Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
With Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale-gas epoch still in its infancy, some experts doubt we have seen one-tenth of what is yet to come and recommend that municipalities brace themselves for rapid change. “People who are not in the Marcellus areas have no clue how big this is going to be,” said Kurt Hausammann Jr., planning director for Lycoming County. “This has the possibility to change our whole way of life.”
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Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
Marcellus Shale Regulations Regarding Drinking Water in PA
Bryan Swistock, Penn State Water Quality Extension Specialist, discusses the Marcellus shale regulations regarding drinking water in PA.
Drought conditions in Carbon County, PA
http://www.tnonline.com/node/114155
Drought conditions in Carbon
Reported on Thursday, July 8, 2010
By AMY ZUBEK azubek@tnonline.com
With much of the northeast experiencing scorching temperatures, high humidity and little to no precipitation, Carbon County is among the growing number of counties that have been placed on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s drought list.
Mark Nalesnik, the Carbon County Emergency Management Agency director, released an updated drought map from DEP yesterday.
According to the composite indicator map, dated July 6, numerous counties throughout the eastern portion of the state are in a drought watch or warning. Carbon County is listed in a drought watch.
A drought watch declaration is the first level and least severe of the state’s three drought classifications. It calls for a voluntary 5 percent reduction in non-essential water use. The classifications are dependent on four indicators, including precipitation deficits, surface water levels, groundwater levels and soil moisture. Drought watch conditions begin to occur when a deficit of 25 percent of the normal precipitation happens over a three-month period. Drought warning conditions occur when a deficit of 35 percent is recorded and drought emergency conditions begin to happen when a deficit of 45 percent is recorded.
Nalesnik recommends that Carbon County residents try to conserve water, if possible, until the drought situation improves.
He noted that there are three burn bans currently in place in the county. They include Mahoning Township, Bowmanstown and Lower Towamensing Township.
“I strongly recommend not burning trash or having camp fires at this time,” Nalesnik said. “Since water supplies may become limited, I am concerned about water shortages for firefighting, so please avoid unnecessary use of water and do not be careless with fires.”
Carbon County Commissioner Wayne Nothstein echoes Nalesnik’s thoughts.
“I would strongly urge residents to start to conserve water, especially those on wells. Even if we do get some showers this week it will not be enough to get us out of the watch,” said Nothstein.
“We have been watching the situation and will continue to monitor rainfall events and act accordingly.”
He also suggests that all water authorities and suppliers review their contingency plans and update them as needed.
Nothstein added that he is anticipating calling a meeting for Carbon County’s Drought Task Force, a group the county reorganized in 2007, when Carbon County was classified in a drought watch.
The group looks at the water resources in the area to determine the severity of the drought in the county.
This includes seeing how many wells have gone dry and how far they would have to drill to reach the water table.
It also includes watching the river, creeks, lakes and dam levels.
In times of a drought watch, area residents can help conserve water by taking shorter showers, washing only full loads of laundry, watering lawns and gardens only when it is necessary and using water sparingly during daily routines.
Safe Drinking Water workshop
http://www.americantowns.com/pa/hawley/events/safe-drinking-water-workshop
Safe Drinking Water workshop
Penn State Cooperative Extension will present a Safe Drinking Water workshop on July 13, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Pike County Conservation District office, 556 Route 402, Blooming Grove. The cost is $7.00 per person or couple. Pre-registration, including payment, is required by July 9.
If you depend on your own well or spring for your drinking water, it is your responsibility to have your water tested periodically at a certified water testing lab. Water testing will be available for participants at a discounted fee through Prosser Labs.
For a printable flyer go to http://tinyurl.com/yycbns3
For more information contact Penn State Cooperative Extension in Pike County by phone at 570-296-3400, by fax at 570-296-3406, or send an e-mail message to PikeExt@psu.edu. Please be sure to include your full name and surface mail address.
