- CLEAR - lists.cheatlakeclear.org

Recreation Plan Update (draft) now under consideration
by Duane330＠aol.com 09 Apr '12

09 Apr '12

CHEAT LAKE ENVIRONMENT AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION [CLEAR] NOTICE: FirstEnergy is now the power company that operates the Lake Lynn Dam, owns a substantial portion of the shoreline of Cheat Lake, and is responsible for the Cheat Lake Recreation Plan. This latter includes the Cheat Lake Trail, the Cheat Haven Hiking Trail, swimming at the Mill Stone Point beach, etc. Every three years the Lake Lynn Dam operator is to prepare a "recreation plan update" in draft form, send it out … [View More]

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WVEC Green Legislative Update and Spring Appeal
by Duane 06 Apr '12

06 Apr '12

> Subject: WEST VIRGINIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL During the past few months, I have reviewed the work and progress of the WVEC. I have been impressed by the amount of work they have done under very difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, the Governor does not place environmental protection on his priority list(s). In spite of this, some progress has been made. We need the WVEC in West Virginia, and the WVEC now needs us. Each of us is now needed to spread the word about this … [View More]organization and to help out in this time of significant financial need. CLEAR has provided a few hundred dollars over the years and I am proposing that CLEAR contribute $200 at this time. In addition, I am asking you to make a direct contribution to WVEC (not deductible) or to CLEAR (deductible) for our public service projects. The CLEAR Treasurer is Donna Weems, 320 Dream Catcher Circle, Morgantown, WV 26508. Thank you for your support and assistance, Duane Nichols, President >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > WVEC Green Legislative Update and Spring Appeal > > Dear Friends, > > Below you will find the 2012 edition of our “Green Legislative Wrap Up.” It will bring you up to speed on all the issues the Legislature dealt with (or not) in the recent session. And it will give you a glimpse at the hard work performed by your WVEC Lobby team in an effort to protect human health and the environment in West Virginia. > > However, much work remains to be done in the upcoming Legislative Interim sessions. > > We need your immediate financial contributions to ensure that the West Virginia Environmental Council lobby team, and our members and member groups have a seat at the table as discussions continue about better regulation of the Marcellus Shale industry and other issues vital to the protection of our environment. > > Unlike most previous years, WVEC ended the session in a budget deficit. Due to funding shortfalls we have as yet been able to pay some of our financial obligations. This is a critical time for this organization, and we are asking that you seriously consider this funding appeal so we can meet our obligations and continue our work. > > And that work is critical. Much of the groundwork for what the Legislature will do next year will be laid at the Interim Committee meetings. It took almost four years to pass a bill regulating Marcellus Shale drilling (weak as it is). This year in Interims we anticipate that legislators will begin to discuss improving that bill. We also anticipate that discussions will continue on changing the management at Coopers Rock State Forest, banning the injection of coal slurry in underground mines, and creating a “future fund” using natural gas severance taxes. And, then, there are always the DEP rules to worry about. > > Since 1989 the West Virginia Environmental Council has been your voice for the environment at the Legislature. We not only speak for your interests at important Legislative Interim sessions, but we are also able to keep you apprised of what's going on, alert you to meetings that might be important to attend and solicit your input on issues of importance before they reach the regular session. So please help us by sending a contribution today so we can continue to have a consistent “year-round” presence at the State Capitol. > > We thank you for your continued support. > > Donald S. Garvin, Jr. > WVEC Legislative Coordinator > > WVEC Green Legislative Update > April 6, 2012 WVEC Legislative Update Archive WVEC Alerts Archive > > To read the update online, click here or on article links below. If you want to view or print an exact copy of the printed newsletter, try the PDF version. > > Under the Dome > Whither (Or is it Wither?) our Democracy? > Solar Bill, HB 2740, Squeaks Through on Final Night > “Come And Get It” > The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly . . . > Calendar of Events > Links for anyone still using plain text email: > www.wvecouncil.org/legisupdate/2012/04_06.html > www.wvecouncil.org/legisupdate/2012/04_06.pdf > > Don Alexander > WVEC E-mail List Coordinator > Subscribe or Unsubscribe Online > Donate Online [View Less]

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Fracking Awesome
by Duane Nichols 02 Mar '12

02 Mar '12

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Friends of Deckers Creek and Friends of Cheat active in water monitoring
by Duane 23 Feb '12

23 Feb '12

Marcellus Shale Community Symposium FODC is partnering with the West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization, Friends of the Cheat, and Preston County CARES (Citizens’ Alliance for Resources and Environmental Safety), to host a Marcellus Shale community symposium focused on land owners’ rights. Other topics to be addressed include leasing issues and volunteer water monitoring programs. The symposium will be held on Sunday, March 4th 2012 from 3:00 – 4:30 PM at the Bruceton United … [View More]Methodist Church in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia and is open to the public. Julie Archer from the West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization (WVSORO) will present “The Top 10 Tips for Surface Owners Before/When the Oil and Gas Driller Shows Up”. Morgantown attorney Jay Leon who specializes in energy, oil, and gas law will address leasing issues such as lease holding and renewal. Friends of Deckers Creek and Friends of the Cheat will briefly discuss their citizen scientist monitoring programs. There will also be ample time for questions and discussion. This will be a great opportunity for residents to learn more about the potential environmental impacts from Marcellus Shale drilling, land owners’ rights, and to get involved with monitoring efforts. We hope to see you there! Seeking Volunteers for Citizen Scientist Monitoring Program FODC is currently looking for volunteers in Monongalia and Preston Counties to monitor streams in our watershed. We will train and equip you to monitor a specific sampling point every other week on your own time and how to upload the data online. There are numerous stream sites to choose from and we can work with you to locate a site close to your home, school, or work, etc. On Sunday, April 1st from 1-4 PM, FODC and Friends of the Cheat will be training and equipping volunteers for this monitoring program. This training session will be held in Percival Hall on WVU’s Evansdale campus and will include a stream monitoring trip. Please contact Pamela – pamela(a)deckerscreek.org for more information and to sign up to become a citizen scientist. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.......................>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Calendar of Events Saturday, February 25, 10 AM – 3:00 PM: Clean Creek Program water monitoring. Volunteers needed! Meet at the FODC office in Sabraton and pack a lunch. Waders and equipment provided. Contact pamela(a)deckerscreek.org for more information. Sunday, March 4, 3 – 4:30 PM: Marcellus Shale Land Owners’ Rights Community Symposium. Bruceton United Methodist Church in Bruceton Mills. Open to the public. Sunday, April 1, 1 - 4 PM: Volunteer water monitor training. Percival Hall on WVU’s Evansdale campus. [View Less]

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WVU Walleye Telemetry Project
by Duane330＠aol.com 01 Feb '12

01 Feb '12

Subject: WVU walleye telemetry project Hello colleagues, Attached is a map of Cheat Lake with locations marked where we currently have buoys with telemetry receivers attached to them as part of the walleye movement study. Buoy locations are marked by red dots. We have receivers in the upstream river section as well, but these are not attached to buoys. The buoys are standard "No Wake" buoys and also are marked with "WVU Research 304-293-5006" which is my advisor Stuart Welsh's … [View More]

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Survey on the Cheat Watershed
by Duane 31 Jan '12

31 Jan '12

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KD3K8ZG In collaboration with West Virginia University and your local watershed organization, we are interested in your perspective and opinion about the recreational quality of West Virginia’s rivers and streams. Your opinions and attitudes regarding the local watershed are greatly valued. By obtaining local input we will be able to evaluate and help establish more effective management strategies in the improvement of state waters. This survey is voluntary, … [View More]

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A Threat to the Core Arboretum
by Dee Fulton 22 Jan '12

22 Jan '12

ALERT!!! Please send off an email to Dr. Richard Thomas asking that the Arboretum be spared from destruction due to development of a new roadway (see emails below for details). Please forward this to others and put this out on your Facebooks. Thank you! Dee -----Original Message----- From: Ann Payne <paynestake(a)frontier.com> To: Ann Payne <Paynestake(a)frontier.com> Sent: Sun, Jan 22, 2012 4:04 pm Subject: A Threat to the Core Arboretum There is a WVU Master Plan … [View More]proposal being considered that, if pursued, would introduce a roadway into the Core Arboretum's upper area, destroying its present gracious entrance, with its lawns and handsome trees. This road would reduce the Arboretum's parking area, destroy valuable planted specimens, and force some trail relocation. If you, like so many of us, adore the Arboretum and feel it should be preserved as it is, please write a quick note to Dr. Richard Thomas, who is collecting comments, at: Dr. Richard Thomas Chair, WVU Department of Biology PO Box 6057 Morgantown, WV 26506-6057 or email him at Richard.Thomas(a)mail.wvu.edu to express your concerns. It may spare the Arboretum if those who make the final decisions learn how much this green space means to so many. Please dash off that note! Thank you. I am copying information below with much more detail. If you would, please pass this message along to others. Ann P.S. Thanks for the reminder, Cindy. Just back in town from Phoebe's first birthday. :-) Begin forwarded message: Core Arboretum Email News – January 18, 2012 Evansdale Changes Could Affect Arboretum Perhaps you’ve heard about WVU’s Evansdale campus master plan, a comprehensive blueprint for an ambitious, much-needed makeover that is expected to include $160 million in new buildings as well as major changes in landscaping, parking, and vehicular and pedestrian traffic patterns. WVU officials presented preliminary drawings and discussed the plan at two public forums last October 24. The plan’s goals, which include creating a more collegial atmosphere for the campus, vastly improving facilities for research and teaching, and generally upgrading the Evansdale experience for students and faculty, are laudable. However, a few attendees at the forums, myself included, expressed concerns about a tiny roadway that showed up on one bird’s-eye view. As drawn, this roadway would pass through the highest part of the Arboretum, running from the Coliseum parking lot to the intersection of Evansdale Drive and Monongahela Boulevard, at the location of the current Arboretum parking lot. The drawing showed the proposed roadway tucked in above all Arboretum trails. I found this drawing to be disturbing and disingenuous. Even a casual visit to the site would reveal that the proposed roadway would need to dip at least a bit farther into the Arboretum, requiring massive filling to address topographic challenges, forcing the relocation of some trail sections, wiping out many planted trees and shrubs of merit, eliminating most of the Arboretum parking lot, and degrading the experience of visitors to the nearby lawn and specimen tree area. This area is the most public and heavily visited part of the Arboretum, useful for teaching, popular with casual visitors, and the site of an occasional wedding. Subsequent meetings with University personnel have led me to a partial understanding of the thinking behind the roadway proposal, but I remain stunned that an administration that is steadfast in its efforts to defend the Arboretum against a different proposed roadway can simultaneously contemplate building its own roadway through part of the Arboretum. One goal of the master plan is to improve the safety of pedestrians crossing Monongahela Boulevard. Currently, students and others routinely jaywalk to get between the free parking lot at the Coliseum and the main part of the Evansdale campus. The idea is to change the light by the Arboretum parking lot to stop traffic on the Boulevard, which now has perpetual through traffic in the eastbound right-hand lane, so pedestrians could use a new crosswalk there. (Such a change should also equalize utilization of the eastbound Boulevard lanes – currently, nearly all traffic tries to squeeze into the right-hand through lane.) I agree wholeheartedly with the goal of improving pedestrian safety, and I think the crosswalk/traffic signal proposal may well have merit. A solid barrier protecting pedestrians along the Arboretum side of the Boulevard could also serve as a partial road noise barrier for the Arboretum. Then, however, the thinking evidently took the turn that could be damaging to the Arboretum. If we stop traffic at the light, why not make that a four-way intersection? Then, why not build a roadway through a little bit of the Arboretum, a roadway to connect the intersection at the Arboretum to the Coliseum parking lot? This could take some of the pressure off the intersection at the Coliseum traffic light. Ideas for possible one-lane or two-lane roadways are currently being studied, as are replacement parking somewhere designated for Arboretum visitors and the possible addition of new arboretum land elsewhere in Morgantown. Ironically, the traffic flow situation of most evident concern at last week’s meeting of University personnel might not be helped by the proposed roadway. I refer to what happens after men’s basketball home games. Currently, there is at those times continuous flow out of the eastern end of the Coliseum lot, proceeding eastbound down the Boulevard. Unless I’m missing something here, the proposed roadway would merely shift this flow through the Arboretum on its way to the Boulevard. The rate at which cars leave the Coliseum lot would not increase at all. My boss, Department of Biology Chair Dr. Richard Thomas, has offered to collect letters from persons who wish to express an opinion on the idea of a new roadway through the top of the Arboretum. Please send any such letters to: Dr. Richard Thomas Chair, WVU Department of Biology PO Box 6057 Morgantown, WV 26506-6057 Thank you for considering this, and please remember, everyone involved at WVU wants only to do what is best for the University. It’s just that different persons have different ideas about what that means. Jon Weems Arboretum Specialist WVU Department of Biology Morgantown, WV 26506-6057 304-293-5201 ext. 31547 jweems(a)wvu.edu Ann Reflections: Homage to Dunkard Creek [View Less]

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Joan Pitzer sends a Winter Solstice message
by Duane 21 Dec '11

21 Dec '11

December 22- the Winter Solstice, and two years since Keith's passing. My plans are to honor him once again, as a musician extraordinaire, and for his environmental work as the Executive Director of Friends of the Cheat. The Keith Pitzer Memorial Fund was originally established to be put towards the "green building"/office he had envisioned. Realizing that could easily be a multi-million dollar project funded by grants, the family plans to put the money towards a much needed new performance … [View More]

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ACTION ON MARCELLUS FRAMEWORK IN CHARLESTON
by Duane330＠aol.com 11 Dec '11

