Natural Gas Drilling Comments Due Today

With a deadline looming, Buckingham Township resident Ginnie Preston again asked township supervisors to ask the Delaware River Basin Commission to continue its moratorium on “fracking” until more regulations are in place.

In the end, she had the full backing of one, partial support of another and none from the third.

The deadline for public comment on the basin commission's natural gas development regulations is the end of the day - 11:59 p.m. - today.

To submit comments electronically, click here.

Last month, Preston appeared before Buckingham supervisors asking them to sign a petition that would be forwarded to the DRBC. She also encouraged them to draft a resolution of their intent and send it to local and state government officials.

Supervisor Henry Rowan threw his support behind the petition that night, saying it was an issue about which all municipalities should be concerned.

Hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” is a method used to extract natural gas from the ground by drilling deep wells and then pumping water, sand and chemicals, under high pressure, into the wells. The pressure fractures the underground shale and creates fissures that enable natural gas to flow more easily out of the well.

Supporters argue that the extracted natural gas can serve as an alternative, relatively inexpensive source of energy.

Critics say not enough studies have been done on the procedure and its effects on the environment, especially how it would impact both the supply of and quality of nearby sources of drinking water.

At the last meeting, Vice Chairman Maggie Rash asked Preston to provide her with more information on the subject. This week, Rash told Preston she would write a letter to the DRBC but as an individual – not as a municipal figure.

“I was really inspired by talking to you,” Rash said, “but I’m not signing as a township supervisor – I don’t think it’s relevant.”

Supervisor Chairman Jon Forest, who didn’t endorse the effort, wasn’t swayed by materials he received from Preston.

Landfills - two of which are located in Lower Bucks - are frequent targets of critics pointing to environmental causes for concern, said Forest. “Where do you draw the line? When will you come to us and ask us to stop landfills? It has nothing to do with governing Buckingham Township.”

Preston chastised Forest for being insular.

“We can’t take chances with our resources,” said Preston, who’s also a member of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. “It is a moral issue; it is a human rights issue. Our job here … is to be a steward for our planet.”

More than 4,300 hydraulic fracturing wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania since 2004, according to the Riverkeeper Network, and the state has issued permits for thousands more.

To learn more about fracking, check out ProPublica's investigation "Buried Secrets: Gas Drilling's Environmental Threat."