FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, May 24, 2021

CONTACT:
Chris Robinson
267-977-0570 and [email protected]  

Green Party of Wayne County, PA, Opposes Fracking

Chris Robinson, a Green Party of Philadelphia member, asked what issues were important to other PA Greens. Below is one response.

By Beverly Beers, chair of Wayne County Green Party.

In response to your question about a concerning issue in my area, I would say that for some time it has been fracking in the Delaware River Basin. We just won a long-standing battle at the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). The DRBC voted on February 25 to ban fracking in the Delaware Basin.

Here is what NPR said, “All four basin states — Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York — voted to ban the practice, citing scientific evidence that fracking has polluted drinking water, surface water, and groundwater. The vote prohibits gas drilling in northeastern PA and southern NY State, where Marcellus Shale gas deposits are limited to about one-third of the basin.” 

I was dismayed, however, to see that the township supervisors of Dyberry, where I live, have joined a lawsuit against DRBC to protect land-owners rights. Similarly, the Wayne County Commissioners voted 2-to-1 to join the same lawsuit. The Tri-County Independent said it was “a rare moment of disagreement” for the commissioners’ vote to be split. Up until 2021, our commissioners have always been Republican businessmen or farmers.

Newly elected Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer cast the dissenting vote. Last year, Green Party members helped elect Joss as commissioner. (She won by just 10 votes.) I believe she is the first woman commissioner and has stated her belief in preserving the natural beauty of our area. In fact, Joss now calls herself “the environmental commissioner.”

This area has traditionally been a farming and dairy area, though Wayne County is becoming more and more a tourist destination. So there is an economic argument to oppose fracking, as well as health reasons. As you probably realize, many struggling farmers hope to get money from fracking leases on their land. My own family has lived in Dyberry for 6 generations, though I am not actively engaged in farming at present. As a member of the Green Party and a constituent of Dyberry township, I do not feel the supervisors’ or the commissioners’ decision represents myself or others who wish to preserve the Delaware River Basin.

The Green Party of Wayne County meets at 3:00 pm on the last Saturday of each month. You may learn more right here,   https://www.facebook.com/groups/1838621106461397/about. 

For more information, please see:

“Wayne Commissioners Vote to Join Suit against DRBC” by David Mazzenga, Tri-County Independent, January 30, 2021, https://www.tricountyindependent.com/story/news/2021/01/30/fracking-suit-against-drbc-divides-wayne-county-board-commissioners/4307597001/; 

“Delaware River Basin Commission Votes to Ban Fracking in the Watershed” by Susan Phillips, State Impact PA, February 25, 2021, https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2021/02/25/delaware-river-basin-commission-votes-to-ban-fracking-in-the-watershed/; 

“PA Greens Push for an End to Fracking” by Matt Nemeth, Green Party of PA News Release, October 4, 2020, https://www.gp.org/pa_greens_push_for_an_end_to_fracking; and 

“Pennsylvania and Fracking,” Global Energy Monitor, April 30, 2021, https://www.gem.wiki/Pennsylvania_and_fracking