Nineteen organizations from Pennsylvania and the Delaware River watershed, representing hundreds of thousands of members, signed and submitted a letter to Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R, PA-08) on April 2, hitting back against his remarks made at a meeting he organized in Wayne County with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and, according to a news account, “local pro-fracking industry figures, advocates and elected officials.” 

Bresnahan reiterated at a telephonic town hall he held last month that he wanted to lift the ban on fracking in the watershed. The ban was adopted in 2021 by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC).

Bresnahan claimed he has federal support for “unleashing energy dominance” and “natural gas extraction.” In a follow-up news item, he was reported to state, referring to Zeldin, “He was very excited to go into dialogue about possible solutions as well as the economic opportunity with the natural gas industry in the Delaware River Basin.” In answer to a question at his town hall phone call about “DRBC in their overreach on the gas drilling in Wayne and Pike counties,” Bresnahan responded, “I’m committed to reigning in bureaucratic groups like the DRBC.” 

The DRBC was not invited and did not attend the meeting.

The letter in response stated that:

“The Delaware River Basin Commissioners relied on science to clearly articulate their reasons for banning fracking in the basin in 2021. We read that representatives of the Commission were not at your meeting either. We recommend that you read its final rule, especially the section on findings and determinations.

“We were disappointed to see that no environmental advocates were invited to attend the meeting. They would have been able to explain that the science is settled that fracking cannot be done in a way that does not threaten the environment, human health and safety. They would have been able to provide you with a link to the “Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking and Associated Gas and Oil Infrastructure,” now in its ninth edition. The Compendium summarizes the thousands of peer-reviewed studies, reports, and investigations that provide the evidence of fracking’s dangers.”

The letter summarized and provided references to the impacts of fracking under seven different topics, explaining how fracking has negatively impacted human health, the environment and the economy, highlighting extensive evidence of harm to Pennsylvania.

The groups invited Bresnahan to tour regions impacted by fracking in northeastern Pennsylvania, specifically Dimock in Susquehanna County and in western Pennsylvania’s Washington County.

To download a copy of the letter submitted to Bresnahan, visit www.bit.ly/4iMfow9.

The organizations that signed the letter are (in alphabetical order): Berks Gas Truth, Better Path Coalition, Breathe Easy Susquehanna County, Bucks Environmental Action, Camp White Pine, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Climate Reality NEPA, Climate Reality Lehigh Valley PA, Concerned Health Professionals of Pennsylvania, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Food and Water Watch, Greenfire Coalition Writers’ Forum, McKean County Green Party, Move Past Plastic (MPP), NEPA Green Coalition, No False Climate Solutions PA, Patriots From The Oil & Gas Shales and Physicians for Social Responsibility of Pennsylvania.

Established in 1988 upon the appointment of the Delaware Riverkeeper, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization. DRN’s professional staff and volunteers work throughout the entire Delaware River Watershed.  We also work throughout the four states that comprise the Watershed — including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York — and at the federal level on the issues, actions, regulations, legislation, policies, programs and decisions that impact the health of our Delaware River Watershed waterways and our ability to protect and restore them for the benefit of all.