TRENTON, N.J. — Two environmental groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop exploratory drilling of natural gas wells in the Delaware River basin. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Damascus Citizens for Sustainability filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Trenton.
The Delaware River Basin Commission is in the process of adopting regulations for the natural gas drilling industry. Energy companies have leased thousands of acres of land in the Delaware River basin hoping to tap vast stores of natural gas in a rock formation known as the Marcellus Shale.
There’s a moratorium on drilling while the rules are being drawn up, but some exploratory wells were allowed to proceed. That’s what the environmental groups are challenging. They claim the wells pose a danger to the water supply.
An e-mail message seeking DRBC comment was not immediately returned.