Watershed Energy Conservation – Maintaining the Balance in Pennsylvania
Community Connections to Our Watershed – Pennsylvania DCNR Program – “Working as a Community” presentation by Mr. Brian Oram, Professional Geologist, owner of B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc. and manager of the Keystone Clean Water Team.
The program brings “Real world experiences bridge the gap between classroom “knowing” and community “doing””. PA Land Choices has been developed to provide participants with a basic understanding of community government and the powerful role of citizens who work toward common goals. The engaging activities in the manual provide opportunities to work collectively in teams, gaining knowledge and skills that will be useful for a lifetime. Workshops involve professional planners and other experts to help participants create, sustain and protect the special character or their neighborhoods. It is a lesson on citizenship and the democratic process practiced at one of the most important levels…right in your home town. At this presentation, we had teachers and students from Crestwood, Meyers, GAR, Coughlin, Lake Lehman, Hazleton HS, Hazleton STEM School, Hazleton Career Center, Northwest.
The Keystone Clean Water Team (that is correct) – The name change is official with the IRS– was happy to assist this program with an education and outreach program related to energy use, types of energy sources, need for a national energy policy and community approach, and the facts about Marcellus Shale Development. We talked about baseline testing, pre-existing problems, how wells can be impacted, how to understand and manage risk, ALL Energy Sources, WORKING as a Community and much more – All Fact Based. After the education program, the students toured a natural gas drilling site. The tour guide was Mr. Bill Desrosier from Cabot Oil and Gas.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners. We look for people that can forward solid articles, help coordinate local education efforts, and more. Become part of the Keystone Clean Water Team!.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Waiting on Official Name change to the Keystone Clean Water Team by the IRS. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission).
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
Community Connections to Our Watershed – Marcellus Shale
Community Connections to Our Watershed – Pennsylvania DCNR Program
The program brings “Real world experiences bridge the gap between classroom “knowing” and community “doing””. PA Land Choices has been developed to provide participants with a basic understanding of community government and the powerful role of citizens who work toward common goals. The engaging activities in the manual provide opportunities to work collectively in teams, gaining knowledge and skills that will be useful for a lifetime. Workshops involve professional planners and other experts to help participants create, sustain and protect the special character or their neighborhoods. It is a lesson on citizenship and the democratic process practiced at one of the most important levels…right in your home town.
The Keystone Clean Water Team (that is correct) – The name change is official with the IRS– was happy to assist this program with an education and outreach program related to energy use, types of energy sources, need for a national energy policy and community approach, and the facts about Marcellus Shale Development. We talked about baseline testing, pre-existing problems, how wells can be impacted, how to understand and manage risk and much more – All Fact Based. After the education program, the students toured a natural gas drilling site. The tour guide was Mr. Bill Desrosier from Cabot Oil and Gas.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners. We look for people that can forward solid articles, help coordinate local education efforts, and more. Become part of the Keystone Clean Water Team!.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Waiting on Official Name change to the Keystone Clean Water Team by the IRS. Unsolicited donations are appreciated (Helps us complete our mission).
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
House Bill 1565 House Committee on Environmental Resources and Energy Hearing January 29, 2014 Thomas Reilly
House Committee on Environmental Resources and Energy Hearing January 29, 2014 –
Testimony by Mr. Thomas J. Reilly, Jr., P.E., President of Reilly Associates Engineering.
My name is Tom Reilly. I want to thank you for this opportunity to present my views on the
proposed legislation. I am a professional engineer licensed in Pennsylvania and New York and
President of Reilly Associates Engineering located in Pittston and Stroudsburg. Our practice is
focused on Civil and Environmental Engineering for public and private infrastructure projects
and land development. Our firm was founded by my grandfather over 80 years ago. During the
30 years since I began my engineering career I have been an active practitioner in the application
of new regulations instituted to improve and protect water quality. I have always been
fascinated with civil engineering as a career for two reasons. First, each project is a unique
challenge because each every site has a different characteristics and warrants a customized
solution. Second because there is the opportunity to benefit many people with a good solution
whether they are the users of the project themselves or those downstream. I also love
Pennsylvania because of the beauty and diversity of the landscapes from rural to urban and the
variety of waters from small brooks and ponds to large rivers and lakes.
I support the proposed House Bill No. 1565 because we can both protect streams and develop
projects by applying appropriate best management practices on a site specific basis. I believe in
a holistic approach where the topography, soils, flora and fauna, water resources, property rights
and transportation and utility infrastructure are evaluated in the context of the project program
and a plan developed using green infrastructure techniques. There are a wide range of
management practices that may be applied to achieve the anti-degradation requirement of the
clean water act that depend on the project setting and development goals. Riparian buffers
should be part of a mix of planning and design elements with its width adjusted based on the
specific site situation including the nature of the water resource. Measures such as bioretention,
water gardens, pervious pave, green roofs and cisterns coupled with minimization of parking
areas can work with various widths of riparian area to achieve the required level of treatment and
protection.
Waters which currently require riparian buffers include ditches a few feet wide which are
designated ‘intermittent streams” and small ponds where the 150 ft. buffers on each side of the
water combine to total 300 ft. and often result in substantial portions of large tracts being
rendered unbuildable. In most of these cases the anti-degradation requirements could have been
met with a number of different BMPs tailored to the site situation. There are also numerous
special protection waters in urban and suburban settings where the existing pattern of
development is entirely within the 150 ft. area and the existing smaller riparian border is well
established by historic neighboring development. While the regulations allow for a waiver
procedure with review by DEP, this requirement and process is akin to a local zoning board
establishing new building setbacks that are three times the existing setback on small existing lots
with the result that any new building could not go forward without seeking a variance.
The benefits of riparian buffers include the establishment and preservation of greenways along
stream corridors for enhancement of wildlife habitat and community recreation as well as water
quality protection and improved neighborhood property values. Each of these community
benefits are most ably pursued in balance with property owner interests through local and
regional planning, zoning and stormwater regulations. Water quality can be protected to meet
Clean Water Act requirements with a site specific management plan. Many local codes already
include stream setbacks in the range of 25 ft. to 75 ft. and floodplain management ordinances
where variances can be addressed where appropriate at a local level.
My work includes project development in New York State in areas of similar topography across
the border from Northeast Pennsylvania. The New York State application of NPDES
stormwater requirements of the clean water act includes buffers as optional best management
practices where buffers can be coupled with other site design approaches and structural BMPs to
achieve the water quality, volume and rate goals.
Keeping the parts of Pennsylvania with extensive HQ and EV waters economically competitive
and keeping the waters clean will require using a more holistic approach that incorporates a more
flexible approach to NPDES permitting.
I support the proposed HB 1565.
Protect Your Own Drinking Water in Pike County the Poconos
Pike County Commissioners and the Pocono Source Water Protection Collaborative
“Protect Your Own Drinking Water”
Saturday March 22, 2014 9:00 am – Noon
Pike County Training Center, Route 739, Lords Valley
We invite you to join us at an important free forum called, Protect your Own Drinking Water: Our Most Important Resource. The forum will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2014, from 9 a.m. until noon at the Pike County Training Center, located on Route 739, in Lords Valley. The forum will help promote understanding of Pocono drinking water areas, the threats we face, effective stewardship measures, and ways that local officials and homeowners can take action to prevent contamination before it’s too late. Everyone has an important role to play in protecting our vital liquid assets. To register, contact the Pike County Conservation District at 570-226-8220. For more information about the Pocono Source Water Protection Collaborative and the forum, visit www.sourcewaterpa.org/pocono. Funding for the Collaborative and forum has been provided by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund under a grant from the PA DEP for Drinking Water Source Water Protection, administered by the US EPA.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners. We look for people that can forward solid articles, help coordinate local education efforts, and more. Become part of the Keystone Clean Water Team!.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Waiting on Official Name change to the Keystone Clean Water Team by the IRS. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
Fourteenth Year of Being Recognized as a Groundwater Guardian Community
Pennsylvania GROUNDWATER GUARDIANS Recognized
The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians recently received national recognition from the Nebraska-based Groundwater Foundation, which designated the county as a “Groundwater Guardian Community.” This is the 14th (fourteenth) consecutive year the local group has received the award. To celebrate that recognition we announced our Free Well and Spring Testing and Screening Program and officially announcing the new name of the organization will be the Keystone Clean Water Team. The Team will maintain the goals of the Groundwater Guardian Program and will include an objective to provide information and technical support to aid in the formation of new local Groundwater Guardian Organizations throughout Pennsylvania.
We also announcing our official ROA’s for 2014. We have three primary ROA or objects for 2014. These include:
1. Providing fact based information without bias or spin. This information will be provided through our Web-Portal and Facebook Account or by joining the PA Groundwater Forum.
2. PA Groundwater Education, Private Well Owner Workshops, and assisting with the review of data being submitted to the PA Citizens Groundwater and Surfacewater Database in PA.
3. Groundwater and Surfacewater are connected. Therefore, we will highlight key issues related to watershed management, riparian zones, sourcewater protection, and more.
“The greatest threat to our groundwater and water supply is lack of awareness and misinformation,” said Brian Oram, manager of the Keystone Clean Water Team and Carbon County Groundwater Program. He explains that misinformation results in the support of efforts that ultimately do not solve the primary problems. The organization, Oram said, “is a non-profit group designed to encourage citizen involvement in groundwater protection at the local level and to provided fact-based information on multiple topics”.
With the receipt of the Groundwater Guardian Community national award, we are proud to be recognized and we hope to afford conducting a small celebration to promote this effort and the recent changes to the organization. We would also like to recognize the new members for the board. The members of the board include Mr. Rick Grant, Dr. Marleen Troy, Mrs. Susan Gallagher, Mr. Greg Sorber, and Mr. Brian Oram. We also like to thank the effort and leadership of Mr. Frank Waksmunski.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners. We look for people that can forward solid articles, help coordinate local education efforts, and more. Become part of the Keystone Clean Water Team!.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot. Get YOUR WATER Tested – Discounted Screening Tests !
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Waiting on Official Name change to the Keystone Clean Water Team by the IRS. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
Free Webinars on Groundwater Education and Related Topics
The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians are providing links to some of the best FREE Webinars on Groundwater Management, Sustainability, Water Well Education and Much More.
-
Challenges and Opportunities of Integrated Management of Surface Water and Groundwater (free)
- Introduction to Test Your Well (free)We request you consider using the testing services our OUR Partner Laboratories. Accurate Testing and free assistance in reviewing the findings.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
Carbon County has been named a 2012 Groundwater Guardian Community
This is the 13th year the local county has received achievement
Carbon County has been named a 2012 Groundwater Guardian Community by The Groundwater Foundation of Lincoln, Neb. in recognition of its efforts to protect local groundwater supplies.
Groundwater Guardian is a program of The Groundwater Foundation which encourages and recognizes local groundwater protection and education activities. Groundwater Guardians form teams of local stakeholders that implement activities to address local groundwater concerns and issues.
Carbon County has been designated as a Groundwater Guardian for 13 years.
“I’m so proud to recognize Carbon County as a 2012 Groundwater Guardian,” says Groundwater Guardian director Jennifer Wenhoff. “Groundwater Guardians like Carbon County are taking steps to educate people and protect the precious resource of groundwater in their communities, and we are thrilled to honor their achievements.”
During 2012, Carbon County implemented a variety of activities. The team:
Ÿ Continued to update and expand a website featuring local groundwater information and online resources. This team also maintains a Facebook page to further educate the community.
Ÿ Provided a homeowner’s well water testing program. Private well owners fill out a short questionnaire about their well, and recommendations are made as to what testing should be performed, eliminating unnecessary tests.
Ÿ Collected and post precipitation data on the team’s website from eight active monitoring stations in the county. The data is shared with a variety of agencies and organizations as part of various collaborative volunteer networks.
Groundwater Foundation President Jane Griffin stated, “Our Groundwater Guardians embody The Groundwater Foundation’s mission to educate people and inspire action to ensure sustainable, clean groundwater for future generations. We’re so grateful for their commitment to groundwater protection.”
The Groundwater Foundation is a nonprofit organization that began in 1985. Since then, the foundation’s programs, projects, and resources that have educated youth and adults about the importance of groundwater and ways they can protect it.
For information about Carbon County’s Groundwater Guardian activities, contact the Us.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
Community Outreach and Education Events for 2013
Outreach Events in 2013
Work in 2013 done under the Supervision of the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians
Project 1:
Friends of Salt Springs State Park – Susquehanna County Event
Brian Oram, of the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians and a professional geologist with B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc. will conduct a private or community based education and awareness programs on water quality. The organization will hold a “fact based presentation” that reviews real concerns and issues in our communities today and non-point and point sources of contamination that is supported by the Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation and Development Council and the C-SAW Program. Some hands-on “quick” water testing will be done capturing pH, ionic salt measurements, (conductivity) and total dissolved solids (TDS) on the tap water, and 2 streams at Salt Springs State Park. There has already been multiple email and telephone discussions and an initial review of the available water quality data.
This will be the equivalent of a 1 day training event related to private wells, non-point pollution sources, groundwater and surfacewater interaction, water testing, some Marcellus Shale Issues. The training will target education, mentoring, and teaching local citizens how to screen water quality in groundwater and surfacewater. The training will be fact based cover surfacewater and groundwater issues, non-point source pollution, point source pollution, and will be used to aid in the local and regional water quality and environmental monitoring and conservancy efforts. The event will be held at the Salt Springs State Park. The presentation used in this workshop will be converted to a pdf file and posted on the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians Website, and Slideshare. The full cost of developing the presentation is not included in the cost for this project.
Minimum Estimated In-kind – $ 1900.00
Project 2:
Hidden Lake Association
This assistance is related to mentoring and general assistance with the organizations educational outreach, watershed monitoring efforts, and educating the community. The organization needs a refresher in the use of their monitoring equipment, compiling data in a spreadsheet format, selecting reagents, and reviewing sampling techniques. The consultants will also include a review of recent groundwater testing conducted by the organization. There has already been 1 planning meeting with the organization and multiple email and telephone discussions.
