MSC And ANGA Split On Christie Fracking Veto

Scott Detrow

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Scott Detrow is a congressional correspondent for NPR. He also co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast.

Detrow joined NPR in 2015 to cover the presidential election. He focused on the Republican side of the 2016 race, spending time on the campaign trail with Donald Trump, and also reported on the election's technology and data angles.

Detrow worked as a statehouse reporter for member stations WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and KQED in San Francisco, California. He has also covered energy policy for NPR's StateImpact project, where his reports on Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing boom won a DuPont-Columbia and national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2013.

August 25, 2011 | 4:50 PM

Drilling groups are mixed, in their response to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s conditional veto of a bill banning hydraulic fracturing in the Garden State.
Christie countered the measure with a proposed one-year ban on fracking. The issue is largely symbolic, since the Marcellus Shale doesn’t reach into New Jersey. A of the state’s deposits are small and likely wouldn’t be worth the effort to drill for gas.
Here’s what the Marcellus Shale Coalition had to say about Christie’s veto and message:

“Our industry is deeply disappointed by Gov. Christie’s decision. While the Marcellus Shale formation does not underlie enough of New Jersey to make it economical to produce, and no natural gas producers are actively seeking to explore for natural gas in the Garden State, this policy sends the wrong message to an entire nation benefitting from the responsible production of clean-burning, American natural gas. Further, the governor’s decision runs contrary to his understandable and laudable promotion of the expanded use of natural in his state’s energy mix.”

MSC’s national counterpart, America’s Natural Gas Alliance, was more positive:

“We commend Governor Christie for his conditional veto of a permanent ban on the proven process of hydraulic fracturing. While the overwhelming body of existing science and the day-to-day reality of operations that take place routinely around the world do not support a moratorium, we will work closely with the New Jersey DEP to address any concerns about the developmental process for this clean, domestic energy source. This will allow New Jersey and the rest of the country to continue to benefit from the vast economic, environmental and energy security contributions that natural gas has to offer.”