11 Dec '11

QUICK OVERVIEW: SUNDAY: The House and Senate will convene Sunday at 5pm to begin the special Session on Marcellus shale drilling regulation.Tonight at the opening of the session, in the House the bill was read and single referenced to Judiciary Committee which will meet at 9am Tuesday. In the Senate, the bill was NOT read, but simply announced (puzzling...usually done when they're trying to kill a bill), and double referenced to Judiciary and Finance Committees. The Senate … [View More]Judiciary will meet at 9am tomorrow, Monday. MONDAY: THIS IS WHEN WE NEED THE NUMBERS!!! YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO OR SAY ANYTHING – JUST SHOW UP 12 noon, we will hold a press conference in the Lower Rotunda 4:30pm House of Delegates will hold a public hearing in the House Chamber THE GAS INDUSTRY IS HOLDING A RALLY AND THERE WILL BE PRO- DRILLING “CITIZENS” THERE IN MATCHING T-SHIRTS. TUESDAY: The bill will be taken up by House Judiciary. DETAILS AND DIRECTIONS: A few things about our capitol for newcomers………. Directions: The Capitol is in the East End of Charleston, off of I-64, take the Airport/Capitol/Greenbrier St. exit 99. Parking: Rarely available on capitol grounds, fair luck on side streets, but there is a public parking lot next to nearby Laidley Field with a shuttle bus to the capitol building. Ground level entrances to the capitol will lead you to our meeting area under the dome at the Information Desk. With few exceptions, all areas of the capitol building are freely open to the public. We can guide you to offices of your officials and provide with talking points. Dressing appropriately and being courteous and friendly goes a long way toward overcoming indifference and resistance from the lawmakers Here are contact numbers for you if needed. Chuck Wyrostok – Sierra Club 304 545 6325 Carol Warren – Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition OVEC 304 539 2240 Julie Archer – WV Surface Owners Right Organization SORO 304 610 9094 Denise Poole WV Environmental Council 304 617 7073 BACKGROUND: Following three years of deliberation and after months of labor by the Joint Select Committee, Governor Tomblin took a knife to their “agreed upon” bill, hacking out vital parts like an apprentice butcher. Here’s what we know so far: Some of the things the governor’s bill would do: Allow pits to be buried on site Eliminate the provision that allowed for DEP to call a public hearing on a drilling permit application. It looks like they also eliminated the public (publication) notice and comment. Reduce the distance from a water well for required testing 2,500' to 1,500 feet Make the landowner go to court to get water replacement and there is a now definition of "water purveyor" that may limit who gets notice. Eliminate the legal notice to adjacent landowners Reduce some of the buffer zones for rivers, streams, wetlands, etc. Eliminate the "special conditions" amendment Remove the amendment regulating air quality Remove the traditional power of local government to regulate zoning and land development of gas activities as well as other aspects, such as the time and the place of operations to protect health, safety and welfare of the general public through local ordinances and enactments. SUNDAY: The House and Senate will initially convene a Special Session Sunday at 5:00 PM. The bill will be read a first time and then referred to committees. Environmental lobbyists will be there to monitor this. No voting on this can take place until it’s in the committee rooms and then back out into the Senate and House. MONDAY: 12 noon, we will hold a press conference in the Lower Rotunda (ground floor under the dome). Citizen groups and landowners who know from personal experience about their own small private hell will speak. If you have experienced drilling travesties and can be there, please contact me at _outreach(a)marcellus-wv.com_ (mailto:outreach@marcellus-wv.com) and plan to arrive by 11:30am. Earlier arrivals can meet us there to plan action for the day. Environmental lobbyists from several organizations will be there to meet, greet and guide you. MONDAY 4:30pm House of Delegates will hold a public hearing in the House Chamber. Anyone can sign up to speak. Get there early to sign up. The gas industry will rally their people at a nearby church between 2:30 & 3pm. They will show up at the public hearing all wearing the same color t-shirts. Their message will be to support the industry -- no particular position on the bill. TUESDAY: The bill will be taken up by House Judiciary. It will be crucial to have a large presence there to make our needs known to our Delegates and Senators and press them to pass strong rules in spite of the Governor’s betrayal of the people. If you only do one thing against this blatant industrialization of our hills, please make this the one. This is a pivotal point in this campaign and we need to throw everything we've got at preventing them from passing an empty bill and calling it "fixed". They are all accountable and we will call for a moratorium on further permits unless we get the elements into law that are nothing more than our human rights. If you cannot be there, you can play a powerful role by _calling or emailing your Delegate and Senators._ (http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Districts/district_zip/zipmems.cfm) Tell them you are a constituent in their district. They must thoroughly understand our determination to secure our rights for a safe supply of water and air and for preservation of our rights as landowners. How forcefully citizens make their legislators carry out their sworn constitutional duties will determine what kind of future we will have here in West Virginia. The bill and a bill summary are posted online: 10 page summary of bill at: _http://www.governor.wv.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/Documents/Governor%27s%20 Summary_Horizontal%20Well%20Act.pdf_ (http://www.governor.wv.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/Documents/Governor's%20Summary_Horizontal%20Well%20Act.pdf) Complete 99 page bill at _http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bulletin_Board/Proclamation/2011/Governor%27s_Marcellus_Shale_Bill.pdf_ (http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bulletin_Board/Proclamation/2011/Governor's_Marcellus_Shale_Bill.pdf) It is citizen pressure that caused the calling of this Special Session and it will be citizen pressure that will ensure passage of a strong Marcellus bill. Chuck Wyrostok,Sierra Club Outreach Organizer Toll free 877 252 0257, E: outreach(a)marcellus-wv.com _www.marcellus-wv.com_ (http://www.marcellus-wv.com) See also: _www.frackcheckwv.net_ (http://www.frackcheckwv.net) [View Less]

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Support CLEAR and the Friends of Cheat as much as you can!
by Duane330＠aol.com 15 Nov '11

15 Nov '11

ENVIROBYTES, A SUMMARY OF ISSUES AND EVENTS FOR WEEKS ENDING OCTOBER 21, 2011 TO NOVEMBER 4, 2011 EPA IS EVALUATING HYDRAULIC FRACTURING’S POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON DRINKING WATER On Nov. 3, EPA announced a final research plan to scientifically evaluate hydraulic fracturing, a technology used to extract natural gas. This plan will help determine hydraulic fracturing’s impact on the nation’s drinking water and to safeguard the environment and public health. The initial research results … [View More]

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Banner Year for CLEAR
by Donna Weems 05 Nov '11

05 Nov '11

Dear Friends, The Cheat Lake Environment and Recreation Association (CLEAR) works to promote recreational and environmental improvements on Cheat Lake. This has been a year for the completion of several initiatives that have been the works for many years. Under the capable direction of Duane Nichols, and the dedication of hardworking and longstanding members, CLEAR: • developed a beautiful new beach at Mill Stone Point for swimming (at your own risk) • opened a first rate new … [View More]

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Report on Sept. 21st Meeting on Proposed Preston Landfill
by Duane 22 Sep '11

22 Sep '11

Hello Everyone! Last evening a successful meeting took place at the Bruceton School cafeteria! Working groups were established and individual members and groups are now beginning to work toward the organization's major goals. Our current working mission is, "The group supports responsible management of Preston County land and resources as a component of economic development and wants to equip residents, elected officials, and legislators with accurate information." We are still looking to … [View More]

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MON RIVER TRAIL
by Duane 22 Sep '11

22 Sep '11

RE. MON RIVER TRAIL Hi everyone, An email from Tim Ball with MUB and their plans to reopen the trail very soon- this is temporary until they have hired a company to fix it and they can mobilize. He also has been trying to get WVU work on the PRT resolved to move the equipment that now sits on the trail. Ella Good news! Our consultant tells us that it should now be safe to place gravel to re-level the trail between 6th St and the Arboretum. We are currently working to temporarily … [View More]

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RAIL TRAIL SYSTEM
by Duane 16 Sep '11

16 Sep '11

Rail-trail extension plan moves forward Commission awards MSES with contract to add 17 more miles BY CHRIS DALE For The Dominion Post Marion County Commissioners moved closer to almost doubling the mileage of the county’s rail-trail system Wednesday. “We’ve been working on this project for five or six years,” Marion County Planning and Development Director Richard Walton said. “CSX wants to donate property, but before they do, CSX and our county want to ensure it meets … [View More]

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RALLY THURSDAY AT MORGANTOWN INDUSTRIAL PARK
by Duane 14 Sep '11

14 Sep '11

W.Va. Marcellus committee clears permit fee hurdle By Lawrence Messina, Charleston Gazette, September 14, 2011 CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Natural gas operators would pay $10,000 to drill a well in West Virginia's share of the Marcellus shale field, and $5,000 for each additional well at the initial site, under a proposal adopted Wednesday by a special legislative committee. The House-Senate panel also approved provisions increasing bonds posted for well projects, enhancing public notice of drilling … [View More]and compensating the owners of surface land where operators drill their wells. With the committee resuming its work next month, Wednesday's changes move lawmakers closer to a regulatory bill that they hope to propose during a special session before year's end. But the permit fee amendment has been considered a crucial hurdle in the process. Operators now pay just a few hundred dollars for a permit. The resulting revenues have helped to leave the Department of Environmental Protection's Oil and Gas office with a $1 million shortfall in its budget. Tapping the rich Marcellus reserve can involve a horizontal drilling method that differs from the practices followed for vertical wells. Marcellus drillers also employ hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and pump a high-volume, high-pressure mix of water, chemicals and sand into wells to release the shale's gas. The mile-deep rock formation, stretching beneath several states in the region, is considered one of the world's largest natural gas fields. The resulting push to drill into the shale has spurred concerns about the large amounts of water needed, the potential effects of drilling and fracking on nearby drinking supplies, and what happens to the tainted frackwater afterward. Lawmakers estimate the amended permit fees would provide DEP with $2.5 million annually, enough to cure that shortfall and allow the office to add as many as 15 additional staffers. The office would hire two field inspectors for every office worker it adds, DEP lawyer Kristen Boggs told the committee Wednesday. "I think that this is a very good compromise," said Delegate Tim Manchin, D-Marion and the committee's House co-chair. "This is a very good step forward in terms of trying to meet the needs of the folks in the impact zone and get more feet on the ground and to restore some confidence in the people that the that the state is watching out for them." Senate Co-Chair Doug Facemire said natural gas operators support the amendment. "The industry made it clear to us that they wanted to try to protect the environment and the citizens," the Braxton County Democrat said, adding that "The industry did not try to fight or obstruct this. That's an important thing, also, to bring up." The Legislature proved unable to pass a Marcellus measure during this year's regular session. Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has since ordered DEP to issue emergency regulations. Approved last month, these temporary provisions requires drillers to explain how they'll protect area land, manage the large volumes of water involved and respond to accidents, among other topics. But environmental groups and the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization argue that the emergency rule as falling short in such areas as air pollution and surface owner protections. The special committee expects to consider some of those subjects during October's interim study meetings. Critics of the state's handling of this issue include West Virginia for a Moratorium on Marcellus. They plan to picket Thursday outside a well site at Morgantown Industrial Park. This Marcellus project spurred a Morgantown ordinance banning horizontal drilling-hydraulic fracturing operations within or near city limits. A circuit judge has since blocked that ordinance. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>...............................<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Thursday,September,15·at-11:00am-6:00pm Location Near the entrance to Morgantown Industrial Park Created By Candace Jordan For Stop the Fracking in Morgantown Industrial Park More Info RALLY ON THURSDAY! LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD AT MORGANTOWN INDUSTRIAL PARK! HYDRO-FRACKING WILL BEGIN ON THE MARCELLUS WELLS IN MORGANTOWN INDUSTRIAL PARK IN MID-SEPTEMBER. BEFORE WE'RE FRACKED--LET PEOPLE IN MORGANTOWN AND THROUGHOUT WV KNOW THAT WV4MOM AND OTHER CITIZENS ARE WATCHING AND MONITORING GAS COMPANY ACTIVITIES. WE ARE NOT GOING TO GO AWAY. WE ARE NOT GIVING UP THE FIGHT TO PROTECT OUR AIR AND OUR WATER AND THE QUALITY OF OUR ENVIRONMENT. COME TO A RALLY AT THE ENTRANCE TO MORGANTOWN INDUSTRIAL PARK! LET'S RALLY AGAINST MARCELLUS DRILLING AND HYDRO-FRACKING! IT'S ABOUT TO BEGIN! WHERE: At the entrance to Morgantown Industrial Park. We have chosen a safe zone that is public space. We are allowed to rally 100 ft. from the intersection before the entrance to the Park. We will demarcate the area. WHEN: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 11 am to 2 pm and 4 pm to 6 pm. NOTE: THERE WILL BE A BREAKFROM 2 PM TO 4 PM. WHY: WV4MOM would like everyone to know that we have not gone away and that we will be watching the activities of the gas companies as they begin horizontal hydro-fracking. We also want our City Council to know that we want an appeal to Judge Tucker’s ruling. WHAT YOU CAN DO: 1. Come to the rally. Stay part of the time or all of the time. 2. Please make signs that say things like: Don't frack with our water/We can't drink money/We are watching you/Fracking is not appealing--is Morgantown?/Regulate fracking now. (Get creative, stay g-rated.) 3. Please tell your friends or others to join us. For parking: Westover Park is 1/3 mile from the intersection. If you turn right at the intersection when you are on River Road, Westover Park is about 1/3 of a mile on the left. For people who cannot walk this distance, we will work together to shuttle everyone from the Westover Park to the Rally. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. [View Less]

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Calling for a Ban on Hydrofracking
by Duane 07 Sep '11

07 Sep '11

Welcome to when the little guys become the big guys. There are hundreds of local grassroots groups in the USworking on issues related to fracking, clean water, and environmental health. Most of the individuals that make up these groups are, like us, committed unpaid volunteers who are passionate about protecting our water, air and public health. Together all of our groups and organizations make up a profound grassroots movement that carries immense power for positive change. Well, the time … [View More]has come for these grassroots groups to become the big guys and bring about this change. We've been waiting a long time, and now is our time in the sun. Let’s get together and be the large constituency we are. Take action! The National Grassroots Coalition is partnering with Josh Fox and Gasland, Credo, Democracy for America, Food and Water Watch, United for Action, and several other organizations to push a National Call Day to President Obama on September 13th. We will be calling President Obama and letting him know that we oppose Hydraulic Fracturing. Join us in announcing to your email list, website, and on Facebook and other social media this major national action. Here are the details of the call day: Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414 between 9 am and 5 pm EDT on September 13th. Say, "Hello my name is ______, I live in (City, State) and I oppose hydraulic fracturing and I want renewable and sustainable energy policy solutions." Feel free to copy this message to anyone that is appropriate in your organization. The important thing is that we let President Obama know that there is a lot of opposition to fracking. If the phone lines get jammed, send an email through the White House Contact page here. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact) This is going to be the first action of many more to come as we, together steer this country to more sane and sustainable energy policies where we don’t have to poison ourselves to power our lives. If you have questions about this event, or would like to be listed on our website, please email nationalgrassrootscoalition(a)yahoo.com or contact your regional coordinator. Thanks so much! Together we can do this! David, Ling, Nona, Diana, Chris, Eric, Rebecca, Kathy, Beth, Mary Ellen, Lynn, Charlie, Kate, Edie, Ellen, Merle, Sharon, Amanda, Alice, Meredith, and the rest of the National Grassroots Coalition Team powered by volunteers from United for Action. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. [View Less]

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Mon River Trail mudslide south of Morgantown
by Duane 07 Sep '11

07 Sep '11

>> Ella Belling <ella(a)montrails.org> 9/6/2011 2:26 PM >>> Hi everyone The Mon River Trail south near mile 12 (between Morgantown city limits and Uffington) is closed due to a massive mudslide. The Mon River Trails Conservancy will let you know when it is cleared enough to be passable but clean up may take up to 2 weeks due to the forecast of rain all week. Thanks for your patience and please help spread the word, Ella Ella Belling Executive Director Mon River Trails … [View More]

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Fwd: Cheat Lake Today Update
by Duane 06 Sep '11

06 Sep '11

> Date: September 6, 2011 9:12:47 AM EDT > To: <Duane330(a)aol.com>, "Michael Strager" <mstrager(a)wvu.edu> > Subject: Cheat Lake Today Update > > Due to high flows we will be pulling the lake below the 868 minimum level later today. At this time we will not go below 867.00’ unless conditions change. Fyi. acd > > > A thought to ponder- > > "Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising e very time we fall" > > Confucius > &… [View More]

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Significant Earthquake Jars Region
by Duane330＠aol.com 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

_http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005ild.html_ (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005ild.html) Magnitude 5.9 - VIRGINIA 2011 August 23 17:51:03 UTC * _Details_ (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005ild.html#d…) * _Summary_ (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005ild.html#s…) * _Maps_ (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005ild.… [View More]

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WV DEP TO INSPECT ALL CLASS C COAL RELATED IMPOUNDMENTS
by Duane 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

======================================================== Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 5:18 PM ============================================================ In response to today’s earthquake, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Mining and Reclamation plans to inspect all Class C coal-related impoundments in the state by tonight, DMR Director Tom Clarke said. Class C impoundments have high hazard potential. Inspections will be done in consultation with the … [View More]

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Press Conference Monday At Morgantown Waterfront Fountain: Can you attend?
by Duane330＠aol.com 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

Charleston Gazette Saturday 20 August 20111: W.Va. citizens continue to push for drilling reforms August 19, 2011 by Ken Ward Jr. More than a month after Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, acting as governor, _ordered “emergency” rules_ (http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2011/07/11/tomblin-plans-drilling-annou…) to toughen regulation of natural gas drilling in West Virginia, and the state Department of Environmental Protection has yet to issue those rules. We still don’t know … [View More]_what role the oil and gas industry’s lobbyists played_ (http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2011/07/27/drilling-lobbyists-consultan…) in crafting Tomblin’s executive order, or what role they may be playing behind the scenes in developing the WVDEP’s rules. Are any _significant changes being made_ (http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2011/07/28/what-else-did-tomblin-change…) at industry’s behest? In the Daily Mail, Ry Rivard _reports_ (http://www.dailymail.com/News/statehouse/201108171389) that a new law on drilling practices is unlikely to happen before the end of this year — and some lawmakers seem in no hurry to work on such legislation. Meanwhile, a coalition of citizen groups are planning dual events in Morgantown and Charleston on Monday to call attention to what they say are weaknesses in the Tomblin executive order. According to a press advisory from the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization: West Virginia citizens need strong protection from a range of effects of Marcellus shale and other natural gas drilling and production. Representatives from participating organizations will address such issues as air, land, and water pollution from drilling operations; water usage and waste disposal; light and noise pollution; lack of surface owners’ rights; and lack of sufficient DEP inspectors to enforce the law and ensure safety. Participants are critical of the measures proposed in Governor Tomblin’s Executive Order as being insufficient to provide the protections citizens are demanding and are calling on the legislature to act swiftly. The advisory added: The Charleston event will also include testimony from the Hagy family. The Hagy’s water well became contaminated and family members became sick after a natural gas company drilled and hydraulically fractured three natural gas wells on their property in Jackson County. Readers may recall that the Hagy’s experience _was outlined in great detail in a recent report by the Environmental Working Group_ (http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2011/08/03/report-ties-fracking-to-w-va… ) . In _a commentary today_ (http://www.wvmetronews.com/hoppy.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=47136) , Hoppy Kercheval of West Virginia MetroNews talked up his belief that a draft report from an Obama administration advisory panel on shale-gas drilling “provides balance” and dismisses concerns about water pollution from increased gas drilling activity. Hoppy must have missed this part of the _draft Department of Energy report_ (http://wvgazette.com/News/marcellus/201108111037) : Intensive shale gas development can potentially have serious impacts on public health, the environment and quality of life – even when individual operators conduct their activities in ways that meet and exceed regulatory requirements. The combination of impacts from multiple drilling and production operations, support infrastructure (pipelines, road networks, etc.) and related activities can overwhelm ecosystems and communities. The Subcommittee believes that federal, regional, state and local jurisdictions need to place greater effort on examining these cumulative impacts in a more holistic manner; discrete permitting activity that focuses narrowly on individual activities does not reach to these issues. This entry was posted on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 4:01 pm [View Less]

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CNN to broadcast Blair Mountain documentary - The Charleston Gazette
by Duane 11 Aug '11

11 Aug '11

http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201108111103 Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535.

