After quietly developing and circulating an amendment that would have removed the Delaware River ban on fracking and other protections from the industry, in the end, Rep. Perry did not offer the amendment during markup at the July 14 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
WRDA was approved unanimously by the Committee without Perry’s amendment and will now go before the House of Representatives for consideration.
The introduction of the Perry Amendment on June 29 spurred an outpouring of public opposition to this attempt to hijack the WRDA process for a biased, pro-fossil fuel, political agenda.
Delaware Riverkeeper Network sounded the alarm with an action alert for calls to be made to House Representatives who serve on the Transportation Committee and whose districts rely on drinking water from the Delaware River.
Organizations and individuals from throughout the region responding quickly, shared the alert, and made calls, leading to a flood of concerned people making calls to congressional representatives.
The outpouring of public opposition galvanized opposition to the amendment among Committee members. The public action reached its peak on July 14 when the Transportation Committee met for markup of the bill.
“This is an amazing success. And I have no doubt that the tremendous mobilization of all of the advocates, organizations and everyday people who care about our River, communities, region, nation and planet are largely responsible for this success,” said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper.
“We saw amazing and swift action in response to the call for action to call our House Representatives. People got on the phone with legislators and one another right away!
“We made clear to the members of Congress that the DRBC frack ban was critical for protecting our communities, was based on sound science and was critical for avoiding the devastation we can see playing out elsewhere in the region and nation when fracking for fossil fuels happens.
“It’s time for Congress to focus on making clean energy progress and stop cow towing to the fossil fuel industry that cares only about their greedy selves.
“This was not just an attack on our communities and environment, but it was an underhanded effort to misappropriate WRDA in order to strip the authority of an independent government agency in order to serve the fossil fuel industry to the detriment of everyone else.”
“This sneaky attempt to overturn the Delaware River Basin Commission's Authority to ban fracking throughout the DR Watershed has met a timely death,” said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
“But we have no doubt those who advocate for the fracking industry will try again through whatever means they conjure.
“Some of our elected officials have made this their mission, which has gained new vigor with the executive orders of President Trump and the actions by federal agencies to gut all major environmental laws and allow fossil fuel development to run rampant, despite the devastating impacts on human health, the environment, and our climate. We all are united to resist any and all efforts to overturn the ban on fracking in the Delaware Watershed,”
Special appreciation goes to Congressman Jerry Nadler (NY - representing NYC, which gets much of its water from Delaware) who led the charge on the Committee to ensure all members were aware of this stealth Amendment.
The perverted attempt to overturn the fracking ban and to disempower the DRBC’s ability to take meaningful and needed action would undermine the foundation of how the independent agencies works-- which is by votes from all the four states of the region and the federal government, ensuring they have an equal say in the management and protections for the water they share and are working cooperatively for the common good of all who benefit from the Delaware River system.
The Amendment would also hamstring the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, which were included in the Perry Amendment.
This assault on the principles of watershed-based management and the adoption of the ban on fracking in the Delaware River Watershed is a continuation of attacks on the DRBC and the frack ban in the Watershed that began more than a year ago.
People have pledged to defend the river in an organized resistance to combat these attempts.
Despite these attacks, Delaware Riverkeeper Network emphasizes that this episode in the history of public resistance to fracking is over, but the public remains vigilant as the frack ban lives on.
Resource Links:
-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Fracking Ban In The Delaware River Basin Survives A Republican Congressional Challenge - For Now
-- Delaware RiverKeeper Alert: Amendment In Congress Would Strip Delaware River Basin Commission Of Its Authority To Enforce The Ban On Oil & Gas Fracking In Delaware Watershed [PaEN]
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-- DEP: HG Energy Suffers Underground Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Failure Resulting In Up To 42,000 Gallon Contaminated Water Spill In Washington County [PaEN]
-- PJM Data Center-Driven Power Auction Prices Limited By $325/MW-Day Cap; Without Cap Would Have Been 70% Higher In PA, Most Areas; Missed Reliability Target By 6,831 MW [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Issues Maximum Generation Alert For July 15; Requested & Received DOE Order To Put Data Centers On Backup Generators, Exceed Environmental Standards If Needed From July 15 To 21 [PaEN]
-- PJM Issues Hot Weather Alert For July 14 - 17; PJM Confirmed It Reached New All-Time Peak Load Demand 2,595 MW Over Previous Record [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Reuters: PJM Power Grid Auction Hits Prices Limit, Falls Short Of Reliability Goal
-- PA Capital-Star: PJM Interconnection Electricity Price Hits Cap Again In Latest Auction
-- New York Times: A.I. Data Centers Add Billions In Power Costs In PJM Region
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: PA State Budget Saves $500 Million Data Center Sales Tax Exemption Amid Growing Opposition To A.I. Boom
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: RISE PA Decarbonization Grants Expected To Reduce Industrial Air Pollution In Pennsylvania
-- The Allegheny Front: Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Authorize Balcony Solar To Offset Electricity Bills
[Posted: July 15, 2026] PA Environment Digest
