Susquehanna:$6.15M - Delaware:Priceless

Two ancient rivers, two separate outcomes.

On Wednesday, the Delaware River Basin Commission voted to suspend issuing permits for natural gas drilling in the Delaware's watershed, or, in other words, issued a moratorium on all drilling until further notice.

"We're looking at things that have happened to the west of us and what needs to be put in place to prevent that," Collier said. "We're learning a lot, and we want to do it right."

This is a major victory for those fighting to protect that river. Read the rest of the article here.

For those geographically challenged folks out there, "west of us" is the Susquehanna River watershed. On Monday, our DCNR signed an agreement with Chesapeake Energy Corp. to allow drilling under the Susquehanna River in Bradford County. All for $6.15 million. This statement by the DEP gives me a great deal of confidence:

The state Department of Environmental Protection says that under-river gas exploration poses no more risk than any of the 1,400 other wells drilled into the Marcellus formation, which is a mile below the surface.

You mean...like in Dimock? Read it and weep here.

As stated in my last post, I know what lies ahead for much of northeastern PA. A few weeks back, a friend asked me to, in essence, take it easy on the DCNR because they were on "our" side. I wonder how he feels now?

To the north, New York currently has a moratorium on all drilling in Marcellus Shale. To the east, the same applies in the Delaware's watershed.  But my Susquehanna....

I was not the first to use this term, and I will not be the last.

We are at war to protect our environment, and the DCNR & DEP are on their side.

That new blogger - Fracking Underground - has it right.

The gloves have got to come off.