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Raccoon
by Chester, Ann 11 Aug '11

11 Aug '11

Heads up. This morning around 7:30 AM I had an odd encounter with a raccoon while I was running about 1.25 miles from the end of Cheat Lake Trail. It hissed and snarled and lunged at me as I ran by. I will admit I was listening to my music and oblivious to it until I was already within 6 feet of it. I had inadvertently cornered it against a fence. It looked sick and scruffy and mad. I believe a healthy raccoon would not have been out at that hour or at least would have run instead of … [View More]

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Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser <Important>
by Duane330＠aol.com 09 Aug '11

09 Aug '11

CHICKEN DINNER: SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011 CHEAT LAKE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT $8.00 for Adults. Half-Size Chicken for $4.00, Children under Four are Free. Time and Location: Starts at 11:00 AM, One Miles North of I-68 on WV-857 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<… [View More]

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10th COMPACT Meeting: Dunkard Creek Restoration Plans
by Duane330＠aol.com 05 Aug '11

05 Aug '11

TENTH WV/PA MONONGAHELA AREA WATERSHEDS COMPACT MEETING BRIEFING ON PROPOSED DUNKARD CREEK FISH & MUSSEL RESTORATION PLAN, MINE WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND GOLDEN ALGAE ANALYSIS DATE: AUGUST 25, 2011, TIME: 6 PM LOCATION: WVU NRCCE, Assembly Room 101A/B, Parking Free After 4 PM This will be the public’s opportunity to hear the “Proposed Fish and Mussel Restoration Plan” for Dunkard Creek from representatives of the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (WV DNR) and … [View More]

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Dunkard Creek Meeting, Thursday, August 25th
by Duane 30 Jul '11

30 Jul '11

PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT TENTH WV/PA MONONGAHELA AREA WATERSHEDS COMPACT MEETING: BRIEFING ON PROPOSED DUNKARD CREEK FISHERY & MUSSEL RESTORATION PLAN, MINE WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND GOLDEN ALGAE ANALYSIS DATE : AUGUST 25, 2011 TIME : 6 PM LOCATION : WVU NRCCE, Assembly Room 101A/B, Parking Free After 4 PM. This will be the public’s opportunity to hear the “Proposed Fish and Mussel Restoration Plan” for Dunkard Creek from representatives of the West Virginia Department … [View More]

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EPA to Update NOx and SOx Standards
by Duane330＠aol.com 28 Jul '11

28 Jul '11

EPA TO REVIEW AND UPDATE SECONDARY NITROGEN AND SULFUR OXIDE STANDARDS AS REQUIRED BY CLEAN AIR ACT On July 13, EPA proposed to develop a multi-pollutant standard ensuring additional protection to human health and the environment and to vulnerable ecosystems (including streams and lakes), from the effects of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx). EPA will accept comments for 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, issuing a final rule by March … [View More]

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Fwd: Please pass this along
by Duane330＠aol.com 24 Jul '11

24 Jul '11

Hello, Please pass this information along to your membership list. Thanks so much. Chuck Wyrostok, Sierra Club WV ============================================================ Public Hearing Reminder with Clarksburg Hearing Details The Legislature's Select Committee on Marcellus held its first public hearing last week in Wheeling. More than 100 people attended, and of the nearly 40 speakers, the majority supported stronger regulations. You can read and watch coverage of … [View More]the hearing _here_ (http://theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/557298/Marcellus-Driller… v=515) , _here_ (http://theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/557299/Participants-Tell…) and _here_ (http://www.wtov9.com/video/28629163/index.html) . There are two more opportunities to share your concerns in person and let legislators know what you would like to see in a bill to regulate natural gas drilling in West Virginia. Here are the details for this week's public hearings: Monday, July 25 in Morgantown ~ 7:30PM at the West Virginia University College of Law Wednesday, July 27 in Clarksburg ~ 7:30PM in the auditorium at Robert C. Byrd High School The Select Committee is specifically looking for language or issues to include in a bill. WV Sierra Club’s Position Paper (attached) contains many of the specific issues that need to be addressed. One approach might be for each speaker to address one or two of the issues with other speakers addressing the others. It is important to make sure that every one of needs is supported publicly, if time allows. We don’t want to waste time by needlessly duplicating statements. These public hearings are scheduled to last only 90 minutes, and the amount of time allotted to individual speakers will be allocated according to how many citizens want to speak. So get there early and sign up. It is important to continue asking for a moratorium on Marcellus drilling until stringent rules are in place to protect citizens and the environment. Enforcement of those rules by sufficient DEP staff is equally essential. If you are unable to attend, please contact members of the select committee today. Senators: Doug Facemire, D-Braxton, Chair douglas.facemire(a)wvsenate.gov Home: 304 765 2231 Biz: 304 364 9903 Capitol: 304 357 7845 Karen Facemeyer R-Jackson karen.facemyer(a)wvsenate.gov Home: 304 372 2260 Biz: 304 428 1622 Capitol: 304 357 7855 Corey Polumbo D-Kanawha corey.palumbo(a)wvsenate.gov Home: 304 746 7933 Biz: 304 347 1781 Capitol: 304 357 7880 Herb Snyder D-Jefferson herb.snyder(a)wvsenate.gov Home: 304 725 4529 Biz: 304 725 6174 Capitol: 304 357 7957 Orphy Klempa D-Ohio orphy.klempa(a)wvsenate.gov Home: 304 242 9200 Biz: 304 233 2500 Capitol: 304 357 7918 Delegates: Tim Manchin, D-Marion, Chair tmanchin(a)manchin-aloi.com Home: 304 363 5613 Biz: 304 367 1862 Capitol: 304 340 3166 Barbara Fleischauer D-Monongalia barbaraf(a)wvhouse.gov Home: NA Biz: 304 296 7035 Capitol: 304 340 3169 Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier tcampbell(a)grcs.com Home: 304 793 3976 Biz: 304 793 3976 Capitol: 304 340 3280 Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie woody.ireland(a)wvhouse.gov Home: 304 349 2957 Biz: NA Capitol 304 340 3195 Bill Anderson, R-Wood bill.anderson(a)wvhouse.gov Home: 304 375 7880 Biz: NA Capitol 304 340 3168 Collectively, here are the email addresses for all ten: _douglas.facemire(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:douglas.facemire@wvsenate.gov) ; _karen.facemyer(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:karen.facemyer@wvsenate.gov) ; _corey.palumbo(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:corey.palumbo@wvsenate.gov) ; _herb.snyder(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:herb.snyder@wvsenate.gov) ; _orphy.klempa(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:orphy.klempa@wvsenate.gov) ; _tmanchin(a)manchin-aloi.com_ (mailto:tmanchin@manchin-aloi.com) ; _barbaraf(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:barbaraf@wvhouse.gov) ; _tcampbell(a)grcs.com_ (mailto:tcampbell@grcs.com) ; _woody.ireland(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:woody.ireland@wvhouse.gov) ; _bill.anderson(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:bill.anderson@wvhouse.gov) You can also call legislators’ Capitol offices Toll Free at 1-877-565-3447. Here are the top needs for a meaningful Marcellus bill: 1. Advance public notice of all stages in permitting and drilling 2. Adequate permit fees and bonding amounts 3. Protection of surface owners’ property and rights 4. Water withdrawal and disposal monitoring and permitting to protect streams and rivers 5. Enhance inspection of casing/cementing as critical for groundwater protection 6. Full protection of all water wells, with adequate setbacks and testing 7. Increased funding for more inspectors to assure safe practices 8. Reform method of certifying and selecting new gas inspectors 9. Removal and proper disposal of drilling pits 10. Disclosure of fracking fluid contents and safety plans for accidents 11. Protect public lands: state parks, wildlife areas, and state forests Please see attachment for a detailed “Essential Elements Needed for Regulation and Enforcement of Marcellus and Other Gas Wells”. Feel free to print and distribute copies to legislators and concerned citizens. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has said publicly that he would call a Special Session to deal with a Marcellus bill if the House and Senate could reach agreement on a bill. Make sure your ideas are part of that agreement. Thank you for taking action. Chuck Wyrostok Sierra Club Outreach Organizer Toll free 877 252 0257 E: outreach(a)marcellus-wv.com www.marcellus-wv.com [View Less]

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CLEAR members and friends invited.........................
by Duane330＠aol.com 30 Jun '11

30 Jun '11

Chuck Simons' Memorial Dedication, Saturday, July 9th at 1 pm Cheat Lake Park and Trail Picnic to follow at Rubbles Run picnic area. Please RSVP to Suzy Palcic at (724)838-6101 by July 1st.

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Public meeting on Preston Landfill: Thursday, June 30th at 7 pm
by Duane330＠aol.com 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 22, 2011 Amanda Pitzer, Executive Director Friends of the Cheat 119 South Price St., Ste. 206 Kingwood, WV 26537 (304) 329-3621 _Amanda(a)cheat.org_ (mailto:Amanda@cheat.org) Community Meeting on Proposed Big Sandy/Bruceton Mills Oil Field Waste Landfill Friends of the Cheat (FOC) will facilitate a community meeting to discuss the proposed landfill sited near Big Sandy and Little Sandy Creeks, about 3 miles outside of Bruceton Mills, on Thursday, June … [View More]

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Chuck Simons Memorial Dedication: 1 pm, July 9th
by Duane330＠aol.com 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

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The Mon Valley and The Cheat Watershed
by Duane 07 Jun '11

07 Jun '11

NOTE: TONIGHT THE MORGANTOWN CITY COUNCIL WILL BE TAKING UP AN ORDINANCE TO BAN MARCELLUS WELLS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS AND A BAN ON FRACKING OUT ONE MILE FROM THE CITY LIMITS. ALSO OUR CHEAT RIVER AND CHEAT LAKE ARE AT RISK PRIMARILY DUE TO THE FORTY OR SO DRILLING PERMITS IN THE CHEAT WATERSHED, IN BOTH WEST VIRGINIA AND PENNSYLVANIA. ALSO OF CONCERN IS A PROPOSAL TO SITE A SOLID WASTE LANDFILL NEAR THE BIG SANDY. SEE THE MESSAGE BELOW FROM OUR FRIEND CHARLIE WALBRIDGE. Duane Nichols, … [View More]Cell- 304-216-5535. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> FROM CHARLIE WALBRIDGE, PRESTON COUNTY. RE: PROPOSED MARCELLUS SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SITE IN THE LOWER CHEAT WATERSHED........"........................".................................. This is a very dangerous project! Exploration and production waste from gas drilling is currently EXEMPT from all government safeguards and monitoring. Although the dump site owners say it is safe, the truth is that no one really knows and there is much evidence that says otherwise! It's a clear threat to ground and surface water needed to support our families, maintain our livestock, and maintain a healthy population of wildlife and fisheries.The site is in between the Big Sandy and Little Sandy Creeks, both of which important fishing streams. Jobs and economic development are important, but we must also weigh the catastrophic economic costs if precipitous drop in water quality drives people off their homes and farms. I cannot support an activity which poses such a terrible threat to our way of life. Your help is needed NOW, especially if you live in or own property in Preston County. Please send letters to: Preston County Solid Waste Authority c/o Mr. Fred Taylor 118 Lick Run Rd. Newburg, WV 26410 and the Preston County Commission 106 W Main Street, Room 202Kingwood, WV 26537. Ask them NOT TO APPROVE the landfill because of its danger to our water supply and the fish ans wildlife along the Big Sandy River. The Preston County Solid Waste Authority and the WVDEP's approved siting plan does not allow for this type of facility to be built there. Ask them not to amend their plan. They can stop it locally, and they will if they hear from enough people. Friends of the Cheat is trying to stay on top of this and other marcellus issues, but needs your support. Please send what you can to them at 119 S. Price St., Kingwood, WV 26537. Phone304-329-362; they take credit cards. Bruceton landfill approval vote delayed Friday June 3, 2011 By Michelle Wolford The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. KINGWOOD -- The Preston County Solid Waste Authority (PCSWA) voted unanimously this week to delay support for a proposed landfill in Bruceton Mills until certain conditions are met. CCS Mainstream Services has purchased 250 acres near W.Va. 26 in Bruceton Mills on which it would like to install a facility for the disposal of waste from the oil and gas industries. The company's first hurdle is the local Solid Waste Authority. CCS Mainstream Services is based in Texas and Canada and has built 24 such facilities, all of them in Canada, according to the company's website. PCSWA Chair Fred Taylor said unless CCS Mainstream Services obtains an alternative route to the site, which is off Benson Road, the PCSWA will not support it. The motion also calls for CCS to supply an environmental impact statement. The Bruceton Mills site was chosen for its proximity to Interstate 68 -- "and a labor force looking for work," said Scott Herbst, manager of engineering projects for CCS Midstream. He said the project is still in the research stages. The plan calls for a 120-acre footprint on the 250-acre parcel, and the employment of "between 15 and 20 full-time employees," Herbst said. Taylor said he told Solid Waste Authority members that Bruceton Mills is the cleanest part of Preston County and not only has access to I-68 but also clean water and trout streams. "I bragged on Bruceton," he said. "It's a good family area and a lot of good people are moving there." The proposed site is near the confluence of Little Sandy Creek and Big Sandy Creek. Greg Sypolt, another PCSWA member, said he's neutral on the landfill, but wants to know what would come to it. [View Less]

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CONCERN FOR MARCELLUS WELLS IN OUR AREA
by Duane 24 May '11

