The economy and environment were at the heart of a debate over using water to turn out energy.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission met in Binghamton.

As Action News Reporter Julianne Sweeney tells us, it approved 20 natural gas projects for Pennsylvania.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is mapping out the future of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.

It's allowing natural gas companies to remove water from the Basin and use it in the drilling process.

"Once it leaves that site, it's in the hands of the gas companies and other agencies responsible for the fate of that water." said SRBC Director of Planning & Operations Andrew Dehoff.

The SRBC monitors that the water is transferred to drilling wells along the Marcellus Shale.

A mixture of sand and water is blasted to fracture the shale.

That allows natural gas trapped inside to settle in a well to be withdrawn.

Some fear this destroys precious resources.

"It's more than just a water quality issue, it's also an issue of the industrializing the countryside." said Roy Lackner of Binghamton.

"There's millions of gallons of water available that they don't have to take. We don't want them to take the pure, clean fresh water." said Larry Harris of Tioga County, PA.

But, water is not there for the taking.

The SRBC says it will watch the volume of water removed.

"The natural gas drilling, we basically said any amount of water requires our approval." said SRBC Executive Director Paul Swartz.

The SRBC will follow approved projects over a 15 year span to make sure the natural gas companies stay in line.

Opponents are glad to see some regulation in place.

"We feel that the more forces that we have out there monitoring what's going on in the streams, in our watersheds...the better off we are." said Harris.

After drilling is complete, the SRBC will also make sure companies properly dispose of waste water.

Today's meeting was held at the Holiday Inn Arena in Binghamton.

New York placed a hold on drilling the Marcellus Shale.

When and if it does begin, the River Basin Commission will regulate that water use too.