From Superfund to Super Habitat: Lehigh Gap Nature Center
The Lehigh Gap Nature Center is currently being highlighted in a statewide publication called Keystone Wild! Notes published on line by PA DCNR (Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources). Click on the following link to read the article.
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcp/wildnotes/spring10/index.html
“BE AIR AWARE”
Air Quality Awareness Week
May 3rd thru May 7th, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service urge Americans to “Be Air Aware” during Air Quality Awareness Week, May 3-7, 2010
Join the EPA and NOAA next week as they examine the following topics:
* Monday: Ozone and particle pollution
* Tuesday: What causes poor air quality?
* Wednesday: Keeping your lungs and heart safe
* Thursday: What are air quality forecasts.
* Friday: What can you do to help make the air cleaner?
To find out more visit: Air Quality Awareness Week
http://www.airquality.noaa.gov/
Drinking water clinic highlights drilled wells, cisterns and springs
http://live.psu.edu/story/46304/nw69
Friday, April 23, 2010
University Park, Pa. — Ben Franklin wrote, “when the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” But even when the well is pumping steadily, it’s still worthwhile to regularly test private water supplies.
Public water systems are required by law to protect customers and regularly test for impurities. But in Pennsylvania, 3.5 million residents are served by private water systems, such as wells, springs and cisterns, and they have no such legal oversight.
“If you own your own private supply, it’s all your own responsibility to provide clean water to yourself, the people in your family and the people who come to visit,” said Peter Wulfhorst, educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension in Pike County.
Wulfhorst will be the featured speaker in the next Penn State Extension Water Webinar, titled “Safe Drinking Water Clinic,” which will air at noon and again at 7 p.m. on April 28.
He said two types of water standards concern homeowners: primary standards pertaining to health, and secondary standards that pertain to the water’s aesthetics — its taste or smell, its appearance, or whether it stains plumbing fixtures or laundry. He said the webinar will cover both of these subjects, as well as how to protect a water supply from contaminants, which contaminants to test for and what treatments to use if contaminants are present. Read more
Public forum on gas drilling to air live on PCN
http://citizensvoice.com/news/public-forum-on-gas-drilling-to-air-live-on-pcn-1.739337
Public forum on gas drilling to air live on PCN
Published: April 22, 2010
PCN will broadcast live coverage of a town meeting on the subject of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale from 7 to 9 tonight, then air it again at 9 a.m. Friday. The forum is being held at the Community Theatre, 100 W. Third St., Williamsport.
The panel includes John Hanger, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection; Paul Kieffer, manager of financial planning at M&T Bank, the show’s sponsor; Kathryn Klaber, executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition; Vincent Matteo, president and CEO of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce; Dale A. Tice of the Marshall, Parker and Associates law firm; and state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, a member of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.
For information, visit www.pcntv.com.
Water Well Pennsylvania testing offered to residents near drilling site
http://citizensvoice.com/news/well-testing-offered-to-residents-near-drilling-site-1.738187
Well testing offered to residents near drilling site
By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: April 21, 2010
elizabeth skrapits / the citizens’ voice Brian Oram, a hydrogeologist from Wilkes University, talks about local geology Tuesday at the Lehman Township Fire Hall.
LEHMAN TWP. – Residents near a planned natural gas well site in Lake Township were advised Tuesday to take advantage of an opportunity to have their private wells tested.
Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc., in partnership with WhitMar Exploration Co., has selected the Salansky property on Sholtis Road in Lake Township as the site of the second of three proposed exploratory natural gas wells in Luzerne County.
State regulations require natural gas drilling companies to sample drinking water wells within 1,000 feet of their drilling sites, but Encana is testing within a 1-mile radius of its proposed drilling sites.
The companies plan to start drilling at the Lake Township site in July if they can receive the required permissions, Encana Spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck said. The first site to be drilled will be the Buda property behind the Ricketts Glen Hotel in Fairmount Township, in June. Although the companies have required permits to drill at a third site, the Lansberry property in Lehman Township, Wiedenbeck said she is not sure when drilling will start there.
Encana has retained Lancaster-based RETTEW Associates Inc. as a third-party firm to do the sampling, and King-of-Prussia-based TestAmerica as its independent laboratory to do the tests.
Drilling will not start until the water testing is complete, Wiedenbeck said. The reason for the water testing is to establish a baseline, or show what is in peoples’ well water before the drilling starts.
A few residents expressed concern about a similar situation like that in Dimock Township, where 14 families’ wells were invaded by methane. The state Department of Environmental Protection fined Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., made the company cap three wells, and put a stop to more drilling within a 9-square-mile radius of the township for at least a year. The problem is believed to have been caused by a faulty well casing.
