A federal agency charged with overseeing the Delaware River's vast watershed issued a final version of draft regulations today that could go a long way toward helping to advance hydraulic fracturing operations for natural gas across four states.

The Delaware River Basin Commission released the rules under pressure from local and national organizations that are opposed to the practice known as fracking, setting up a charged final vote on the permits in less than two weeks at the agency's headquarters in Trenton, N.J.

The commission's final draft rules, which are no longer subject to public comment, were unveiled after nearly a year of give-and-take that saw state politicians in New York and Pennsylvania questioning the agency's right to allow fracking on their turf.

Even so, the agency -- which has jurisdiction over the basin and its water resources under the Delaware River Basin Compact -- took the cover off rules that would have gas drillers seeking water permits through the commission before proceeding.

The rules would allow new freshwater withdrawals for fracking but would first seek to encourage the use of other sources, according to a summary provided by the agency. The draft would also allow for diversion into the basin of "non-contact cooling water, treated wastewater, mine drainage water, and recovered flowback and production water" -- all issues that are bound to rile fracking opponents.

Moreover, sources that have been previously approved by the commission to draw fresh water from the basin would be granted the right to sell excess allocations to natural gas projects without any additional agency approval.

Beyond that, the agency summary said all gas projects located in the basin would have to attain a water quality permit for each gas well pad and each project consisting of the hydrostatic testing of natural gas gathering lines or transmission lines.

On wastewater, the commission said it tried its best to develop guidelines that would make sure untreated fracking byproduct does not end up seeping into groundwater or surface waters of the basin. A number of specific rules on storing such water in closed tanks and removing the water from a pad site within 90 days were included in the draft.

The commission also tried to pacify opponents in New York and Pennsylvania by writing special protection clauses into the rules that would apply to public water systems or reservoirs. Those projects designated by Pennsylvania as "high quality waters" and by New York for extra protection would qualify, the draft said, adding that the commission will test water samples before and after pad construction.

The rules were greeted with a cry of concern from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D), who said the basin commission was in violation of federal law because it has yet to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act.

"Though modified, these regulations still lack the benefit of a full environmental impact study, which is required by law and dictated by common sense," he said in a statement. "Without it, the federal government does not have a complete understanding of the health and safety risks fracking poses, even as it stands to open up the Delaware River Basin to thousands of new gas wells."

He added: "These regulations are both inadequate and illegal, and I will continue to use the full authority of my office to require that the federal government meet its clear legal obligation to fully study the environmental impacts of fracking in the basin."

Schneiderman has been in the federal government's face about the subject all year, filing a lawsuit in May against the Army Corps of Engineers for allegedly not completing an environmental review. That lawsuit has since been backed by a number of environmental groups.

Click here to link to the Delaware River Basin Commission's page on the new regulations.