A regulatory agency that’s responsible for the water supply of more than 13 million people in four Northeastern states voted Thursday to permanently ban natural gas drilling and fracking near a crucial waterway, asserting that gas development poses an unacceptable risk. Ad“The fracking ban in the Delaware River Basin is a momentous victory for public health, the environment, and against climate change,” said Kimberly Ong, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Industry officials pointed to studies by a neighboring regulatory agency, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, that found no link between intensive gas drilling in the Marcellus and degradation of the watershed. The drilling methods spurred a U.S. production boom in shale gas and oil. Conservation officials once estimated that gas companies had leased more than 300 square miles of Delaware River watershed land.

Climate change was the focus of one of the sections during the final presidential debate Thursday night as it was the first time voters were able to hear from both President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on their records and plans to combat climate change. The Trust Index team is labeling this “be careful” because it depends on the number the President is using. Biden on climate change timelineFinally, one more from Biden on the climate change timeline. “We don’t have much time, we’re going to pass the point of no return, return the next eight to 10 years,” he said. More fact checks from the final presidential debate:Presidential Town Hall fact checks from the Trust Index:First Presidential debate fact checks from the Trust Index: