The Delaware River Basin Commission heard its first public comments on the proposal to ban fracking in the watershed this week in Wayne County and Philadelphia. If the DRBC approves the proposal, it would cement a current de-facto moratorium on drilling. But it remains controversial.
The hearings this week were calm compared to years past, when commissioners from the DRBC would brace themselves for disruptions and protests and a war of words would break out between Delaware and Pennsylvania state officials. This time around, the commissioners were not present, and in their place, a lone moderator called for civility.