Encana will follow protocols so as not to repeat the mistakes of the other well operator, according to Wiedenbeck. Differences include two well casings, the first of which will go at least 50 feet below the nearest known water source.
“I don’t know if there’s anything I can say to erase the concern from another’s mistake,” Wiedenbeck said. “We will take steps so we do not impact the water.”
On questioning, Wiedenbeck admitted Encana may have had an impact to a water source – a stream – while drilling in Colorado, but said state environmental authorities were called immediately and the company implemented a new protocol afterwards.
Although people seem to have a lot of concerns about the hydraulic fracturing process, Wiedenbeck said the biggest concern should be about the well bore instead of 7,000 feet underground: the well bore integrity will prevent fluids and gas from migrating.
If Encana did impact residents’ water, the company would be responsible to make sure they had drinkable, usable water the same as before the incident, she said.
“I think they (Encana) danced around some of the questions, but the water testing is a good idea, at least to give us a baseline,” Jeffrey Chulick, who lives near the Lake Township site, said after the meeting when asked what he thought. “I’m not sure about the natural gas drilling, though.”
After the question-and-answer session with Encana, Wilkes University hydrogeologist Brian Oram gave a presentation on what’s underground and in the water in the region.
Oram, who is not involved with the water sampling or acting as a consultant to Encana – “My role isn’t to swing somebody either way,” as he put it – did advise people to have the water sampling done.
He said in his 20 years of doing baseline water testing in Luzerne County, he found 30 percent to 50 percent of private wells were contaminated. For example, methane was discovered in wells in Tunkhannock and Columbia County even before Marcellus Shale drilling started there, Oram said.
eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072
Webinar contrasts regional differences for shale-gas drilling
http://live.psu.edu/story/46121/nw69
Friday, April 16, 2010
Webinar contrasts regional differences for shale-gas drilling
University Park, Pa. — The grass sometimes looks greener on the other side of the fence — or in the other corner of the state — not necessarily because it actually is greener, but because a disturbance in one’s own backyard makes the local situation lose its luster.
That’s the case with some property owners in southwestern Pennsylvania as they compare their situations to landowners in the northeastern counties as the shale-gas boom continues to reverberate around the commonwealth, according to Gary Sheppard, Penn State Cooperative Extension educator from Westmoreland County. Read more
Packer Township to adopt environmental protection law
Published on Times News Online (http://www.tnonline.com)
http://www.tnonline.com/node/86740
Packer Township to adopt environmental protection law
By admin
Created 04/08/2010
The Board of Supervisors for Packer Township has voted unanimously to advertise an ordinance that would enable the municipality to adopt and enforce environmental protection standards exceeding those set by the State legislature.
The ordinance is being considered by the Township in wake of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s lawsuit to overturn an ordinance adopted in 2008 which bans corporate sewage sludge dumping within the township.
The vote to advertise the Packer Township Community Self-Government Ordinance is the necessary legal step prior to it being adopted by the township, which could occur as early as May 4.
The Board’s consideration of the ordinance followed a ruling by the Commonwealth Court on March 17 that let stand all but one provision of the Packer Township Sludge Ordinance, adopted in 2008.
Reacting to the attorney general’s legal filing in another municipal sludge ordinance case, in which he argued that “there is no inalienable right to local self-government” (Corbett vs. East Brunswick, January 31, 2008), Packer Township amended its sludge ordinance to remove authority from the attorney general to enforce state laws that violate community self-governing rights.
Claiming authority to sue to overturn the entire ordinance, Attorney General Thomas Corbett filed suit against Packer and on behalf of corporate waste haulers in August, 2009. Corbett requested the court nullify the ordinance without going to trial and find the ordinance void as a matter of law.
The opinion filed on March 17 stated that “Corbett’s Motion for Summary Relief is granted with respect to the amendment removing the authority of the Attorney General to enforce state law. The Motion for Summary Relief is denied with respect to all remaining issues.”
The new ordinance under consideration asserts that the “Pennsylvania legislature has repeatedly violated the right of Packer Township residents to govern their own municipality” and calls for “the outright nullification of the doctrine of preemption when it prohibits the people of Packer Township from adopting higher standards than those set forth in state law, but also requires the people of Packer Township to refuse to recognize the authority of the Attorney General or the courts, when those entities attempt to enforce the legislature’s illegitimate acts.”
“We know we’re pulling the tiger’s tail, but it’s not a question of which branch of government is more powerful; it’s a matter of right and wrong,” said Thomas J. Gerhard, chairman of the Packer Township supervisors. “It’s about justice and the denial of justice by the state, the legislature, the courts and the attorney general.”
