TRENTON — The Delaware River Basin Commission has postponed its vote on fracking in its watershed for the third time, it announced this morning.

The Monday vote to pass natural gas regulations allowing drilling in the protected region will be put off for further review by the five commission members - New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and federal authorities represented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The postponement comes just hours after Delaware's governor announced he would vote "no" on the regulations, which would effectively open the 13,500-square-mile basin up to the natural gas drilling process, which involves pumping chemicals, sand and massive amounts of water deep underground to cause explosions unleashing gas pockets from the shale rock.

The commission had no further comment on the postponement.

New Jersey had previously threatened to withhold its DRBC funding if a vote wasn't held Sept. 21. It's now been postponed three times.

New York has sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and federal authorities over the DRBC process, alleging a lack of environmental analysis of drilling in the watershed, which provides drinking water to 15 million people.

Environmentalists greeted the vote postponement as a major victory, and for grassroots activism. Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, said the anti-fracking contingent would still be demonstrating in Trenton on Monday morning as previously planned, despite the cancellation.

"There's still going to be a showing — to send a message, largely," she said.

"As long as there is a delay, we can continue working toward getting a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware basin," added Jeff Tittel, executive director of the Sierra Club's New Jersey chapter. "We need to keep the pressure up on Governor Christie and the Obama administration to stop these weak rules from moving forward."

Added Kathryn Klaber, the president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition: "We remain hopeful that the DRBC will move forward with common sense regulations aimed at responsibly developing clean-burning, job-creating American natural gas in the region. The vocal minority calling for less energy development are simply ignoring the American people’s basic needs."

Related coverage:

• Editorial: Gov. Chris Christie's one-year fracking ban is reasonable

• Gov. Christie conditionally vetoes ban on fracking, sending counter proposal back to N.J. Legislature