24 May '11

COMMUNITY COALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE May 25 We are growing! Keep up the momentum! Let's Hear YOUR Voice Again and Again!! Together we can STOP Marcellus Gas Drilling at Morgantown Industrial Park Upstream of Morgantown's Drinking Water Plant Near County Schools! PLEASE COME to a Community-side Rally to Express YOUR Concerns and Questions WHERE: Mon County Courthouse Square, High Street, Downtown Morgantown WHEN: Wednesday, May 25, Noon to 1:00 pm Bring Your Kids, Bring Your Friends, Bring a … [View More]Sign (g-rated) Please forward this announcement to your friends, family and neighbors. Rally contact: frackinquestions(a)gmail.com June 2 PUBLIC MEETING ON THE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF MARCELLUS NATURAL GAS ACTIVITIES: WHERE ARE WE, WHERE ARE WE GOING Date: Thursday, June 2, 2011. Time: 6:15 PM SHARP. [Doors Open at 6:00 PM]. Location: Skyview Elementary School (near Marcellus well site) [Off River Road just South of DuPont Road, South of Westover] SPONSORS: WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact (Barry Pallay & Duane Nichols) and the League of Women Voters (Kitty Lozier, Phyllis Marshall, Janice Gunel, Jonathan Rosenbaum) Welcome and Introductions (Identification of Groups Present). Barry Pallay, Co-Chair Watersheds Compact, VP UMRA Overview of Permitted Wells near Morgantown Industrial Park In Relation to MUB Water Intake, Local Schools and Other Facilities. Evan Hansen, President, Downstream Strategies The AES Sweetwater Facility for Recycling Marcellus Frackwater Being Installed at theMorgantown Industrial Park. Duane Nichols, Co-Chair Watersheds Compact The Proposed Preston County Landfill for Marcellus Wastes Under Consideration in the Cheat Watershed. Amanda Pitzer, Friends of the Cheat. Review of Marcellus Natural Gas Development Activities in Pennsylvania. Martin Niverth, UMRA. Update on Wetzel County Marcellus Developments. Bill Hughes, Wetzel County Action Group Status Report on Activities to Ban Marcellus Drilling in and around Morgantown and the Watershed that Provides Drinking Water to Morgantown. Speaker TBA Update on the Citizens Stream Monitoring Program of the Isaac Walton League. John Butler West Virginia Source Water Protection, Certification & Training Program. How Does It Relate toMorgantown Needs. Bill Toomey, DHHR, Bureau of Public Health WVU Source Water Protection Resource Program. How Does It Relate to Morgantown Needs. Gerald Iwan, WVU National Environmental Services Center WV-DEP Division of Water & Waste Management Programs Related to Source Water Protection, How Does It Relate To Morgantown Needs. Invited. WV-DEP Division of Air Quality Programs Related to Air Quality Protection. How Does It Relate to Morgantown Needs. Invited. The Land Protection Program of the WV-DEP Office of Oil and Gas Land/Mineral Protection Programs. How Does It Relate To Morgantown Needs. Invited. Army Corps of Engineer Water Resources and Management Programs, How Does It Relate To Morgantown Needs. TBA Morgantown Utility Board (MUB) Programs, How Does It Relate To Morgantown Needs. Tim Ball, Director, MUB Update on Activities of the Morgantown Area Concerned Citizens. Kathy Cash, Sandra Fallon, Ann Payne, Alice Meehan, Catherine Tall Listing of the Concerns of the Groups Present. Barry Pallay, Facilitator Resolutions on Water, Air and Land Protections Programs. Barry Pallay, Facilitator Concluding Remarks and Announcements Duane Nichols, Home- 304-599-8040, Cell- 304-216-5535. [View Less]

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Water, water, but what is in it?
by Duane330＠aol.com 15 May '11

15 May '11

Watershed Report: our newest feature Observer-Reporter, Washington, PA, May 15, 2011 Much of the quality of life here in Southwestern Pennsylvania has to do with the quality of our water. It is what we drink and what we use for cooking, washing and bathing. We use it to water our gardens and our crops. We swim in it and we fish in it. It is the blood of the veins of our land. And that is why it is so crucial to protect our water resources from the numerous and increasing … [View More]sources of pollution: sewage, fertilizer and pesticides, industrial wastes and contaminants from coal mining and gas drilling. A coalition of local organizations - the Greene-Washington County Water Quality Awareness Group - is now working in cooperation with the state Department of Environmental Protection to regularly test creeks and streams for pollutants. This newspaper has agreed to publish its monthly reports, the first of which appears today. Today's report calls attention to Whiteley Creek in Greene County. Results of the testing by volunteers and the DEP indicate that it is a "hot spot" in need of action to prevent it from suffering the damages inflicted on Dunkard Creek, made lifeless by mine water. We applaud the local chapter of the Izaak Walton League and the other groups in the coalition for their efforts in preserving our most vital natural resource. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Marcellus Gas Drilling is Scheduled to Begin in Morgantown Industrial Park Soon Upstream of Morgantown’s Drinking Water Plant Near County Schools PLEASE COME to a Community-wide Rally to Express YOUR Concerns and Questions WHERE: Mon County Courthouse Square. High Street, Downtown Morgantown WHEN: Wednesday, May 18, 10:00 to Noon Bring Your Kids and Bring a Sign (G-rated) Please forward this announcement to your friends, family and neighbors. For your information: Morgantown Utility Board’s letters to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection stating its concerns are attached and can be downloaded from the Charleston Gazette blog: _http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2011/05/13/morgantown-utility-board-see ks-drilling-safeguards_ (http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2011/05/13/morgantown-utility-board-see…) Organized by concerned Morgantown area citizens: Kathy Cash, Sharon Goodman, Ann Payne, Marc Glass, Catherine Tall, Sandra Fallon, Cindy O'Brien [View Less]

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Work underway on two Marcellus wells near Morgantown
by Duane330＠aol.com 14 May '11

14 May '11

REPORT ON THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MORGANTOWN LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS At the annual Morgantown League of Women Voters meeting today, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what the major topic of discussion was about. Both Barbara Fleischauer and Charlene Marshall were in attendance (Amanda Pasdon is a member, too). Legislators can be members but they can't serve on Board positions. The Natural Resources committee convened after the meeting. We will have a spokesperson at both … [View More]

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Ice's Ferry bridge being replaced
by Duane330＠aol.com 14 May '11

14 May '11

DOMINION POST local page 7A Saturday 14 May 2011: History surrounds Ice’s Ferry, bridge CURIOSITY GETS the better of us as contractors prepare to build a new bridge to replace the Ice’s Ferry span across Cheat Lake along W.Va. 857. We know there is much history surrounding the bridge location and the lake bed that once housed an entire community. Some remember buildings that existed in that area when there actually was an Ice’s Ferry carrying people across Cheat River. … [View More]Others recall playing baseball at a field eliminated when the river was dammed for its hydroelectric capabilities. Elliott’s roller mill, built in 1840, was one of the facilities near where the ferry crossed. The first bridge was erected in 1900, but it was destroyed by an ice floe in 1918. One section of the current bridge was erected in 1920. Extensions were added when the river was converted into a lake. The area had at least 16 ferries operating from time to time between the early 1780s and 1806. The Ice’s Ferry vessel was among the most prominent because of its location. It provided a way to move people, animals and vehicles from Morgantown to the east side of the river. One of the most famous people to cross the ferry was George Washington, on his survey of an east-west road in 1784. As a boy, Washington also did some surveying in this region for Lord Fairfax, who was granted a vast area of land in western Virginia. He had nearly 300 tracts of land surveyed in this region. Fairfax, who considered himself a British subject, was saved from embarrassment during the Revolutionary War because of his friendship with Washington. Fairfax became despondent when the British were defeated Oct. 19, 1781, and died soon after at the age of 92. Before the war ended, the government of Virginia began taking Fairfax’s property and giving it to settlers. That region today lies in West Virginia. Meanwhile, back to the Ice’s Ferry Bridge (or Cheat River Bridge if you prefer), that’s to be replaced by October 2012. Efforts by the state to sell the iron bridge for a dollar didn’t materialize, so the contractor will dismantle it as a new span is built. When the ferry was about to cease operations in 1900, there was a near tragedy involving local citizens. They had crossed on the ferry in their carriage, heading to Mont Chateau. On the return trip, their carriage toppled into the river. All passengers were rescued unharmed. Isaac Hastings operated the ferry in 1877. By 1882, it was used by a four-horse stage coach that carried passengers from Morgantown to Uniontown, Pa. When the first bridge across the Cheat at that location was destroyed by ice in 1918, the ferry was in operation under the management of Harry Hall. It remained in operation until the new span was finished in 1920. For many years after the lake was formed, local residents talked about the hazards that could be in store for swimmers and boaters. They thought that barbed-wire fences and farm buildings were still under the water where a person could be snagged and injured. Although there have been many drownings in the lake during its existence, none was associated with underwater hazards that I know of. There have been instances of people being killed or injured near the bridge. Although swimming in that area has been prohibited, some young swimmers still used the span as a diving board. There also have been times when stolen goods, such as a safe, have been dumped into the lake near the bridge. Now, we are entering a new era, with new stories about the 2012 Ice’s Ferry Bridge. JOHN SAMSELL is a retired copy editor/ special sections editor for The Dominion Post. His column appears Saturday. Send email to johnsamsell(a)hotmail.com. [View Less]

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Tapping good water is not a simple task
by Duane 10 May '11

10 May '11

TOAST TO TAP WATER– Celebrate National Drinking Water Week from May 1st to May 7th, 2011! ........I just received this today, May 10th! Since Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day, a safe water supply is critical to protecting Americans’ health. How is your community protecting your tap water? What actions can you can take to protect your precious water supply? Share your thoughts and ideas at http://blog.epa.gov/healthywaters/ OBAMA ADMINISTRATION COMMITS … [View More]

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Marcellus Shale Gas Activities in the Mon and Cheat River valleys
by Duane 06 May '11

06 May '11

> From: Frack Check WV <frackcheckwv(a)gmail.com> > Date: May 6, 2011 1:09:09 PM EDT > Subject: Monitoring Marcellus Shale Gas Activities in the Cheat River Watershed > > Monitoring Marcellus Shale Gas Activities in the Cheat River Watershed > > Monitoring Marcellus Shale Gas Activities in the Cheat River Watershed > Posted: 06 May 2011 07:16 AM PDT > The lower Cheat River watershed is now challenged by an influx of Marcellus shale natural gas development. … [View More]An article and map have been prepared by the Friends of the Cheat (FOC) to illustrate how these sites are concentrated, many on quality streams. As of early April, there have been over 50 Marcellus related gas permits issued in Preston County. > > Also, construction has commenced on a natural gas gathering pipeline running south from the WV/PA line northeast of Bruceton Mills. Superior Appalachian Pipeline Company of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, broke ground for a 16-mile natural gas project on March 1st. Superior said the area has had limited ability to transport natural gas, and the new pipeline will make that easier. > > Further, rumors of a commercial solid waste facility to accept the dried byproduct of produced water swirled last summer. An article in the Morgantown Dominion Post on July 28, 2010 said that the rumors of a new landfill for Marcellus drilling wastes near Bruceton Mills had raised concerns among local citizens. And, on April 29, 2011 this same newspaper reported that a meeting was underway with the WV-DEP in Charleston to discuss such a landfill with an unidentified company. It was reported that the WV Public Service Commission would not approve a landfill without the approval of the Preston County Solid Waste Authority. > > This region’s oil and gas inspector has over 5,000 wells on his roster and the development of many new wells is just getting started. FOC works each day to remediate the impacts of pre-regulatory coal mine pollution. Over $50 million has been spent cleaning up these impacts in the Cheat River watershed and some 14 treatment systems have been installed. The progress that has been made to clean up the Cheat River and Cheat Lake is now at stake. “Let’s take our time and do it right this time,” said Amanda Pitzer, Executive Director of the Friends of the Cheat. She said that “We can all wait. The gas will still be 8,000 feet under our beautiful mountain homes in the mean time.” > > > Two Marcellus Permits Issued for Morgantown Industrial Park, Upstream of Drinking Water Intake > Posted: 05 May 2011 10:44 PM PDT > View Larger Map > The WV DEP, in March, issued permits for Northeast Natural Energy of Charleston, WV to drill two Marcellus gas wells on a well pad in the Morgantown Industrial Park. The company has the option to apply to drill four more wells on the pad. The fact that the site is located upstream of the Morgantown drinking water intake, could be a large source of air pollution almost inside the city, and had no public comment period before the permit was issued, has caused concern among officials and watershed groups. > > Read the full article in the Charleston Daily Mail… > > The map above is an approximate location. For exact coordinates of the well pad, search for API#061-01622 on the WV DEP Oil and Gas Interactive Map > > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< [View Less]

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The CHEAT FESTIVAL is THIS SATURDAY
by Duane 05 May '11

05 May '11

"INTO THE CANYON" NEWSLETTER See also: www.cheat.org Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535.

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17th Annual Cheat River Festival (aka CheatFest) on May 7th
by duane330＠aol.com 26 Apr '11

26 Apr '11

17th Annual Cheat River Festival (Rt. 26 Albright, WV, from May 07, 2011 12:00 PM to May 07, 2011 11:00 PM) The festival is a celebration of the Cheat River and its improving water quality. Friends of the Cheat formed in 1994 after a deep mine seal blow out & millions of gallons of highly acidic drainage colored Muddy Creek and the Cheat River bright orange, killing fish for miles downstream. Since that time many water restoration projects have been completed on the lower Cheat and … [View More]

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EIGHTH COMPACT MEETING -- April 28th, Airport, 1 PM.
by Duane330＠aol.com 19 Apr '11

19 Apr '11

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> EIGHTH MEETING: APRIL 28TH WV/PA MONONGAHELA AREA WATERSHEDS COMPACT THURSDAY, 4/28/2011, 1:00 PM, MORGANTOWN AIRPORT ANNEX 1. Opening Statements, Introductions ……………….Barry Pallay, Co-Chair 2. Testimonials on Residential Impacts in … [View More]

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Water Quality Standards, WV DEP. See Schedule in Link below.
by Duane 29 Mar '11

29 Mar '11

http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/Programs/wqs/Pages/default.aspx Duane Nichols

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Charles L. (Chuck) Simons death reported.
by Duane330＠aol.com 29 Mar '11

29 Mar '11

To: Cheat Lake Environment & Recreation Association. Date: March 29, 2011 From: Andy Datsko, Manager, Lake Lynn Dam. RE: Charles L. (Chuck) Simons, Manager of Environmental Affairs, Greensburg, PA With a heavy heart I report that Chuck Simons passed away last evening after a short illness. (He had a heart attack this past Wednesday and was hospitalized in Greensburg.) Please pass this information on to others who may have known Chuck or worked with him in the past. … [View More]

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Help! Morgantown City Council Resolution
by dfvet＠aol.com 28 Mar '11

28 Mar '11

Hi. I'm urging all Morgantown green groups to please write a letter encouraging the City Council to pass the resolution that calls for a temporary cessation of the issuing of new gas drilling permits. The resolution will be considered tomorrow, Tuesday at 7PM. Send reps to the meeting if you can. The WVDEP is already overwhelmed and no protective law was passed during the legislative session to provide funding to the WVDEP nor give the agency any teeth for enforcement. Here is the link … [View More]

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Water contaminant monitoring
by Duane330＠aol.com 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

EPA IS PROPOSING NEW GROUP OF 30 UNREGULATED WATER CONTAMINANTS FOR MONITORING AND PUBLIC COMMENT EPA is required by the Safe Drinking Water Act to identify up to 30 unregulated contaminants for monitoring every five years and is requesting public comment on 30 contaminants until May 2, 2011. EPA will consider the public input before the list is finalized in 2012. Sampling will be conducted from 2013 to 2015 at systems serving more than 10,000 people and at 800 systems serving … [View More]

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Dunkard Creek Fish Kill Settlement
by Duane330＠aol.com 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

DUNKARD CREEK FISH KILL SETTLEMENT ============================================================ Monday, March 14, 2011 @ 3:07 PM ============================================================ The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the state Division of Natural Resources have entered into a proposed settlement with CONSOL Energy in which the company has agreed to pay $500,000 for natural resources damages in Dunkard Creek in Monongalia County. The $500,000 … [View More]settlement is in addition to a $5.5 million civil penalty the company will pay and nearly $200 million the company will spend on the construction of an advanced water treatment plant to address high levels of chlorides discharged from four of its underground mines in northern West Virginia. Both the civil penalty and the water treatment plant are part of a settlement the company entered into with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the WVDEP. In September 2009, thousands of fish, mussels and amphibians were killed in Dunkard Creek because of toxins produced by Golden Algae that had begun blooming in the stream. Golden Algae, which is not native to West Virginia’s fresh water streams, is more commonly found in brackish or salty water bodies. Although it was never determined how the Golden Algae was introduced into Dunkard Creek, research indicated that nutrients and high levels of chlorides and dissolved solids can contribute to its growth. “In the days immediately following the fish kill in Dunkard Creek, CONSOL voluntarily worked with the DEP and the EPA to proactively manage their mining operations to minimize the risk of another algae outbreak while at the same time keeping their miners working,” said DEP Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman. With requirements put in place by the WVDEP to reduce the amount of chlorides and total dissolved solids (TDS) in Dunkard Creek, the Monongalia County stream continues to avoid dangerous algae blooms that can threaten aquatic life. Additionally, the state DNR reports that fish are returning to Dunkard Creek following the massive kill. A fish survey conducted at one station on Dunkard Creek a month following the September 2009 fish kill revealed only four species of fish. By July 2010, sampling revealed 29 species at that same station. In 2005, the same location had 33 species. On Dec. 18, 2009, the WVDEP issued the first of two orders to CONSOL that addressed the company’s mine water management in relation to CONSOL pumping water from its underground mining operations into Dunkard Creek; established Golden Algae monitoring requirements for CONSOL; called for the company to monitor for chlorides, TDS, selenium and specific conductance at various outlets on Dunkard Creek; and set chloride and specific conductance levels for CONSOL discharges. Patrick Campbell, of the WVDEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management, said Dunkard Creek has been free of Golden Algae since January 2010. “Multiple locations on Dunkard Creek have been monitored weekly by the company and periodically by us (WVDEP) since January and nothing has turned up,” Campbell said. “We also sampled 40 other locations around the state last summer and didn’t find Golden Algae, which I think is significant. As far as we can tell right now, this was isolated to Dunkard Creek.” Still, Campbell said the WVDEP would likely monitor for Golden Algae “for the next four or five years or until we get some confidence level that this was an isolated event.” Although it will likely take decades for the mussel population to return, DNR biologists found that fish such as minnows, darters and suckers are returning to Dunkard Creek from tributaries and some reproduction is occurring. “This is a reflection that water quality has improved and is being maintained,” Campbell said. Mining is critical to our state’s economy, but clean water is paramount. The cooperative efforts by all involved are protecting both. According to CONSOL, not one job will be lost, but the plan will result in clean water. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> _http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consol-energy-reaches-ground-breaki ng-clean-water-agreement-with-us-epa-and-west-virginia-dep-117939064.html_ (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consol-energy-reaches-ground-breakin g-clean-water-agreement-with-us-epa-and-west-virginia-dep-117939064.html) [View Less]

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Special Legislative Session Needed To Address Impacts
by Duane 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

Acting Governor Tomblin’s office is keeping a list of callers requesting a special session for legislation on the impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Concerned citizens can leave a message with his secretary at (304) 558-2000. The next meeting of the WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact is set for 1 PM on Wednesday, March 23rd, at the Morgantown Airport Annex, and will address many of the Marcellus related issues. An Agenda will be distribute shortly. Duane Nichols, Home- 304-599-8040, Cell- 304-216-5535.

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Action Alerts from WV Environmental Council
by duane330＠aol.com 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

West Virginia Environmental Council Action Alert February 28, 2011 WVEC Alerts Archive Below are Two (2) Action Alerts: HB 2878 – Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling and Water Quality Standards Rule (incl. 500 ppm TDS) HB 2878: Please contact all of your representatives in the House of Delegates – urge passage of HB 2878. We need to reach every member of the House today. This bill MUST pass the House by Wednesday to remain active this session. Although this bill lacks a lot of what we’d … [View More]like to see in a bill regulating the drilling of Marcellus Shale gas, the goal is to keep the discussion about Marcellus alive with hopes of improving it within the next two weeks. Water Quality Standards Rule: Please contact members of House Judiciary, and urge this committee to RESTORE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE passed by the Rule Committee on Water Quality Standards. The bill (and the fate of) water quality in West Virginia is now in the hands of House Judiciary – after being gutted in Senate Natural Resources, and Senate Judiciary declining to restore the proposed standards. The rule has now been “bundled” with all the rest of the DEP rules and sent to the House, where restoring DEP’s proposed revisions will be opposed by the same industry lobbyists who succeeded in gutting it in the Senate. Senate Natural Resources Committee approved amendments to remove “excessive water withdrawals” from the rule’s list of activities not allowed in state waters; to remove a new standard for phosphorous to prevent algae blooms in the Greenbrier River; and to remove a new standard for “total dissolved solids” (TDS), which would have provided cleaner drinking water for most West Virginians. Please contact House Judiciary members: Ask them to protect West Virginia’s water. Restore the original language passed by the Rules Committee on Water Quality Standards. Tim Miley, Chair: (304) 340-3252 tim.miley(a)wvhouse.gov Mark Hunt, Vice Chair: (304) 340-3392 mhunt(a)markahunt.com John Ellem: (304) 340-3394 ellem(a)wirefire.com Patrick Lane: (304) 340-3275 patricklane(a)wvhouse.gov Larry Barker: (304) 340-3149 larry.barker(a)wvhouse.gov Bonnie Brown: (304) 340-3106 bonnie.brown(a)wvhouse.gov Mike Caputo: (304) 340-3249 mike.caputo(a)wvhouse.gov Michael Ferrro: (304) 340-3111 mike.ferro(a)wvhouse.gov Barbara Fleischauer: (304) 340-3169 barbaraf(a)wvhouse.gov John Frazier: (304) 340-3396 jfrazier(a)mail.wvnet.edu Linda Longstreth: (304) 340-3124 linda.longstreth(a)wvhouse.gov Mike Manypenny: (304) 340-3139 mike.manypenny(a)wvhouse.gov Harold Michael: (304) 340-3340 harold(a)hardynet.com Clif Moore: (304) 340-3189 clif.moore(a)wvhouse.gov John Pino: (304) 340-3170 john.pino(a)wvhouse.gov Meshea Poore: (304) 340-3248 meshea.poore(a)wvhouse.gov Doug Skaff: (304) 340-3362 doug.skaff(a)wvhouse.gov Danny Wells: (304) 340-3287 danny.wells(a)wvhouse.gov Troy Andes: (304) 340-3121 troy.andes(a)wvhouse.gov Bill Hamilton: (304) 340-3167 bill.Hamilton(a)wvhouse.gov Woody Ireland: (304) 340-3195 woody.Ireland(a)wvhouse.gov Carol Miller: (304) 340-3176 carol.miller(a)wvhouse.gov Jonathan Miller: (304) 340-3147 jonathan(a)delegatejmiller.com John Overington: (304) 340-3148 john(a)overington.com Kelli Sobonya: (304) 340-3175 kelli.sobonya(a)wvhouse.gov [View Less]

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Regulation Lax for Marcellus Gas Wells
by Duane330＠aol.com 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

Regulation Is Lax for Water From Gas Wells Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sunday, February 27, 2011 By IAN URBINA, The New York Times The American landscape is dotted with hundreds of thousands of new wells and drilling rigs, as the country scrambles to tap into this century's gold rush -- for natural gas. The gas has always been there, of course, trapped deep underground in countless tiny bubbles, like frozen spills of seltzer water between thin layers of shale rock. But drilling … [View More]companies have only in recent years developed techniques to unlock the enormous reserves, thought to be enough to supply the country with gas for heating buildings, generating electricity and powering vehicles for up to a hundred years. So energy companies are clamoring to drill. And they are getting rare support from their usual sparring partners. Environmentalists say using natural gas will help slow climate change because it burns more cleanly than coal and oil. Lawmakers hail the gas as a source of jobs. They also see it as a way to wean the United States from its dependency on other countries for oil. But the relatively new drilling method -- known as high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking -- carries significant environmental risks. It involves injecting huge amounts of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, at high pressures to break up rock formations and release the gas. With hydrofracking, a well can produce over a million gallons of wastewater that is often laced with highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium, all of which can occur naturally thousands of feet underground. Other carcinogenic materials can be added to the wastewater by the chemicals used in the hydrofracking itself. While the existence of the toxic wastes has been reported, thousands of internal documents obtained by The New York Times from the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators and drillers show that the dangers to the environment and health are greater than previously understood. The documents reveal that the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle. Other documents and interviews show that many E.P.A. scientists are alarmed, warning that the drilling waste is a threat to drinking water in Pennsylvania. Their concern is based partly on a 2009 study, never made public, written by an E.P.A. consultant who concluded that some sewage treatment plants were incapable of removing certain drilling waste contaminants and were probably violating the law. The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways. But the E.P.A. has not intervened. In fact, federal and state regulators are allowing most sewage treatment plants that accept drilling waste not to test for radioactivity. And most drinking-water intake plants downstream from those sewage treatment plants in Pennsylvania, with the blessing of regulators, have not tested for radioactivity since before 2006, even though the drilling boom began in 2008. In other words, there is no way of guaranteeing that the drinking water taken in by all these plants is safe. That has experts worried. "We're burning the furniture to heat the house," said John H. Quigley, who left last month as secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. "In shifting away from coal and toward natural gas, we're trying for cleaner air, but we're producing massive amounts of toxic wastewater with salts and naturally occurring radioactive materials, and it's not clear we have a plan for properly handling this waste." The risks are particularly severe in Pennsylvania, which has seen a sharp increase in drilling, with roughly 71,000 active gas wells, up from about 36,000 in 2000. The level of radioactivity in the wastewater has sometimes been hundreds or even thousands of times the maximum allowed by the federal standard for drinking water. While people clearly do not drink drilling wastewater, the reason to use the drinking-water standard for comparison is that there is no comprehensive federal standard for what constitutes safe levels of radioactivity in drilling wastewater. Drillers trucked at least half of this waste to public sewage treatment plants in Pennsylvania in 2008 and 2009, according to state officials. Some of it has been sent to other states, including New York and West Virginia. Yet sewage treatment plant operators say they are far less capable of removing radioactive contaminants than most other toxic substances. Indeed, most of these facilities cannot remove enough of the radioactive material to meet federal drinking-water standards before discharging the wastewater into rivers, sometimes just miles upstream from drinking-water intake plants. In Pennsylvania, these treatment plants discharged waste into some of the state's major river basins. Greater amounts of the wastewater went to the Monongahela River, which provides drinking water to more than 800,000 people in the western part of the state, including Pittsburgh, and to the Susquehanna River, which feeds into Chesapeake Bay and provides drinking water to more than six million people, including some in Harrisburg and Baltimore. Lower amounts have been discharged into the Delaware River, which provides drinking water for more than 15 million people in Philadelphia and eastern Pennsylvania. In New York, the wastewater was sent to two plants that discharge into Southern Cayuga Lake, near Ithaca, and Owasco Outlet, near Auburn. In West Virginia, a plant in Wheeling discharged gas-drilling wastewater into the Ohio River. "Hydrofracking impacts associated with health problems as well as widespread air and water contamination have been reported in at least a dozen states," said Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, a business in Ithaca, N.Y., that compiles data on gas drilling. Problems in Other Regions While Pennsylvania is an extreme case, the risks posed by hydrofracking extend across the country. There were more than 493,000 active natural-gas wells in the United States in 2009, almost double the number in 1990. Around 90 percent have used hydrofracking to get more gas flowing, according to the drilling industry. Gas has seeped into underground drinking-water supplies in at least five states, including Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia, and residents blamed natural-gas drilling. Air pollution caused by natural-gas drilling is a growing threat, too. Wyoming, for example, failed in 2009 to meet federal standards for air quality for the first time in its history partly because of the fumes containing benzene and toluene from roughly 27,000 wells, the vast majority drilled in the past five years. In a sparsely populated Sublette County in Wyoming, which has some of the highest concentrations of wells, vapors reacting to sunlight have contributed to levels of ozone higher than those recorded in Houston and Los Angeles. Industry officials say any dangerous waste from the wells is handled in compliance with state and federal laws, adding that drilling companies are recycling more wastewater now. They also say that hydrofracking is well regulated by the states and that it has been used safely for decades. But hydrofracking technology has become more powerful and more widely used in recent years, producing far more wastewater. Some of the problems with this drilling, including its environmental impact and the challenge of disposing of waste, have been documented by ProPublica, The Associated Press and other news organizations. And recent incidents underscore the dangers. In late 2008, drilling and coal-mine waste released during a drought so overwhelmed the Monongahela that local officials advised people in the Pittsburgh area to drink bottled water. E.P.A. officials described the incident in an internal memorandum as "one of the largest failures in U.S. history to supply clean drinking water to the public." In Texas, which now has about 93,000 natural-gas wells, up from around 58,000 a dozen years ago, a hospital system in six counties with some of the heaviest drilling said in 2010 that it found a 25 percent asthma rate for young children, more than three times the state rate of about 7 percent. "It's ruining us," said Kelly Gant, whose 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son have experienced severe asthma attacks, dizzy spells and headaches since a compressor station and a gas well were set up about two years ago near her house in Bartonville, Tex. The industry and state regulators have said it is not clear what role the gas industry has played in causing such problems, since the area has had high air pollution for a while. "I'm not an activist, an alarmist, a Democrat, environmentalist or anything like that," Ms. Gant said. "I'm just a person who isn't able to manage the health of my family because of all this drilling." And yet, for all its problems, natural gas offers some clear environmental advantages over coal, which is used more than any other fuel to generate electricity in the United States. Coal-fired power plants without updated equipment to capture pollutants are a major source of radioactive pollution. Coal mines annually produce millions of tons of toxic waste. But the hazards associated with natural-gas production and drilling are far less understood than those associated with other fossil fuels, and the regulations have not kept pace with the natural-gas industry's expansion. Pennsylvania, Ground Zero Pennsylvania, which sits atop an enormous reserve called the Marcellus Shale, has been called the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. This rock formation, roughly the size of Greece, lies more than a mile beneath the Appalachian landscape, from Virginia to the southern half of New York. It is believed to hold enough gas to supply the country's energy needs for heat and electricity, at current consumption rates, for more than 15 years. Drilling companies were issued roughly 3,300 Marcellus gas-well permits in Pennsylvania last year, up from just 117 in 2007. This has brought thousands of jobs, five-figure windfalls for residents who lease their land to the drillers and revenue for a state that has struggled with budget deficits. It has also transformed the landscape of southwestern Pennsylvania and brought heavy burdens. Drilling derricks tower over barns, lining rural roads like feed silos. Drilling sites bustle around the clock with workers, some in yellow hazardous material suits, and 18-wheelers haul equipment, water and waste along back roads. The rigs announce their presence with the occasional boom and quiver of underground explosions. Smelling like raw sewage mixed with gasoline, drilling-waste pits, some as large as a football field, sit close to homes. Anywhere from 10 percent to 40 percent of the water sent down the well during hydrofracking returns to the surface, carrying drilling chemicals, very high levels of salts and, at times, naturally occurring radioactive material. While most states require drillers to dispose of this water in underground storage wells below impermeable rock layers, Pennsylvania has few such wells. It is the only state that has allowed drillers to discharge much of their waste through sewage treatment plants into rivers. Regulators have theorized that passing drilling waste through the plants is safe because most toxic material will settle during the treatment process into a sludge that can be trucked to a landfill, and whatever toxic material remains in the wastewater will be diluted when mixed into rivers. But some plants were taking such large amounts of waste with high salt levels in 2008 that downstream utilities started complaining that the river water was eating away at their machines. Regulators and drilling companies have said that these cases, and others, were isolated. "The wastewater treatment plants are effective at what they're designed to do -- remove material from wastewater," said Jamie Legenos, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, adding that the radioactive material and the salts were being properly handled. Overwhelmed, Underprepared For proof that radioactive elements in drilling waste are not a concern, industry spokesmen and regulators often point to the results of wastewater tests from a 2009 draft report conducted by New York State and a 1995 report by Pennsylvania that found that radioactivity in drilling waste was not a threat. These two reports were based on samples from roughly 13 gas wells in New York and 29 in Pennsylvania. But a review by The Times of more than 30,000 pages of federal, state and company records relating to more than 200 gas wells in Pennsylvania, 40 in West Virginia and 20 public and private wastewater treatment plants offers a fuller picture of the wastewater such wells produce and the threat it poses. Most of the information was drawn from drilling reports from the last three years, obtained by visiting regional offices throughout Pennsylvania, and from documents or databases provided by state and federal regulators in response to records requests. Among The Times's findings: ¶More than 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater was produced by Pennsylvania wells over the past three years, far more than has been previously disclosed. Most of this water -- enough to cover Manhattan in three inches -- was sent to treatment plants not equipped to remove many of the toxic materials in drilling waste. ¶At least 12 sewage treatment plants in three states accepted gas industry wastewater and discharged waste that was only partly treated into rivers, lakes and streams. ¶Of more than 179 wells producing wastewater with high levels of radiation, at least 116 reported levels of radium or other radioactive materials 100 times as high as the levels set by federal drinking-water standards. At least 15 wells produced wastewater carrying more than 1,000 times the amount of radioactive elements considered acceptable. Results came from field surveys conducted by state and federal regulators, year-end reports filed by drilling companies and state-ordered tests of some public treatment plants. Most of the tests measured drilling wastewater for radium or for "gross alpha" radiation, which typically comes from radium, uranium and other elements. Industry officials say they are not concerned. "These low levels of radioactivity pose no threat to the public or worker safety and are more a public perception issue than a real health threat," said James E. Grey, chief operating officer of Triana Energy. In interviews, industry trade groups like the Marcellus Shale Coalition and Energy in Depth, as well as representatives from energy companies like Shell and Chesapeake Energy, said they were producing far less wastewater because they were recycling much of it rather than disposing of it after each job. But even with recycling, the amount of wastewater produced in Pennsylvania is expected to increase because, according to industry projections, more than 50,000 new wells are likely to be drilled over the next two decades. The radioactivity in the wastewater is not necessarily dangerous to people who are near it. It can be blocked by thin barriers, including skin, so exposure is generally harmless. Rather, E.P.A. and industry researchers say, the bigger danger of radioactive wastewater is its potential to contaminate drinking water or enter the food chain through fish or farming. Once radium enters a person's body, by eating, drinking or breathing, it can cause cancer and other health problems, many federal studies show. Little Testing for Radioactivity Under federal law, testing for radioactivity in drinking water is required only at drinking-water plants. But federal and state regulators have given nearly all drinking-water intake facilities in Pennsylvania permission to test only once every six or nine years. The Times reviewed data from more than 65 intake plants downstream from some of the busiest drilling regions in the state. Not one has tested for radioactivity since 2008, and most have not tested since at least 2005, before most of the drilling waste was being produced. And in 2009 and 2010, public sewage treatment plants directly upstream from some of these drinking-water intake facilities accepted wastewater that contained radioactivity levels as high as 2,122 times the drinking-water standard. But most sewage plants are not required to monitor for radioactive elements in the water they discharge. So there is virtually no data on such contaminants as water leaves these plants. Regulators and gas producers have repeatedly said that the waste is not a threat because it is so diluted in rivers or by treatment plants. But industry and federal research cast doubt on those statements. A confidential industry study from 1990, conducted for the American Petroleum Institute, concluded that "using conservative assumptions," radium in drilling wastewater dumped off the Louisiana coast posed "potentially significant risks" of cancer for people who eat fish from those waters regularly. The industry study focused on drilling industry wastewater being dumped into the Gulf of Mexico, where it would be far more diluted than in rivers. It also used estimates of radium levels far below those found in Pennsylvania's drilling waste, according to the study's lead author, Anne F. Meinhold, an environmental risk expert now at NASA. Other federal, state and academic studies have also found dilution problems with radioactive drilling waste. In December 2009, these very risks led E.P.A. scientists to advise in a letter to New York that sewage treatment plants not accept drilling waste with radium levels 12 or more times as high as the drinking-water standard. The Times found wastewater containing radium levels that were hundreds of times this standard. The scientists also said that the plants should never discharge radioactive contaminants at levels higher than the drinking-water standard. In 2009, E.P.A. scientists studied the matter and also determined that certain Pennsylvania rivers were ineffective at sufficiently diluting the radium-laced drilling wastewater being discharged into them. Asked about the studies, Pennsylvania regulators said they were not aware of them. "Concerned? I'm always concerned," said Dave Allard, director of the Bureau of Radiation Protection. But he added that the threat of this waste is reduced because "the dilutions are so huge going through those treatment plants." Three months after The Times began asking questions about radioactive and other toxic material being discharged into specific rivers, state regulators placed monitors for radioactivity near where drilling waste is discharged. Data will not be available until next month, state officials said. But the monitor in the Monongahela is placed upstream from the two public sewage treatment plants that the state says are still discharging large amounts of drilling waste into the river, leaving the discharges from these plants unchecked and Pittsburgh exposed. Plant Operators in the Dark In interviews, five treatment plant operators said they did not believe that the drilling wastewater posed risks to the public. Several also said they were not sure of the waste's contents because the limited information drillers provide usually goes to state officials. "We count on state regulators to make sure that that's properly done," said Paul McCurdy, environmental specialist at Ridgway Borough's public sewage treatment plant, in Elk County, Pa., in the northwest part of the state. Mr. McCurdy, whose plant discharges into the Clarion River, which flows into the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, said his plant was taking about 20,000 gallons of drilling waste per day. Like most of the sewage treatment plant operators interviewed, Mr. McCurdy said his plant was not equipped to remove radioactive material and was not required to test for it. Documents filed by drillers with the state, though, show that in 2009 his facility was sent water from wells whose wastewater was laced with radium at 275 times the drinking-water standard and with other types of radiation at more than 780 times the standard. Part of the problem is that industry has outpaced regulators. "We simply can't keep up," said one inspector with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection who was not authorized to speak to reporters. "There's just too much of the waste." "If we're too hard on them," the inspector added, "the companies might just stop reporting their mistakes." Recently, Pennsylvania has tried to increase its oversight, doubling the number of regulators, improving well-design requirements and sharply decreasing how much drilling waste many treatment plants can accept or release. The state is considering whether to require treatment plants to begin monitoring for radioactivity in wastewater. Even so, as of last November, 31 inspectors were keeping tabs on more than 125,000 oil and gas wells. The new regulations also allowed at least 18 plants to continue accepting the higher amounts set by their original permits. Furthermore, environmental researchers from the University of Pittsburgh tested wastewater late last year that had been discharged by two treatment plants. They say these tests will show, when the results are publicly released in March, that salt levels were far above the legal limit. Lax Oversight Drilling contamination is entering the environment in Pennsylvania through spills, too. In the past three years, at least 16 wells whose records showed high levels of radioactivity in their wastewater also reported spills, leaks or failures of pits where hydrofracking fluid or waste is stored, according to state records. Gas producers are generally left to police themselves when it comes to spills. In Pennsylvania, regulators do not perform unannounced inspections to check for signs of spills. Gas producers report their own spills, write their own spill response plans and lead their own cleanup efforts. A review of response plans for drilling projects at four Pennsylvania sites where there have been accidents in the past year found that these state-approved plans often appear to be in violation of the law. At one well site where several spills occurred within a week, including one that flowed into a creek, the well's operator filed a revised spill plan saying there was little chance that waste would ever enter a waterway. "There are business pressures" on companies to "cut corners," John Hanger, who stepped down as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in January, has said. "It's cheaper to dump wastewater than to treat it." Records back up that assertion. >From October 2008 through October 2010, regulators were more than twice as likely to issue a written warning than to levy a fine for environmental and safety violations, according to state data. During this period, 15 companies were fined for drilling-related violations in 2008 and 2009, and the companies paid an average of about $44,000 each year, according to state data. This average was less than half of what some of the companies earned in profits in a day and a tiny fraction of the more than $2 million that some of them paid annually to haul and treat the waste. And prospects for drillers in Pennsylvania are looking brighter. In December, the Republican governor-elect, Tom Corbett, who during his campaign took more gas industry contributions than all his competitors combined, said he would reopen state land to new drilling, reversing a decision made by his predecessor, Edward G. Rendell. The change clears the way for as many as 10,000 wells on public land, up from about 25 active wells today. In arguing against a proposed gas-extraction tax on the industry, Mr. Corbett said regulation of the industry had been too aggressive. "I will direct the Department of Environmental Protection to serve as a partner with Pennsylvania businesses, communities and local governments," Mr. Corbett says on his Web site. "It should return to its core mission protecting the environment based on sound science." This article originally appeared in _The New York Times_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html) . Read more: _http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11058/1128474-84.stm#ixzz1FGdxajpI_ (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11058/1128474-84.stm#ixzz1FGdxajpI) [View Less]

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Cheat Watershed improvement plan approved by EPA
by Duane 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

> From: <dep.online(a)wv.gov> > Date: February 22, 2011 9:56:37 AM EST > Subject: DEP News - Cheat Watershed improvement plan approved by EPA > > ============================================================ > Tuesday, February 22, 2011 @ 9:56 AM > ============================================================ > > West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection water > quality improvement plans for selected waters in the Cheat > Watershed have been … [View More]

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Re: [CLEAR] [EC] Fwd: URGENT: House vote could end coal ash safeguards TODAY - call your Congressional member
by fmoose39＠hotmail.com 15 Feb '11

15 Feb '11

Would it help to show a msds report on coal ash osha believes it is hazardous. sent from my AT&T Smartphone by HTC ----- Reply message ----- From: "Jim Sconyers" <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com> Date: Tue, Feb 15, 2011 2:01 pm Subject: [EC] Fwd: URGENT: House vote could end coal ash safeguards TODAY - call your Congressional member To: "James Kotcon" <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu>, <CLEAR(a)cheat.org>, <pbmjwood(a)gmail.com>, <ec(a)osenergy.org> What I didn't know - not only did … [View More]

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Fwd: URGENT: House vote could end coal ash safeguards TODAY - call your Congressional member
by James Kotcon 15 Feb '11

15 Feb '11

Please forward widely. I sent my e-mail, please send yours today. Jim Kotcon >>> Lisa Graves-Marcucci <lgmarcucci(a)environmentalintegrity.org> 2/15/2011 1:11 PM >>> Please Excuse Duplications Please Distribute Widely Dear Friend, Unfortunately, Rep. Stearns of Florida has inserted the following amendment into a House appropriations bill - currently on the House floor and likely for vote today or tomorrow. It would withhold funding from US EPA to regulate coal … [View More]

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EPA regulation for toxic chemicals; COMPACT meets Wednesday
by Duane330＠aol.com 14 Feb '11

14 Feb '11

EPA TO REGULATE PERCHLORATE AND 16 OTHER TOXIC CHEMICALS TO PROTECT DRINKING WATER EPA announced that based on new scientific evidence, the agency will regulate perchlorate to reduce its prevalence in the nation’s water and to protect human health. In a separate action, the agency is also seeking to establish a new drinking water strategy to address as a group up to 16 toxic chemicals (volatile organic compounds) to protect public health and well being. For more information, … [View More]go to _http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/unregulated/perchlorate.cfm_ (http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/unregulated/perchlorate.cfm) Visit the drinking water strategy at _http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/dwstrategy/index.cfm_ (http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/dwstrategy/index.cfm) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NOTE: The Sixth Meeting of the WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact is set for the Morgantown Airport Annex at 1 pm this Wednesday, February 16th. A two hour agenda is planned. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WV/PA MONONGAHELA AREA WATERSHEDS COMPACT POSITION STATEMENTS ADOPTED JANUARY 5, 2011 1. LEGISLATION IS NEEDED. As participants of the WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact, we recognize the urgent need for State-wide legislation to limit the negative impacts of Marcellus Shale natural gas development in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. 2. WATERSHED CRISIS EXISTS. The Monongahela River watershed and other watersheds in West Virginia and Pennsylvania are in a long-term crisis condition as a result of increasing levels of total dissolved solids and other effluents. Some of these streams have already been recognized as “impaired” and in need of comprehensive protection plans. The WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact herewith requests that all the citizens of these States participate with us in contacting our Governor(s), our Legislators, and the various agencies of government to enact needed legislation, establish needed regulations and enforce the laws to conserve and protect our drinking water, our agricultural water, our industrial water, our aquatic life, as well as our recreational and commercial waterways. 3. THREAT DUE TO MARCELLUS BOOM. The current “boom” in natural gas development in West Virginia and Pennsylvania is a tremendous economic benefit to our States. This “boom” can and should provide the financial resources to maintain and protect the public roads, the public and private lands, the waterways and the atmosphere throughout the States. The public health is at risk in some areas as are the drilling team workers and the supporting work force personnel. We call upon state and federal governmental bodies to address these problems. In addition to legislation and regulations, an adequate number of inspectors and enforcement staff must be assigned to these problems as soon as it is possible to do so. 4. HIRE LOCAL WORKERS. The drilling, transportation and processing of Marcellus Shale gas in West Virginia and Pennsylvania will require the investment of billions of dollars and result in billions of dollars worth of gas being produced while generating thousands of jobs in both States. In order to ensure that the process is accomplished in an environmentally sound and safe manner that benefits the people and the economies of both WV and PA, the WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact herewith endorses and promotes the hiring of fully-trained local workers with competitive wages and full benefits for work in Marcellus related projects. The Compact further supports apprenticeship and training programs for workers and contractors and for programs to ensure the health and safety of the workers involved. NOTE: Five public meetings have been organized and conducted in Morgantown by the representatives of some 47 watershed and conservation groups in cooperation with the Upper Monongahela River Association. Contacts: Barry G. Pallay, Co-Chair (_bpallay(a)comcast.net_ (mailto:bpallay@comcast.net) ) or Duane G. Nichols, Co-Chair (_duane330(a)aol.com_ (mailto:duane330@aol.com) ), 330 Dream Catcher Circle, Morgantown, WV 26508. Telephone: 304-216-5535. See also: _www.uppermon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org/) , _www.wcag-wv.org_ (http://www.wcag-wv.org/) , _www.frackcheckwv.net_ (http://www.frackcheckwv.net/) , _www.wvsoro.org_ (http://www.wvsoro.org) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Have you contacted your legislators, your Governor, your Senate and House Members, the WV-DEP, the US-EPA, the Office of the President? We had a disaster on 38 miles of Dunkard Creek, we have a watershed wide crisis with TDS in the Monongahela River watershed, we have mini-crisis situations at each drill pad and local stream where Marcellus well fracking is taking place; and, these Marcellus activities are projected to increase greatly in the years ahead. Duane Nichols, 330 Dream Catcher Circle, Morgantown, WV 26508. [View Less]

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Fwd: Power Plant Pollution strategy meeting February 12
by James Kotcon 08 Feb '11

08 Feb '11

The WV Chapter of Sierra Club recently filed a Notice of Intent to sue Allegheny Energy over pollution discharges from their Albright power plant. The initial issue deals with water pollution violations from their coal ash impoundments, resulting in excessive discharges of arsenic into tributaries of the Cheat River. While a few of us have been discussing this quietly for a couple weeks, now that the NOI is public, we want to expand our interest group, and identify what issues and … [View More]

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Information on Marcellus Gas Development
by Duane330＠aol.com 07 Jan '11

