What happens next with America’s natural gas revolution depends in part on the regulatory ambitions of a multi-state government commission and its relationship with environmental activists.

In May 2010, the Delaware River Basin Commission, headquartered in West Trenton, New Jersey, imposed what is best described as a de-facto ban on the process of hydraulic fracturing in parts of Pennsylvania and New York. The commission lists three main concerns it has with natural gas drilling exercises that relate to water quality. Since the ban went into effect, the commission has released draft regulations to govern hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin.