Regulators limit fracking waste in Delaware River watershed

A regulatory agency responsible for the water supply of more than 13 million people in four Northeastern states says it is banning gas drillers from dumping fracking wastewater in its watershed.

The Delaware River Basin Commission approved regulations Wednesday meant to restrict the gas industry’s ability to draw water from the river and its tributaries for hydraulic fracturing outside the region. It is also limiting disposal of fracking wastewater within the Delaware watershed.

The Delaware and its tributaries supply drinking water to Philadelphia and half the population of New York City.

PHOTO INFO- The Philadelphia side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge spanning the Delaware River is pictured on Feb. 10, 2021. On Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, the Delaware River Basin Commission, a regulatory agency responsible for the water supply of more than 13 million people in four Northeastern states, moved to ban gas drillers from dumping fracking wastewater in the Delaware River watershed and to make it difficult for them to take fresh water out. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

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