How quickly the sewage sludge ordinance law suit moves forward in a politically packed year is up to the office of the attorney general. The state’s claim that dumping sewage sludge in rural communities is a “normal agricultural activity” protected by the state’s “Right to Farm” (ACRE) law will be one of the questions of fact before the court, as will the question of who has the right to govern in the municipalities of Pa.: corporate Boards of Directors and state regulatory agencies, or the people who live and raise families in those communities.
The case is Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Packer Township, 432 MD 2009.
Drinking water workshop April 13
http://www.inyork.com/business/ci_14828703
Drinking water workshop April 13
Daily Record/Sunday News
Posted: 04/06/2010 09:09:43 AM EDT
York County Cooperative Extension is scheduled to host a workshop for people who might have problems with their wells or who might be new to well water April 13.
The safe drinking water workshop is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is scheduled to repeat at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the York County Annex, 112 Pleasant Acres Road, in Springettsbury Township.
Registration is $13 for an individual and $15 for couples by calling 840-7408.
April 2010 – Special Earth Month Edition
GO GREEN!
EPA News You Can Use – April 2010 – Special Earth Month Edition
http://www.epa.gov/gogreen
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Earth Day is April 22, 2010
April 22 is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and this is EPA’s 40th anniversary year, so we’ve planned a very special month! Start by checking out our newly redesigned Earth Day web site. Lots of cool things you can do to participate in and celebrate Earth Day – http://www.epa.gov/earthday. Go ahead – get involved: commit, take action, share!
NOTE: We are sending April’s special edition of Go Green! to all our mailing lists. This is a one-time only send, and does not mean you will receive this every month. To receive the Go Green! newsletter monthly, we welcome you to sign up at: http://www.epa.gov/gogreen
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WHAT YOU CAN DO, WHAT YOU CAN USE
It’s My Environment! Join EPA’s participatory video project – show the world it’s your environment! Deadline: April 15. http://www.epa.gov/earthday/video
Tell your environmental justice story, raise awareness in EPA’s Faces of the Grassroots video contest. Deadline: April 8. http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/events/video-contest.html
Pick 5 is going international! Early in April, join with others around the world to commit to small steps that fit your lifestyle, but are powerful actions for the environment. Visit http://www.epa.gov/pick5
Learn Before You Burn! Promote responsible wood-burning techniques that save money and clear the air by entering our Burn Wise video contest. Videos must include information to be released on April 9. Submit videos April 9-11. http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/contest.html
Join in a local event. There will be celebrations around the country or get our take-home kit: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm
Learn – Teach – Share:
Daily environmental tips via email. Enter your email here: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/tips2.htm
Put the environmental tips widget on your own web page, blog, or social networking profile: http://www.epa.gov/widgets
Listen to the daily audio tip podcast from EPA employees around the country. The podcast will be available for download and for free subscription on iTunes: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/podcasts
And then go teach! We’ve even got lesson plans for you to talk to your child’s classroom about the importance of environmental protection: http://www.epa.gov/teachers/teachresources.htm
PA Groundwater Recharge Information Available in User-Friendly Report
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pa-groundwater-recharge-information-available-in-user-friendly-report-89393997.html
PA Groundwater Recharge Information Available in User-Friendly Report
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The month of April is known for rain showers, but a new Pennsylvania Geological Survey report says that the state’s groundwater actually recharges the most during March.
The report, “Summary of Groundwater-Recharge Estimates for Pennsylvania,” was done in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and is available on the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Web site at www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/.
“This report is a convenient source of groundwater recharge data for researchers, water resource managers, water scientists and geologists. It provides a general overview of processes affecting groundwater recharge in Pennsylvania and a discussion of estimates of recharge rates,” said Jay Parrish, the state geologist with DNCR. “It’s also a great educational resource because it shows where all of the water that falls from the sky goes.”
Recharge occurs when water reaches underground aquifers. It is typically estimated by measuring factors including precipitation and stream flow.
Areas that receive the most recharge are typically those that get the most rainfall, have favorable surface conditions for infiltration, and are less susceptible to the influences of high temperatures, evaporation and loss through vegetation.
Maps included in the report illustrate patterns of precipitation, temperature, prevailing winds, and the average error associated with recharge estimates.
In an average year, about 40 inches of precipitation – the rough equivalent of 31.5 trillion gallons of water — falls in Pennsylvania. Only about 31 percent of rainfall is absorbed by the land to become groundwater. Of the rest, 52 percent evaporates and 17 percent becomes runoff into rivers and streams.
Eighty percent of Pennsylvania’s recharge occurs from November to May, with approximately 18.4 percent coming in March followed by nearly 13 percent in April.
For more information about geology in Pennsylvania, visit the DCNR Web site at www.dcnr.state.pa.us and choose “Geology” at the bottom, or call 717-702-2073.
Media contact: Christina Novak, 717-772-9101
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us