PA Department of Health Announces Blood Disorder Study in Southwestern Pennsylvania
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/department-of-health-announces-blood-disorder-study-in-southwestern-pennsylvania-97667524.html
Department of Health Announces Blood Disorder Study in Southwestern Pennsylvania
Residents with Polycythemia Vera in Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Somerset Counties Encouraged to Participate
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Pennsylvania Department of Health today announced a new, federally-funded study on the blood disorder Polycythemia vera, or PV, in Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Somerset counties.
Residents of these counties who were diagnosed with PV between 2001 and 2008 are eligible to participate in the study and will be compensated.
PV is a blood disorder that causes bone marrow to produce too many red blood cells, resulting in what is commonly referred to as “thick blood.” People with PV can sometimes be at increased risk for blood clots, heart attack or stroke. However, there are other disorders that also result in an excess of red blood cells. The other disorders are referred to as secondary polycythemia. It may be difficult to distinguish PV from the other disorders.
The purpose of the new study is to evaluate the information the department receives from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry on people who have been diagnosed with PV. Persons asked to take part in the study are those with PV reported to the state cancer registry as well as those identified by local physician offices.
A 2008 study of PV in Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties in northeast Pennsylvania found a greater number of PV cases than would ordinarily be expected in the three-county area. However, the investigation also showed that some of the cases reported to the state cancer registry as PV were inaccurate, and some cases of PV had never been reported at all. This problem made it difficult to accurately determine the prevalence of PV in the area. It is important to know whether similar PV diagnosis problems exist in other parts of the state.
The four-county area in the southwestern part of the state was chosen because it shares many similar features with the tri-county area of northeast Pennsylvania; not because there appears to be an excess of PV. The similarities include population size, geography and environment.
To help diagnose PV, patients who agree to participate will be interviewed about their health, medical history and environmental exposures. They will also have a blood sample collected to look for the presence of a genetic marker known as JAK2 in their blood cells. More than 90 percent of patients confirmed with PV have the JAK2 genetic marker in their blood cells. Results of the JAK2 test will be available to the patient and their doctor, but will otherwise be kept confidential.
The Department of Health is working with the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health to carry out the study. All PV patients in the four-county area who are listed in the state cancer registry and those identified through area physicians will be contacted by the University of Pittsburgh and asked to take part in the study. A nurse representative from the University of Pittsburgh will visit the participant’s home to administer the survey and collect a blood sample. Knowing the JAK2 marker is present may help a doctor to more carefully monitor a patient’s blood counts.
For more information on PV or the 2008 study of the northeast Pennsylvania tri-county area, visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/polycythemia_vera/index.html.
To learn about the University of Pittsburgh’s upcoming study on PV or to find out about participating in the study, please contact Dr. Paula A. Balogh, FNP, of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health at 412-623-5901 or e-mail pvstudy@pitt.edu.
Media contact: Holli Senior, 717-787-1783
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Health
Three events coming up at Lehigh Gap Nature Center
Dear Members and Friends of Lehigh Gap Nature Center,
We have three events coming up at LGNC.
Saturday, July 3 — Incredible Insects, Join us from 9:00 a.m. to noon as we search the refuge for beautiful butterflies and dynamic dragonflies and damselflies. We will visit the ponds and the grasslands as well as the gardens at the Osprey House in search of these insects, learning about their life cycles, ecology, and identification along the way.
Saturday, July 10 — Members’ Picnic. This is a potluck picnic — everyone bring some food to share — for members and guests. The event begins at 5:00 p.m with an open house for the new visitor and education center which is nearly complete. We’ll have dinner around 6:00, and then tour the new habitat gardens and Brandon Everett’s habitat project under the power lines. This will be the first official group in the new building.
Friday, July 16 — Opening Celebration. Beginning at 10:00 a.m we will open the doors of the new building to the public for the first time. At 11:00, there will be a dedication ceremony for our new energy efficient, “green” buildling.
Hope to see you soon at the Gap.