07 Jan '11

Urge Lawmakers to Pass Marcellus Shale Drilling Bill Out of Subcommittee Last month, the Joint Legislative Interim Judiciary Subcommittee A took no action on a draft bill establishing a new regulatory program for gas wells utilizing horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, because of the lack of a quorum. The subcommittee is slated to discuss this important bill this Monday January 10th at the last Interim committee meeting prior to the beginning of the regular Legislative … [View More]Session on Wednesday January 12th. A preliminary reading of this draft legislation shows that it contains some good things and some not-so-good things, and unfortunately omits some needed controls altogether. Getting this bill out of the subcommittee is an important start, so that the full legislature will have a comprehensive draft bill to consider when they convene on January 12th. Please contact the members of Interim Judiciary Subcommittee A before they meet this Monday and urge them to pass this comprehensive draft legislation out of subcommittee and on to the full legislature for further consideration. It is imperative that a bill is passed as soon as possible outlining the details of gas drilling regulation due to the negative impacts of Marcellus shale fracturing. Urge them to attend and educate themselves on an issue that can’t wait—we are observing harmful pollution enter our surface water and air in addition to flagrant dredge and fill practices like those seen in Wetzel County (Check out _http://www.wetzelchronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/503953/Chesapeake-Fa… (http://www.wetzelchronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/503953/Chesapeake-Fac… -Of-Fines.html) ). Below is a list of Judiciary A Subcommittee members and their contact information. If you have friends or family that live within their districts please urge them to contact them as well. They will be home and much more accessible this week before the Interim session starts this coming Sunday, January 9th. You can also try to contact and leave messages for members at the Capitol using the Toll Free phone number: 1-877-565-3447. If you have any questions, please email Amanda Pitzer, Executive Director for Friends of the Cheat: _amanda(a)cheat.org_ (mailto:amanda@cheat.org) , or Duane Nichols, Co-Chair, WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact. Thanks for your help! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Judiciary A Subcommittee Senate Members Senator Herb Snyder - Chair (D - Jefferson) District 16 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7957 Home Phone: (304)725-4529 E-mail: _herb.snyder(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:herb.snyder@wvsenate.gov) Capitol Address: Room 217W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Clark S. Barnes (R - Randolph) District 15 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7973 Home Phone: not available; residence is Rt. 2, Box 12-C, Beverly, WV 26253 E-mail: _clark.barnes(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:clark.barnes@wvsenate.gov) Capitol Address: Room 203W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Richard Browning (D - Wyoming) District 9 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7807 Home Phone: (304) 682-4643 E-mail: _richardbrowning(a)verizon.net_ (mailto:richardbrowning@verizon.net) Capitol Address: Room 204W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Frank Deem (R - Wood) District 3 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7970 Home Phone: (304) 295-6593 E-mail: _fdeem(a)mail.wvnet.edu_ (mailto:fdeem@mail.wvnet.edu) Capitol Address: Room 217W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Dan Foster (D - Kanawha) District 17 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7866 Home Phone: (304) 344-1060 E-mail: _daniel.foster(a)camc.org_ (mailto:daniel.foster@camc.org) Capitol Address: Room 223W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Mike Hall (R - Putnam) District 4 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7901 Home Phone: (304) 757-8249 E-mail: _delegate200(a)hotmail.com_ (mailto:delegate200@hotmail.com) Capitol Address: Room 245M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator William R. Laird IV (D - Fayette) District 11 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7849 Home Phone: (304) 469-8055 E-mail: _william.laird(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:william.laird@wvsenate.gov) Capitol Address: Room 229W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Joseph M. Minard (D - Harrison) District 12 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7904 Home Phone: (304) 622-6488 E-mail: _joe.minard(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:joe.minard@wvsenate.gov) Capitol Address: Room 206W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Ron Stollings (D - Boone) District 7 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7939 Home Phone: (304) 369-6194 E-mail: _ron.stollings(a)verizon.net_ (mailto:ron.stollings@verizon.net) Capitol Address: Room 229W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Jack Yost (D - Brooke) District 1 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7984 Home Phone: (304) 737-2720 E-mail: _jack.yost(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:jack.yost@wvsenate.gov) Capitol Address: Room 213W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Senator Jeffrey V. Kessler (D - Marshall) District 2 (Senate Judiciary Chairman, Ex Officio member of Subcommittee A) Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7880 Home Phone: (304) 843-1386 E-mail: _jeff.kessler(a)wvsenate.gov_ (mailto:jeff.kessler@wvsenate.gov) Capitol Address: Room 210W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Judiciary A Subcommittee House Members Delegate William R. Wooton - Chair (D - Raleigh) District 27 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3164 Home Phone: (304) 252-5808 E-mail: _william.wooton(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:william.wooton@wvhouse.gov) Capitol Address: Room 476M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Larry W. Barker (D - Boone) District 18 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3149 Home Phone: (304) 369-3367 E-mail: _larry.barker(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:larry.barker@wvhouse.gov) Capitol Address: Room 224E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Mike Caputo (D - Marion) District 43 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3249 Home Phone: (304) 278-5419 E-mail: _mike.caputo(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:mike.caputo@wvhouse.gov) Capitol Address: Room 246M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Michael T. Ferro (D - Marshall) District 04 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3111 Home Phone: (304) 233-4729 E-mail: _mike.ferro(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:mike.ferro@wvhouse.gov) Capitol Address: Room 222E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Mike Ross (D - Randolph) District 37 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3145 Home Phone: (304) 636-4398 E-mail: _mike.ross(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:mike.ross@wvhouse.gov) Capitol Address: Room 224E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Robert A. Schadler (R - Mineral) District 49 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3191 Home Phone: (304) 788-4024 E-mail: _rschadler(a)comcast.net_ (mailto:rschadler@comcast.net) Capitol Address: Room 6R, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Patti Eagloski Schoen (R - Putnam) District 14 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3141 Home Phone: (304) 415-0411 E-mail: _pschoen(a)mail.wvnet.edu_ (mailto:pschoen@mail.wvnet.edu) Capitol Address: Room 150R, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Danny Wells (D - Kanawha) District 30 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3287 Home Phone: (304) 542-0284 E-mail: _danny.wells(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:danny.wells@wvhouse.gov) Capitol Address: Room 208E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Tim Manchin (D - Marion) District 43 - Nonvoting member Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3166 Home Phone: (304) 363-5613 E-mail: _tmanchin(a)manchin-aloi.com_ (mailto:tmanchin@manchin-aloi.com) Capitol Address: Room 212E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 Delegate Tim Miley (D - Harrison) District 41 (House Judiciary Chairman, Ex Officio member of Subcommittee A) Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3252 Home Phone: (304) 848-0102 E-mail: _tim.miley(a)wvhouse.gov_ (mailto:tim.miley@wvhouse.gov) Capitol Address: Room 418M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305 [View Less]

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Monongahela River is impaired says PA-DEP
by Duane330＠aol.com 29 Dec '10

29 Dec '10

Pennsylvania DEP to EPA: Monongahela River is impaired Pittsburgh Business Times - by Anya Litvak Date: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has submitted its _assessment of water quality_ (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/water_quality_stan… 010/682562) to the Environmental Protection Agency, asking the federal government to categorize as impaired about 68 miles of the Monongahela River, among other water … [View More]bodies. The DEP _signaled the move earlier this month_ (http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2010/12/02/dep-might-want-mon-la…) when it informed the Allegheny Conference on Community Development that it would be seeking the impairment status because of high total dissolved solids and sulfates in the river. Impairment is a label given to parts of streams or lakes that either aren’t attaining water quality standards or won’t be doing so in the future without changes. The highest category of impairment warrants the DEP to study the area’s discharge sources and come up with a total maximum discharge limit, or TMDL, to improve water quality. A TMDL plan involves surveying the sources that discharge into the impaired water and adjusting their discharge permits to achieve the desired water content, a move that could mean new restrictions for businesses. The DEP completed 110 such plans in 2008 and 2009. Parts of streams and lakes can be considered impaired for several uses, including aquatic life, recreation, water supply and fish consumption. The DEP found that: * More than 10,000 miles of streams have been deemed impaired as a result of the statewide assessment over the past two years. * Pennsylvania has 5,546 miles of waters impaired as a result of abandoned mine drainage, another 5,380 miles impaired by agriculture and 2,302 miles by urban runoff/storm sewers. * The presence of metals in streams account for 5,060 of impaired miles, while siltation, the largest cause of impairment, affects 8,274 miles. Total dissolved solids and chlorides account for 198 miles of impaired stream miles. * A survey of Pennsylvania lakes revealed that more than 40,000 acres were impaired for fish consumption as a result of high mercury counts. * About 68 miles of the Monogahela River were added to the list of stream miles impaired for potable water supply. The sources listed were abandoned mine drainage, industrial point sources and subsurface mining, with the polluting element identified as “other inorganics.” * Dunkard Creek had about 35 miles categorized as impaired for aquatic life because of salinity, TDS, chlorides, exotic species and osmotic pressure associated with subsurface mining. * Anywhere from a handful to more than a dozen miles of the following creeks were newly listed as impaired for either aquatic life or recreation because of high pathogen levels in the water: Jacks Run, Chartiers Creek, Sewickley Creek, Raccoon Creek, Connoquenessing Creek, Slippery Rock Creek on the Mon River, and Crooked Creek and Dunlap Creek on the Allegheny River. * About 9 miles of the Allegheny River also got the designation for recreational use because of pathogens. * The DEP added 3.2 miles of the Stoneycreek River to the impaired list because of salinity, total dissolved solids or chlorides associated with acid mine drainage. * Siltation from road runoff impaired about 3 miles each of Montour Run and Pucketa Creek on the lower Allegheny River. The complete list of waters designated as impaired and requiring a survey and plan to manage discharges is available on the DEP's website at _streams_ (http://files.dep.state.pa.us/Water/Drinking%20Water%20and%20Facility%20Regu lation/WaterQualityPortalFiles/2010%20Integrated%20List/Category5Streams.pdf ) and _lakes_ (http://files.dep.state.pa.us/Water/Drinking%20Water%20and%20Facility%20Regu… ory5Lakes.pdf) . [View Less]

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EPA In Service To America
by Duane330＠aol.com 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

_EPA Greenhouse Gas Regulation _ (http://fuelfix.com/blog/2010/12/20/epa-greenhouse-gas-regulation-won’t-caus…) Won’t Cause the Sky to Fall Posted on December 20, 2010 at 3:05 pm by _Victor Flatt_ (http://fuelfix.com/blog/author/victorflatt/) in _Climate_ (http://fuelfix.com/blog/category/climate/) , _Climate Change_ (http://fuelfix.com/blog/category/climate/climate-change/) , _Efficiency_ (http://fuelfix.com/blog/category/efficiency/) , _Electricity_ (http://fuelfix.com/blog/category/… [View More]electricity/) , _Environment_ (http://fuelfix.com/blog/category/environment/) With the DC Circuit finding that those opposed to greenhouse gas regulation by the EPA have not shown irreparable harm if it goes forward, and with the withdrawal of Senator Rockefeller’s proposal to delay implementation, come Jan. 2, 2011, the EPA will officially begin regulation of greenhouse gases as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Since every state has received authority to implement the Clean Air Act’s requirements within the state, this means that all fifty states need to be ready and able to begin permitting of major sources of greenhouse gases at this time. As of this time, the EPA estimates that all states (except Texas, which has refused) will be ready to implement the requirements by January 2 or shortly thereafter. Perhaps now that the actual limited regulation will begin, those who have been saying that the regulation will be incredibly complex and harm the economy and energy sources can finally stop crying wolf and move on to their jobs of securing permits for needed sources. Because the truth is that the permitting sources should be able to implement the program without much difficulty. First of all, the scope is limited. Initially, it only applies to large sources that would already undergo PSD permitting. Moreover, the EPA has been relatively clear through guidance about what kind of Best Available Control Technology (BACT) it expects from sources that must be permitted. More or less, the EPA is asking that any power generation boilers be ultra efficient, that the use of lower carbon impact fuels be employed where feasible, and that any technology that is necessary for the ultimate implementation of carbon capture be considered. Each of these decisions will be made in a one on one negotiation with the state that is permitting the source. Though the states have themselves been nervous about coming up to speed, the procedure is no different from the BACT requirements that they already impose. In fact, because of its limited scope, there won’t be very many permit applicants, meaning that these first few should not be that difficult to implement, if the sources themselves are reasonable and negotiate in good faith. If any attorneys want to continue to cry wolf and make this more difficult than it has to be, they can do so, but they do so at the risk of hurting their clients’ interests. You can continue objecting all you want and try to continue to paint the EPA as the bad guy, but in the next few months, you will be proven wrong. So my advice is to get down to business. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> EPA LAUNCHES WEBSITE INFORMING THE PUBLIC ON EPA REGULATIONS EPA has launched Reg Stat, a new website that provides information on the number, type, and range of regulatory documents developed each year by the agency, and the important role the EPA regulatory system plays in addressing the nation's environmental problems. Based on EPA documents published in the Federal Register between 2005 and 2009, both summary graphics and searchable data tables can be downloaded and sorted based on categories of interest. Complex terminology is explained. For more information, go to Reg Stat _http://www.epa.gov/regstat_ (http://www.epa.gov/regstat) . [View Less]

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Temporary ban on FRACKING in NY State
by Duane330＠aol.com 11 Dec '10

11 Dec '10

HISTORIC VICTORY FOR THE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK STATE In an amazing victory for the citizens of New York State, Governor David A. Paterson has issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct further comprehensive review and analysis of high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. The Executive Order requires that, if approved, high-volume, horizontal hydraulic fracturing would not be permitted until July 1, 2011, at the … [View More]earliest. New York State becomes the first state to have a formal prohibition on high volume horizontal hydrofacking because of concerns about environmental impacts. Regretablly instead of signing the "Moratorium Bill" legislation sent to him that included a prohibition on vertical hyrdofracking that was passed by on overwhelming bi partisan majority in both houses of the State government he decided instead to succumb to industry pressure and issue the Executive Order that eliminates vertical wells from the prohibition. While the Executive Order is historic and proves that our concerns over hydrofracking are legitimate it is also a disappointment because vertical wells are also dangerous. The gas and oil industry lobby deliberately misinterpreted a section of the Moratorium Bill claiming it would bring all gas drilling in New York State to a halt. The bill only specified a moratorium on drilling for wells using hydrofracking, whether they are vertically or horizontally drilled. A moratorium banning the fracking of vertical wells is very important for several reasons: 1. Gas companies have been clear that they plan to drill vertical wells in the Utica and Marcellus shale with the intention of converting them to horizontal wells. 2. While the State Senate was considering a two-year moratorium on horizontal wells the gas industry threatened to drill and frack 16 vertical wells every square mile in retribution if a moratorium on fracked horizontal wells was passed. 3. Some of the worst water contamination problems, such as in Dimock, PA came from vertical wells drilled and fractured in the Marcellus Shale. We now look to Governor Elect Andrew Cuomo to protect the Citizens of New York from the dangers of hydro fracking by any method including vertical drilling and horizontal drilling and including all shale formations. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> BELOW IS THE GOVERNORS PRESS RELEASE <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Governor Paterson Issues Executive Order on Hydraulic Fracturing * by _New York State Office of the Governor_ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=izqu84bab&et=1104061578432&s=10856&e=001nTcH8… Y7CFk06387yENFfa9EOPcA4mG3gDvRFfGW6J-Hy2lkv0Rw3ItnIdcLWr5jj0xAD5Al1NIcDYjgme tOIFUjRx0bUBp37NYP_v27f) ALBANY, NY (12/11/2010)(readMedia)-- Governor David A. Paterson has issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct further comprehensive review and analysis of high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. The Executive Order requires that, if approved, high-volume, horizontal hydraulic fracturing would not be permitted until July 1, 2011, at the earliest. This should allay any fears that high-volume hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling under study by DEC will commence without assurances of safety. "We in government must always focus on protecting the well-being of those whom we represent and serve, but we also have an obligation to look to the future and protect the long-term interests for our State and its residents," Governor Paterson said. "Therefore, I am proud to issue this Executive Order, which will guarantee that before any high-volume, horizontal hydraulic fracturing is permitted, the Department of Environmental Conversation will complete its studies and certify that such operations are safe." Permits for high-volume, horizontal hydraulic fracturing can not be issued until the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) completes a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), which is currently being developed. As a result, there is already in place a de-facto moratorium on such permits. The Governor issued the Executive Order contemporaneously with his veto of S.8129-B/A.11443-B, which would have suspended the issuance of new oil and gas drilling permits through May 15, 2011, including all conventional, low-volume, vertical oil and gas wells. "This legislation, which was well intentioned, would have a serious impact on our State if signed into law. Enacting this legislation would put people out of work - work that is permitted by the Department of Environmental Conservation and causes no demonstrated environmental harm, in order to effectuate a moratorium that is principally symbolic," Governor Paterson said. "Symbols can have great importance, but particularly in our current terrible economic straits, I cannot agree to put individuals out of work for a symbolic act." "I am sympathetic to the sponsors' desire to protect the environment and public health, and I respect the concerns that produced this legislation," the Governor continued. "But this legislation does not accomplish this purpose, since the activities at the heart of the moratorium are not currently taking place, and would not take place until well after the legislation's proposed moratorium." The bill goes well beyond high-volume, horizontal hydraulic fracturing and effectively would result in a moratorium on all new oil and gas well drilling in this State. The cessation of such new activity, even for a limited period, would have substantial negative financial consequences for the State, local governments, landowners and small businesses involved in conventional oil and gas production. The Division of the Budget estimates that the bill would cause a substantial reduction in State revenues from the loss of permit fees and tax revenue. With a $315 million budget gap in the current fiscal year, and a projected gap of over $9 billion in the 2011-12 State fiscal year, New York simply cannot afford to send hundreds and perhaps thousands of jobs, and millions of dollars in capital investment to Pennsylvania and other states to our south. [View Less]

