million people. The region is being threatened by fossil fuels through fracking and pipelines and we must stand against these projects. That is why we are demanding the DRBC put a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Given the change in Administrations at the federal level, it is more important than ever that we protect our resources. With Donald Trump as President, all of this environmental progress could be rolled back. That is why we are urging the Commission to defend the Delaware and uphold all of these protections by making the fracking ban permanent. We want to thank Phil Murphy for supporting this important cause and working to protect our region.”

WHO: New Jersey Sierra Club, Delaware Riverkeeper Network and other environmental groups

WHEN: Tuesday, July 25^th: press conference at 12:00 pm, noon. Petition delivery will be at 12:30 PM.

WHERE: We will meet at the Statehouse Annex at 125 W State St #2, Trenton, NJ 08608 and then march to 225 W State St, Trenton, NJ 08608.

Around five years ago, there was a proposal to lift the moratorium and adopt weak rules on fracking. When the moratorium was put in place, there were plans for more than 10,000 fracking wells in the Delaware River Basin. Fracking would require hundreds of billions of gallons of water pumped underground with toxic chemicals. These fracking fluids would destroy our pristine streams and cause the loss of tens of thousands of acres of forests. Our forests would be even more fractured by increased pipelines with hundreds of new proposals in the region. This would destroy the basin turning the Delaware River Valley into Oklahoma.

Contact:  Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100