Tell the DRBC to Say No to ExxonMobil! Exxon Wants a Half Billion Gallons of Special Protection Waters for Fracking (Even Though High-Volume Fracking Isn't Allowed!) Although neither the Delaware River Basin Commission nor New York State permits high-volume hydraulic fracturing, the DRBC is considering an application by Exxon subsidiary XTO to withdraw up to a quarter of a million gallons of water a day from Special Protection Waters to support fracking operations in New York's Broome and Delaware Counties. This "cart-before-the-horse" approach to fracking stunned the environmental community, which was given only two weeks to respond the plan. The only hearing on the matter will be held on May 11th in West Trenton, New Jersey-200 miles away from the location of the proposed water withdrawal. If you can attend the meeting (see Upcoming Events on our homepage) please do. If not let the DRBC know it should not permit Exxon to turn hundreds of millions of gallons of Special Protection waters into poisonous fracking fluid. Take Action! Maryland Sues Chesapeake On Monday, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler notified Chesapeake Energy that his state would sue the energy giant for violating the Clean Water Act and other federal environmental statutes. The suit was triggered by the April 19th fracking disaster in Bradford County, PA, which spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons of poisonous fracking fluid into the environment. Farmland was contaminated, families were forced to flee their homes, and the fluid contaminated a tributary of the Susquehanna River, which supplies more than six million Americans with drinking water. "Companies cannot expose citizens to dangerous chemicals that pose serious health risks to the environment and to public health," said Gansler. The AG promised to use "all resources available to hold Chesapeake Energy accountable for its actions." And CWCWC sues the NYS DEC On the very next day the Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition announced that it was suing the New York State DEC to declare that high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in state forests would violate the New York State Constitution and applicable environmental laws. These two lawsuits come just weeks after New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman warned the Delaware River Basin Commission that New York would sue if the DRBC went ahead with plans to permit fracking without first conducting a study to determine how this could affect the drinking water of fifteen million Americans. For years the gas industry has been telling us that fracking would create lots of new jobs. They never us told many of those jobs would end up going to lawyers. Save the date! Saturday June 4th FRACK! (the movie) and music by Marc Black, the Delaware Youth Center, Callicoon, NY Two out of three people who find out about fracking think the risks aren't worth the rewards. Public awareness is the key to our success, so spread the word!