The Obama administration has rejected a New York congressman’s bid to put a temporary hold on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling and exploratory activities in the Delaware River Basin.

In a letter earlier this month, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) urged Brigadier Gen. Peter A. DeLuca, who is commander and division engineer for the North Atlantic Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to require that the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) complete an impact study of gas drilling activities in the Delaware basin prior to issuing final regulations or permitting individual drilling projects in the region. The Delaware basin underlies about 36% of the prolific Marcellus Shale formation.

DeLuca is the federal representative on the DRBC, which includes the governors of Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and New Jersey.

A House Appropriations subcommittee earlier had approved $1 million for a U.S. Geological Survey-DRBC cumulative impact study on water withdrawals for gas drilling within the basin. Hinchey had said he was hopeful funding would be available in fiscal year 2011 for the study.

Hinchey sent his letter on Sept. 9, a day before Lt. Col. Philip Secrist, representing DeLuca and the Obama administration on the DRBC, voted to continue limited exploratory drilling in the basin. The five-member commission rejected a plea by environmental groups seeking to block the drilling of test wells that were “grandfathered in” when the DRBC imposed a de facto moratorium earlier this year (see NGI, June 21).

In his Sept. 14 reply to Hinchey, DeLuca wrote, “the process to execute this [cumulative] study and its results would greatly enhance the ability of the commission to make informed decisions…However, there are many steps left in the legislative process [to approve funding]. And even if things progress promptly, it could be several years before the final results of the study” are available.

“The federal family of agencies that I represent on the commission are collectively charged with a requirement to support the economic needs of the region and our nation’s need to secure energy reserves while protecting the environment,” he continued. “The DRBC has therefore attempted to avoid undue delays to the exploratory well program and is continuing to approve water withdrawal requests from drilling companies.”

DeLuca noted that the DRBC has said it will not approve production wells until regulations are refined and are in place, and “I will do my part to stand by that commitment.”

At the regularly scheduled meeting earlier this month, the DRBC also agreed to delay until Oct. 15 issuing draft rules on how the shale play should be developed in the area that affects the basin’s watershed. DRBC staff in May was directed to draft regulations for gas well pad projects in shale formations within the basin (see NGI, May 17).

Commission staff couldn’t make the self-imposed end-of-summer deadline to issue draft rules for public comment, said DRBC Executive Director Carol R. Collier. “It’s better to get it right than to get it quick,” she said. “The issues are complicated.” The draft regulations apparently have been distributed to the governors and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Collier said the “regulations are changing. Some things will be stricter and some things will be less strict.” Among other things the commission plans to reduce the amount of money it will require producers to set aside for any environmental cleanup related to drilling. The DRBC apparently had been considering a $5 million financial assurance bond for each well site.

According to Hinchey, the DRBC faces the prospect of up to 30,000 new gas wells in the Marcellus Shale in the upcoming decade. He contends that these wells have the potential to “significantly and adversely impact” the waters that the DRBC and other state and federal agencies are charged to protect.

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