Delay of vote on Delaware Basin drilling shows Obama administration in another political bind

The Obama administration is again caught between environmental and energy interests, much as it was during debate over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in the Midwest. The latest rock-and-a-hard-place situation is in New York and Pennsylvania, where a vote to allow natural gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin was postponed Monday. The administration controls the tie-breaking vote on the Delaware River Basin Commission, which consists of governors from Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. It controls decisions about development in the river basin, and the four governors are split on the issue. (New York Times map)

Drilling has been on hold while regulations were being written, reports Mike Soraghan of Environment & Energy News. When they are decided, drilling can start. Proponents promise jobs and economic development, but environmentalists want the commission to conduct a "cumulative impact statement" before approving the rules, which could delay drilling for a year. Soraghan reports that no reason was given for the delay in the vote on regulations, but it suggests the commission wouldn't have gotten a majority vote to begin drilling. The administration's position on the matter is not clear.

The Delaware River Basin provides drinking water to 5 percent of the U.S. population, including Philadelphia and New York City. The proposed rules would allow 300 wells to be drilled in the 13,539-square-mile area. Soraghan reports the Army Corps of Engineers, which is representing the administration, is relying on consultations with staffers and other federal agencies to make its decision. The delay was praised by some lawmakers in Northeast states who had called for a delay so more research could be conducted on drilling and hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shake and other deep deposits. It was criticized by those who said the delay was "driven more by politics than sound science." (Read more)

Journalists across the Northeast have covered this issue extensively. Bob Jordan of the Parsippany, N.J., Daily Record reports that commission support for drilling has eroded and "fallen apart." Sandy Bauers of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports about drilling protests in Trenton, N.J., where more than 800 people celebrated the decision to delay the vote. In a magazine story highlighting Pennsylvania's struggles with natural gas drilling, "The Fracturing of Pennsylvania," Eliza Griswold of The New York Times puts a human face on the controversy surrounding natural gas well drilling in the region.