The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) on Thursday voted to make permanent its longstanding de facto prohibition on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), drawing cheers from environmentalists and a sharp rebuke from oil and gas industry advocates in the region.

The DRBC, the hybrid interstate and federal regulatory body established in 1961 to oversee the waters of the Delaware River Basin, voted to adopt a final rule prohibiting high volume hydraulic fracturing in the basin. The DRBC’s four state commissioners — Delaware Gov. John Carney,  New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf — all voted in favor of the measure. The commission’s federal representative, Brigadier Gen. Thomas J. Tickner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,...