Sample Letters for the DRBC

In response to public pressure, the Delaware River Basin Commission has extended the public comment period on its proposed gas extraction regulations until April 15th. It is crucial that we take advantage of this opportunity and let the DRBC understand that promulgating drilling regulations without scientific research poses an unacceptable risk to the public.

If you haven’t already contacted the DRBC, please write them today. You can either use our talking points to craft a letter of your own, or utilize one or more of five sample letters provided here. (Use the letters as written, or rewrite them and make them your own. If you sign the letter and submit it to us online, we’ll print it out and mail it for you.)

Each of our sample letters addresses a specific flaw in the proposed regulations. Please click on one or all of the letters below to view and customize the text before sending to the Delaware River Basin Commission:

“APPROVAL BY RULE” – This shortcut would allow drilling activities to proceed without being subjected to the regular approval process and without public scrutiny.

CUMULATIVE IMPACT – The DRBC is promulgating drilling regulations without having conducted a cumulative impact study to see how shale gas extraction will affect our drinking water.

POISONOUS CHEMICALS – We know that shale gas extraction relies on the use of toxic chemicals such as carcinogens and neurotoxins, yet the proposed DRBC regulations don’t prohibit the use of any of these substances. In fact the regulations don’t even require regular testing to ensure that water resources are not being contaminated.

SETBACKS – The regulations require that drilling operations be kept a mere 500 feet from rivers, streams, wetlands and water supplies, but the proposed setbacks don’t take into account the long horizontal legs of the drilling process.

WASTEWATER DISPOSAL – The gas drilling industry doesn’t know how to safely dispose of the billions of gallons of poisonous, radioactive wastewater that will be produced by fracking in the Delaware River Basin. The solution proposed by the DRBC? Dump it somewhere else!