The announcement came on the eve of a two-day Marcellus Shale industry conference in Pennsylvania. Inside the Convention Center, industry executives, regulators, environmental advocates, and two former Pennsylvania governors and the current one will discuss the future of natural gas. Outside, protesters have planned a rally Wednesday and a separate anti-fracking conference Thursday.
The commission has been the focus of intense scrutiny and pressure.
Natural-gas advocates have pushed for approval of regulations that would allow drilling to proceed. Several counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania are believed to have large natural-gas reserves, and thousands of leases have been filed. More than 3,800 Marcellus Shale wells have been drilled elsewhere in Pennsylvania, state records show.
Opponents contend that the commission should not institute regulations until an environmental-impact study is done. The upper river and many tributaries are under special protections because of their high water quality. The Delaware provides drinking water for 15 million people, including those in Philadelphia and some suburbs.
Regulations were proposed in December. Six hearings were held in February, during which nearly 400 people testified. Written comments were accepted until April 15, and the commission got 69,000 submissions.
"When you have a set of draft regulations like this and you receive all these submissions, it's quite an in-depth process," DRBC spokesman Clarke Rupert said. "But it's not a process that can continue indefinitely." So while the commission thought that revisions wouldn't be ready for the September meeting, late October was doable.