Dan
Dan Kunkle
Lehigh Gap Nature Center
P.O. Box 198
Slatington, PA 18080
ph/fax 610-760-8889
http://lgnc.org
Marcellus shale well accident reinforces need to guard water quality
http://live.psu.edu/story/47244/nw69
Monday, June 21, 2010
University Park, Pa. — The recent eruption of a Marcellus shale gas well in Clearfield County, Pa., has triggered investigations by state agencies. A Penn State Cooperative Extension water specialist said it also should remind Pennsylvanians that drilling can impact surrounding water resources, and well owners near any drill sites should take steps to monitor their drinking water.
The contaminated water spewed by the natural-gas well for more than 15 hours may have entered a local aquifer. Bryan Swistock, senior extension associate in the School of Forest Resources, said the state Department of Environmental Protection will probably check local streams for contamination, but it may be prudent for water-well owners living near the spill to have an independent laboratory test their well water. He said the tests for various contaminants have a range of costs and implications.
“Things like methane, chloride, total dissolved solids and barium are very good indicators and are relatively inexpensive to test for — most labs can do them,” Swistock explained. “When you move down into the organic chemicals that might be used in fracturing, the cost to test for them goes way up. The risk is much less for those, typically, so it’s not quite as important, but again, if you can afford to do that testing, that’s great.”
The Department of Environmental Protection ordered a contractor hired by the gas-well owner to stop some of its work in the state, hand over equipment records and provide access to employees as DEP investigates the equipment used by the company.
“They haven’t determined how the blow-out happened, but it appears that it allowed a lot of gas and hydrofracturing fluid to escape on the ground into nearby streams,” Swistock said. “That reinforces how important it is for people who live near natural-gas drilling to document their water quality before the drilling, so that if any incidents do occur, you can prove they happened. And that includes testing of wells, streams, ponds and any water resources that you’re concerned about before the drilling occurs.
“It’s hard to document anything if you don’t have any pre-existing data,” he added. “It’s important that homeowners have an unbiased expert from a state-certified lab conduct the tests, in case the sample results are needed for legal action.”
Water forced into subterranean pockets as part of the drilling process dissolves many chemicals out of the rock, Swistock said, and may gather large amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium, and small amounts of arsenic and lead. There also are enormous amounts of sodium and chloride as water dissolves chemicals left behind by ancient sea water.
Swistock said balancing frequency of testing with the proximity of the drilling activity is an individual decision for each well owner.
“Fracking is a very intensive industrial activity, and these kinds of incidents are going to happen,” he said. “They don’t happen very often if we look at the history of the industry, but people have to decide on their own how concerned they are and how much testing they want to go through. Certainly, water supplies within 1,000 feet of the drilling are considered at higher risk. Beyond that, it’s up to the homeowner to decide. If some people 5,000 feet away are concerned and want to get testing done, that’s really their choice.”
About 3.5 million Pennsylvanians get their water from private wells and springs, according to Swistock. He said residents who want more information on Marcellus shale gas exploration can find it online at Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Natural Gas website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/.
Take Actions this Summer to Reduce Exposures to Asthma Triggers
EPA News Release (Region 3): Take Actions this Summer to Reduce Exposures to Asthma Triggers
Contact: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543, smith.bonnie@epa.govs
Take Actions this Summer to Reduce Exposures to Asthma Triggers
PHILADELPHIA (June 16, 2010) – – Now that the summer heat is here it’s a good time to pay attention to your local air quality. Like the weather, air quality can change from day to day or even hour to hour and it can affect how you live and breathe.
When the summer heat builds, ground-level ozone levels increase – – and ground-level ozone, often called smog, is a contributor to the onset or the exacerbation of an asthma attack. Ground-level ozone makes people more sensitive to allergens and asthma triggers such as airborne particles and dust. During the summer hospital admissions and emergency room visits increase do to an increase in asthma related symptoms.
