Northeast Pennsylvania offers many activities that center around our lakes and rivers. That might change if Congressman Rob Bresnahan, new EPA Director Lee Zeldin and Sen. Lisa Baker have their way. Their position is that the ban on fracking, in place since 2021, takes away the livelihood of people who live on the river who want to lease their land for fracking. What about the rest of us who use the Delaware River?

The Delaware River is an important recreational resource for those who live in the area. Millions take advantage of its resources, providing an estimated $25 billion benefit per year to the region, supporting over 600,000 jobs, contributing $10 billion in wages alone. The river provides drinking water to 17 million people and is tremendously important to those of us who live in its shadow. We don’t want this to change.

Fracking involves injecting water and chemicals into shale, causing it to crack and release natural gas. That water can contain chemicals such as benzene, diesel fuel, lead compounds, hydrofluoric acid and other dangerous compounds. The last can include carcinogens, corrosive acids and substances that can cause neurological impairment. Once introduced to the aquifer, it is essentially impossible to remove them. The economic effect is disastrous. Our health and property values will be greatly affected in addition to the many businesses like restaurants, hotels, specialty shops, etc. Many would likely cease to exist.

Congressman Bresnahan ran on putting his constituents first. Which constituents are he representing? Sen. Baker again has decided to join in on the fracking bandwagon. Does she represent everyone or just a small group of landowners who live along the river? What about those who disagree with a decision to frack because we don’t want to take the remote risk of contaminating our water and ruining the beauty and economic benefit of the Delaware River?

The Delaware River, once the most polluted waterway in the Northeast, has been designated the 2025 River of the Year. Before the 1960s, the river was an industrial dumping ground that affected the bird and fish population. In the l960s, an effort commenced to restore the health of the river. Now it has the designation of River of the Year once again. Congressman Bresnahan, Lee Zeldin and Sen. Lisa Baker want to risk our economy and our beautiful river in order to please the very few who want to frack.

Paul Creteau, a resident of Lakeville, PA for 34 years, is a retired mechanical engineer who owned a design consulting business called Business Smart LLC.