Proliferating pipelines “are a significant source of waterway degradation,” fifty-two groups from throughout the four-state Delaware River Basin (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware) point out in a letter urging the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to exercise jurisdiction over pipelines being constructed and proposed within the watershed.
The groups, including Protecting Our Waters, assert that the DRBC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, as well as the Delaware River Basin Compact itself, mean that pipelines should be subject to DRBC jurisdiction, docketing, and oversight.
The DRBC will meet this coming Wednesday, December 5th, in West Trenton, NJ: please come if you can. See Protecting Our Waters’ Action Alert here and Delaware Riverkeeper Network alert here.
Please sign this petition to help protect our communities, waterways, wildlife, and climate from pipeline proliferation.
We worry about more than water. Pipelines leak methane, a greenhouse gas 105 times more potent than CO2 in its climate impact over a 20-year period, at a rate of 7 to 9%, according to the Pipeline Safety Coalition. Fracked gas pipelines also mean more compressor stations, which create smog and release hazardous air emissions, leading to increases in lung disease and other health impacts.