Corbett "Disappointed" By Delayed DRBC Vote

• 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.

Here’s the press release sent out by the Corbett Administration, in response to the Delaware River Basin Commission’s cancellation of a Monday vote on new fracking regulations.
Governor Corbett criticized Delaware Governor Jack Markell’s decision to vote “no” on the new regulations, saying, “Today’s delay – driven more by politics than sound science – is a decision to put off the creation of much-needed jobs, to put off securing our energy independence, and to infringe upon the property rights of thousands of Pennsylvanians.”

Governor Corbett Disappointed by Cancelation of Delaware River Basin Commission Meeting
Harrisburg – Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett today expressed his disappointment in the decision to cancel the Nov. 21 meeting of the Delaware River Basin Commission, or DRBC.
The cancelation came after members of the DRBC failed to agree on a final regulatory package to oversee the responsible development of natural gas within the Delaware River basin.
“Pennsylvania is ready to move forward now,” Corbett said. “The final regulatory package would ensure that natural gas is developed in a manner that protects our water resources and holds operators to the highest standards in the nation. It is the result of a nearly two-year regulatory process, which has previously been delayed to allow sufficient time to address remaining issues raised by members of the DRBC.
“Pennsylvania’s citizens have been extraordinarily patient. We have demonstrated a willingness to compromise and to address issues brought forth by other members of the commission,” Corbett said. “We have worked with our commission partners in good faith, and it is disappointing to not have these efforts reciprocated.”
Corbett noted that the regulatory requirements of the DRBC would be in addition to those already required by Pennsylvania state law. These state standards include stringent requirements governing the location, construction and operation of natural gas wells; water use and wastewater treatment requirements; and vigorous permitting, inspection and enforcement efforts.
“Today’s delay – driven more by politics than sound science – is a decision to put off the creation of much-needed jobs, to put off securing our energy independence, and to infringe upon the property rights of thousands of Pennsylvanians,” Corbett said.

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