Estimated In-kind – $ 660.00
Project 3:
Luzerne County Conservation District- Free Education Event
An educational program on Groundwater Resources and Protecting/Monitoring Private Wells for Residents in Luzerne County, the event will be help on a Saturday in July 27, 2013. The private well owners will also screen their well water samples for pH, conductivity, nitrate, alkalinity, hardness, nitrite, and iron. The presentation will include a summary of the data within the Citizens Groundwater and Surfacewater Database, plus showing citizens how to monitor the quality of the groundwater and surfacewater using visual clues and low cost monitoring instruments.
Estimated In-kind – $ 2400.00
Project 4:
Riverfest – Public Education Event
June 21- 23, 2013 – Education Session is on June 22, 2013 in Wilkes Barre – they are requesting an interactive family activity. I am waiting on their application. To attend Riverfest as a representative of the C-SAW Program –this will require the following allocation and items. The event is requesting interactive activities for the families and children. This will including promoting the C-SAW Program, leading interactive activities related to water quality monitoring, microscopic evaluations of insects, and groundwater/surfacewater interactions. The Council will provide the necessary materials for this event as it relates to the C-SAW program. This does not include the cost of reproducing educational materials.
Estimated In-kind – $ 500.00
Project 5:
Lake Ariel
The homeowners association is requesting assistance with aiding in the review of their water quality monitoring efforts, conducting groundwater monitoring, and training and informing the local stakeholders. The focus of this effort will to conduct an education outreach effort for the association, aid in developing a groundwater monitoring program, education on non-point source and point source pollution control, and the interactions between surfacewater and groundwater. The areas of key discussion will include septic systems, private wells, fertilizers, and other non-point sources of pollution. There has already been 1 planning meeting with the organization and multiple email and telephone discussions. After the planning meeting, we assisted with baseline sampling and then conducted a community meeting with over 50+ private well owners attending.
Estimated In-kind – $ 2500.00
The projects will be billed by the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians at 501 C3. This work is part of the educational outreach efforts for this organization.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
Citizen Science and the Citizen Groundwater/ Surfacewater Database The Concept- The Need- The Purpose The Private Well Owner Outreach Program in Pennsylvania by Mr. Brian Oram, PG
The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians – Support the Citizen Groundwater and Surfacewater Database. Here is a quick summary.
We are working with Mr. Brian Oram, Dr. Brian Redmond and Dr. Sid Halsor on the development, formation, and creation of this community tool. This regional water quality database is an unbiased warehouse of water quality data that is supported by fellow “Citizens” of this Commonwealth. The database will provide information about the current state of groundwater and surface water quality and serve as a basis for monitoring impacts related to Marcellus gas drilling and other activity in our region. The database initiative is the first of its kind in northeast Pennsylvania and the initial database targeted private wells in Luzerne and Columbia Counties, but we are reaching out to build partnerships throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania so the database can include other counties in the area, i.e., Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Luzerne, Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Sullivan, Wayne, and Wyoming.
The purpose of our database is twofold.
1) We will use it to help us better understand the current and future groundwater and surface water quality for the region. The database will also be used to generate educational materials relating to regional water quality.
2) The database is for research and education purposes, and will not be sold or used for any commercial purpose. The database is managed by Mr. Brian Oram, Dr. Brian Redmond and Dr. Sid Halsor.
To protect your privacy, the research database file will only include the testing results, zip code, general information on well or water source, and the latitude and longitude of the sampling site. Your name, address, or other contact information will NOT be included within the database.
After reviewing this information, we would hope you will take action and support the PA Citizens Groundwater and Surfacewater Database.
To Contribute – Send NO MONEY – JUST Certified Data !
In order to participate in this process, please do the following:
1. Information Document about the Program (Download a copy – fill it out -Please Keep for Your Reference).
2. Download a copy of the Consent Form to release to the Database and Sign and Return.
3. Send a copy of your certified laboratory testing results with Chain-of-Custody Documents.
4. Mail this information to:
Mr. Brian Oram, PG
Citizen Outreach Program
15 Hillcrest Drive
Dallas, PA 18612
Questions – call (570) 335-1947
or send a pdf version by email to bfenviro@ptd.net.
We are attempting to schedule Educational Outreach Programs about the database and private well owner training/monitoring programs. To schedule a training event, please use our contact us form.
Other Programs
1. PA Private Well Owner Survey
2. Private Well Owner Survey – US (All other states)
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
Act 13 Grant Application Baseline Tesitng Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Columbia County Pennsylvania
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).