Letter to the editor of the Intelligencer

Drinking water trumps natural gas

To the Editor:

Nockamixon Township has taken an important step to protect its residents. The board of supervisors adopted a resolution calling for Congressional action to require hydraulic fracturing, used to extract natural gas, to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Why? Amazing as it may seem, this commonly used dangerous practice, which injects large amounts of water laced with chemicals, some of them toxic, into a well bore to release natural gas, is exempt from this environmental and public health law.

Several federal exemptions granted to gas and oil companies in the last decade have favored natural gas development over environmental protection. Pennsylvania issued new Marcellus Shale permit addendums last year to provide some oversight, but recently some of the new requirements have been relaxed, most notably, storm water management. And these special permits only apply to Marcellus and Utica shale, not the type of geology that underlies Nockamixon Township, leaving the township to fend for itself. They have fought in the courts to defend their right to control some aspects of gas drilling in the township and now they've taken another important step.

A new law may be introduced in Congress to overturn the hydraulic fracturing exemption and Nockamixon's resolution has been submitted to Rep. Patrick Murphy as support for that action. It is crucial that people tell our elected officials to restore effective environmental regulation of natural gas. The future of our water resources and the quality of the Delaware River and its tributaries depend on it. Go to www.delawareriverkeeper.org to take action.

Tracy Carluccio

Deputy Director

Delaware Riverkeeper Network

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/363/2009/may/31/drinking-water-trumps-natural-gas.html