“While EPA’s clean air regulations have improved air quality bringing us all cleaner air,” said
Shawn M. Garvin, mid-Atlantic regional administrator. “It’s important for people with asthma, especially children, to know the warning signs of an asthma attack and to take steps they can take to protect themselves.”
Not only can the air outside effect your health, pollutants inside your home and workplace can also be extremely serious for people with asthma. Asthma can be life-threatening, but this respiratory disease can be managed. Asthma sufferers can lead active lives by educating themselves on how the environment can affect them and taking action to reduce or remove asthma triggers.
In addition to talking with your health care provider, these steps can help prevent asthma attacks:
• Play it safe. Ground-level ozone and particle pollution can exacerbate an asthma attack. Look for the Air Quality Index (AQI) during the local weather report or go to EPA’s website http://www.airnow.gov/. AQI uses a color- coded system to display whether the five major air
• pollutants exceed air quality standards for the day. When AQI reports unhealthy levels, people should limit strenuous outdoor activities, particularly asthmatics and others with respiratory aliments.
• Don’t smoke in the home. Take it outside. One of the most common asthma triggers in the home is second- hand smoke. People should smoke outside – – not inside the home or in the car. Take the smoke-free home pledge; http://www.epa.gov/smokefree.
• Break the mold. Mold is another asthma trigger. The key to controlling mold is controlling moisture. Wash and dry hard surfaces to prevent and remove mold. Remove, and if possible replace, all moldy ceiling tiles or carpet. For more tips see EPA’s website: http://www.epa.gov/asthma/molds.html
For more information on EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional asthma program and ways to reduce your asthma triggers go to: http://www.epa.gov/reg3artd/asthma/asthma.htm
You also can join the On-line Community in Action for Asthma-Friendly Environments Network at www.asthmacommunitynetwork.org to learn about community-based organizations with information, resources, and strategies to accelerate improvements in asthma care.
Public meeting scheduled on Palmerton zinc pile site
http://www.tnonline.com/node/105589
Public meeting scheduled on Palmerton zinc pile site
Reported on Wednesday, June 9, 2010
By TERRY AHNER tahner@tnonline.com
Those with environmental concerns over the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site will soon have a platform to express their viewpoints.
A public meeting to comment on the Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the site will be held at 7 p.m. June 15 at Palmerton Area High School.
The Plan will be presented, followed by a question-and-answer period. Representatives from the Trustee agencies will be present.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on behalf of the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, invites the public to comment on the Plan.
The Plan evaluates alternatives to restore natural resources injured at the Site, and describes the restoration actions that are proposed as compensation to the public for losses resulting from those injuries.
The alternatives are described in the context of a settlement agreement with the parties responsible for contamination of the assessment area. All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the Plan.
The Plan is available for review at the Palmerton Area Library. Requests for copies of the Plan may be made to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania Field Office, Attention Kathleen Patnode, 315 South Allen Street, Suite 322, State College, PA 16801.
A 30-day public comment period will be held through July 15. Written comments or materials regarding the Plan should be sent to the same address. Comments may also be sent via email to Kathleen_Patnode@fws.gov.
Drinking water workshop planned in Pottstown
http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2010/06/02/news/doc4c066a9ec9b9d304913037.txt
Drinking water workshop planned in Pottstown
Published: Wednesday, June 02, 2010
By Mercury staff
POTTSTOWN — A free workshop on how better to protect drinking water sources from contamination will be held Thursday, June 24, at Pottstown Middle School.
Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Southeast Region, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania’s Water Resources Education network, the Montgomery County Conservation District, Montgomery County Planning Commission, Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, Schuylkill Action Network, PA Rural Water Association, Pennsylvania Amaerican Waterworks Association and Penn State Cooperative Extension, the workshop will be held at the middle school, 600 N. Franklin St., from 1 to 4:45 p.m.
To preregister visit www.drinkingwaterwise.org or contact Julie Kollar at 267-468-0555.