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......... Happy Birthday to EPA........40 yoa
by Duane330＠aol.com 08 Dec '10

08 Dec '10

GEOLOGIC SEQUESTRATION REPORTING RULES ENSURE SAFETY AND USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS On Nov. 22, EPA finalized two rules for large emitters of greenhouse gases such as coal fired plants to foster the use of an environmentally safe geologic sequestration/storage technology in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One rule ensures drinking water protection during the carbon sequestration process, the other tracks the amount of carbon dioxide that is stored … [View More]

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!!!!!.......Foom..........!!!!
by Duane330＠aol.com 30 Nov '10

30 Nov '10

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WVDEP "rough and raw" legislative drilling proposal
by Duane330＠aol.com 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

WVDEP’s ‘rough and raw’ drilling legislation November 15, 2010 by Ken Ward Jr. [The Charleston Gazette] The Department of Environmental Protection wants natural gas companies to submit comprehensive water management plans, including lists of chemicals to be used, when applying for future permits to drill horizontal wells in the Marcellus shale field. A 100-page draft of proposed legislation provided to The Associated Press late Friday shows the DEP wants companies to identify not … [View More]

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<Eckerlin brothers> Dunkard roots on the Monongahela
by Duane330＠aol.com 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Subject: <Eckerlin brothers> Dunkard roots on the Monongahela Samuel, Israel, Gabriel and Emmanuel Eckerlin came to America with their Mother from the Alsase region between France and Germany. They settled in Germantown, north of Philadelphia then removed to the Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County of Pennsylvania. They were far too progressive for the Headmaster Conrad Bissell, who expelled them. Except for Emmanuel, they moved first to the New River valley in Virginia, then to … [View More]the mouth of what is now Dunkard Creek (named for them) on the Monongahela River, and subsequently (due to threats of Indian attack) to a fertile bottom just above Kingwood (now in Preston County) in the Cheat River valley. Camp Dawson is on this land today. George Washington took Samuel back to Williamsburg in Virginia to negotiate whether the Eckerlins could remain west of the Alleghenies, and in the meantime the Quebec Indians captured Israel and Gabriel, taking them to Quebec in Canada from which location the French took them back to France, where they died in Jail. They were victims of the conflicts known as the French and Indian War. Since they spoke German, they were always under suspicion by the English, by the French, and by the Indians. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >From about 1748 to 1756, the Eckerlins travelled with groups of followers who did farming; and the Eckerlins travelled with pack horses so as to make annual trips back to Philadelphia to deliver animal furs. Samuel Eckerlin was an accomplished medical man whose service were sought by pioneers and friendly Indians. Israel Eckerlin was an accomplished religious philosopher whose writings were burned by Conrad Bissel at the Cloister. Gabriel Eckerlin was an accomplished hunter who frequently sought out bear and buffalo in the Alleghenies. . The Eckerlins acquired extensive land holdings at various locations, at the Ephrata Cloister and in the Allegheny mountains. Subsequently, Samuel Eckerlin settled in the Shenandoah valley, as is described below. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Shenandoah valley became a crossroads for immigrant trails. Though the settlers were mostly farmers, most were still highly-specialized tradesmen that consisted of millers, carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers, and linen weavers. The most important of these trades was Funk's Mill, already in existence as early as 1743. Two of the earliest settlers, Ezekiel Sangmeister and Anthony Hollenthal, were members of the Sabbatarian Brotherhood called Dunkers. We are very indebted to these two as they kept very descriptive journals which told of their daily life and struggles. Sangmeister's carpentry work was highly respected and his skills were in great demand. With Samuel Eckerlin's arrival, the area became a trading center, and the first apothecary was opened. Using herbs and treatments learned from Indians, he soon built a reputation as a resident doctor and settlers came as far as 20-40 miles for treatment. In 1762, Eckerlin was joined by George Keller, a Dunkard Doctor from Ephrata. Others soon followed with the arrival of Martin Kroll in 1756 and Valentin Bruckmann in 1761. [Exerpted from the Hildebrand family geneology references]. See Also: _http://www.cob-net.org/cloister.htm_ (http://www.cob-net.org/cloister.htm) [View Less]

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Rare mussels in northern WV
by Duane330＠aol.com 07 Nov '10

07 Nov '10

Rare W.Va. mussels may get species protection By _Staff reports_ (mailto:) , The Charleston Gazette, November 2, 2010 CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed Endangered Species Act protection for two rare freshwater mussel species known to exist in streams in West Virginia and several other eastern states. The rayed bean mussel is known to exist in only six states and one Canadian province, while populations of the snuffbox mussel are … [View More]

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<YES!> freedom from fracking
by Duane330＠aol.com 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

Penna. Township Declares Freedom from Fracking Photo by Helen Slottje. RE: Licking Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania—a central target for natural gas drilling and the controversial drilling practice known as horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or “ fracking”—local communities don’t have the legal authority to keep unwanted drilling from happening. As fracking’s impacts on water safety make headlines and public resistance to drilling grows, some towns have tried … [View More]to use land use zoning to keep drilling companies out—but they can’t use zoning laws to stop an activity the state has declared legal. (At best, they can zone where the corporations site their drill pads. But since drilling is not vertical but horizontal, there’s no way to contain its impact on a community’s water and environment.) Taking local control One small community in western Pennsylvania wanted more say over what happens within its borders. Licking Township, population 500, chose to defy state law with its own local ordinance, banning corporations from dumping fracking wastewater within its borders. Licking sits atop the Marcellus Shale, a geological formation that contains large and mostly untapped natural gas reserves. On Oct. 12, 2010, the Licking Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ban corporations from dumping fracking wastewater within the township. “When it comes to land use issues and the preservation of important resources, the local community is best suited to set priorities as they feel impacts most acutely,” said Mik Robertson, chairman of the Licking Township Supervisors. Pennsylvania’s preferential laws for drilling companies are not unique. For years, the drilling industry has worked closely with government to pave the way for widespread drilling, eliminating regulatory barriers that may stand in its way. The so-called “Halliburton Loophole” was inserted into the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to exempt companies drilling for natural gas, including those drilling in the Marcellus Shale (which extends from New York to West Virginia) from having to comply. Corporations have also been exempted from a host of other laws and regulations, and states have enacted laws pre-empting municipalities from taking steps to reign in the industry. The residents of Licking felt that they should be the ones to decide what happens in their township. “People have the right to determine what is suitable for their community, as they are most directly affected by intended or unintended consequences of resource extraction,” said Robertson. The dangers of fracking The residents of Licking aren’t alone in their concerns about fracking. Across the Appalachian highlands, residents worried about the health effects of fracking have been calling on their elected officials to protect them. _In New York, a citizen movement convinced the state Senate to place a 9-month moratorium on the practice_ (http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/the-fight-against-fracking) while its safety is evaluated. However, the moratorium is only temporary and has not been voted into state law. Fracking involves pumping water laced with sand and a cocktail of chemicals underground to fracture the shale rock and release the natural gas. In the process, thousands of gallons of toxic wastewater are produced and can contaminate waterways and drinking water. Natural gas wells are often driven through aquifers. The impacts from drilling can include exploding wells, groundwater contamination, and fish kills. Recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture quarantined cattle believed to have drunk from a frack wastewater spill. Their milk was no longer considered safe to drink. A new study by researchers at the University of Buffalo found that fracking also releases uranium trapped in the rock, raising additional health concerns. Collateral damage includes lost property value, drying up of mortgage loans for prospective home buyers, and the threatened loss of organic certification for farmers. And it’s not only rural communities feeling the pressure. In Pittsburgh and Buffalo (both of which straddle the Marcellus), gas extraction corporations have quietly signed leases with landowners to drill under the surface. A new direction Drafted with the help of Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), the “Licking Township Community Water Rights and Self-Government Ordinance ” is the first of its kind in the nation. The City of Pittsburgh is also considering a CELDF-drafted ordinance, which is scheduled for a vote on November 16. With an expected veto-proof majority of City Council members in favor, that ordinance would impose an outright ban on gas drilling by corporations within city limits. Communities across the Marcellus Shale region, including Lehman Township in eastern Pennsylvania, are also considering CELDF ordinances that would ban corporations from drilling or from extracting water to use in drilling. In addition to banning corporate disposal of frack wastewater, Licking Township’s ordinance asserts the right to local self-government and the community’s right to a healthy environment and to clean water. In adopting the ordinance, Licking joins more than a dozen other communities in _legally recognizing the rights of nature _ (http://www.yesmagazine.org/peo ple-power/drafting-natures-constitution) and subordinating corporate constitutional rights to the rights of human and natural communities. By recognizing the rights of nature, Licking is effectively protecting ecosystems and natural communities within the township from efforts by corporations to drill there—or by higher levels of governments to authorize that drilling. Residents of the community are empowered by the ordinance to enforce those rights on behalf of threatened ecosystems. By prohibiting the introduction of frack wastewater into the Township’s environment, Licking’s new law effectively blocks hydro-fracturing. Critics of the ordinance claim that, by denying corporations that violate its prohibitions the civil rights protections _conferred on them by the courts_ (http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/citizens-united-v.-federal-election… sion) , the ordinance goes too far. Robertson responds to these charges, saying, “People have rights, like the gifts of nature. People have rights to property. Property does not have rights. Corporations are property.” Corporations may sue to overturn the ordinance, with the argument that it violates their corporate constitutional rights. Such a lawsuit would finally raise_ imperative questions about whose rights trump whose_ (http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/whose-rights) : Do the court-endowed privileges of corporations override the inalienable rights of the people and ecosystems of Licking Township, nullifying their claim to have a legal right to their health, safety, and welfare? Or does the community have the right to make critical decisions to protect its well-being—and that of the ecosystems upon which it depends? ____________________________________ Mari Margil and Ben Price wrote this article for _YES! Magazine_ (http://www.yesmagazine.org/) , a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Mari is the associate director and Ben is projects director of the _Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund_ (http://www.celdf.org/) , a nonprofit, public interest law firm providing legal services to communities facing threats to their local environment, agriculture, economy, and quality of life. [View Less]

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Friends of the Cheat "Adopt-a-Highway" trash pickup
by duane330＠aol.com 20 Oct '10

20 Oct '10

Hello all, We've set the date for the Adopt-a-Highway trash pickup along Route 26 for Thursday, October 28th. We will be meeting at the Albright Quick Stop at 4:30pm. If you are planning on coming, please reply and let me know so I know how many volunteers we'll have. Hope to see you there, Andrew Miller SM/VISTA - Friends of the Cheat ww.cheat.org | 304.329.3621

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Fwd: FracTracker Training Invitation for Oct 25th Meeting in Morgantown, WV
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 18 Oct '10

18 Oct '10

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: FracTracker Training Invitation for Oct 25th Meeting in Morgantown, WV Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:24:01 -0400 From: Malone, Samantha Lynn <slm75(a)pitt.edu> To: Malone, Samantha Lynn <slm75(a)pitt.edu> Dear Colleagues, On behalf of Dr. Conrad Dan Volz at the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC <http://www.chec.pitt.edu/>) of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the Foundation … [View More]for Pennsylvania Watersheds, I would like to invite you or another representative within your group to attend a training on Monday, October 25, 2010 of key personnel who are working to address Marcellus Shale gas extraction's (MSGE) impact on the environment and public health in West Virginia. During this training, CHEC will introduce participants to FracTracker, a combination of an interactive blog (http://fractracker.org) and data tool (http://data.fractracker.org), that is serving as a vital data-sharing tool in the Marcellus Shale play and beyond. The training is also an open forum for participants to discuss current and anticipated environmental and public health concerns such as emergency preparedness and response to blow outs or spills, degrading road infrastructure, and surface and drinking water contamination. Because the issues we are facing span across many fields, meeting invitees include representatives from diverse groups. This is one of many trainings we are hosting throughout PA, WV, and NY, OH, and MD. Click here to learn more about CHEC and this project: http://www.fractracker.org/p/about-us.html. *Meeting Details:* October 25, 2010 -- 1pm -- 4pm 317 Percival Hall, West Virginia Evansdale Campus, Morgantown, WV 26506 Contact phone # on day of event: 724-554-0989. Free to attend. Parking is free. Permits will be provided upon arrival. An agenda and additional meeting specifics will be sent to registered attendees prior to the training. Important -- In order to work with FracTracker's data tool (http://data.fractracker.org) during the training, you must be registered with the data tool. It is free to register, but please do this online as soon as possible. If you run into problems registering for the tool please contact: support(a)rhizalabs.com <mailto:support@rhizalabs.com>. In addition to registering for the data tool online, please also accept or decline this invitation in a return email to me at slm75(a)pitt.edu <mailto:slm75@pitt.edu> as soon as possible. In that email, please let me know whether CHEC can distribute your contact information to all attendees of the training for networking purposes. Once we receive your RSVP we will send you a confirmation email with more details about the training. Best, Samantha -Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH- Communications Specialist & Doctoral Student Center for Healthy Environments & Communities University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Office: 412-624-9379 100 Technology Dr. Suite 553 BRIDG Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3130 slm75(a)pitt.edu <mailto:slm75@pitt.edu> | samanthamalone119(a)gmail.com <mailto:samanthamalone119@gmail.com> | www.chec.pitt.edu [View Less]

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Fwd: Workshop on Citizen Advocacy
by dfvet＠aol.com 18 Oct '10

18 Oct '10

Learn how to advance progressive issues in the WV Legislature! Join WV FREE and a number of co-sponsoring organizations as we kick-off our “Citizen Advocacy Trainings” around the state. Monday, Oct. 18th 6-8pm at the Courthouse 243 High St, Morgantown Monday, Oct. 25th 6-8pm at Java Joint Corner of 3rd Ave & Hal Greer Blvd, Huntington Wednesday, Nov. 17th 6-8pm at Unitarian Universalist 520 Kanawha Blvd, Charleston Lewisburg & Wheeling Trainings TBA! Email Us rachel(a)wvfree.org … [View More]

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Water Issues in West Virginia
by Duane330＠aol.com 10 Oct '10

10 Oct '10

EPA SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD RELEASES FIRST REVIEW OF EPA SCIENCE ON MOUNTAINTOP MINING IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY On Sept. 28, EPA's independent Science Advisory Board released its first draft review of EPA's research which concludes that valley fills are associated with increased levels of conductivity into downstream waters threatening stream life and causing significant damage to local streams polluted with mining runoff from mountaintop removal. The benchmark of EPA's research is … [View More]

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Movie: Gasland at WVU College of Law
by Duane330＠aol.com 05 Oct '10

05 Oct '10

Morgantown WV, 10/04/10 — The award-winning documentary "Gasland" will be shown free to the public on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 6:30pm in the WVU College of Law Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom, followed by a live Skype Q&A session with filmmaker Josh Fox. Beginning at 5pm there will be a public reception and information tables to browse before the film begins. The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-… [View More]

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Information Links on Marcellus Shale gas developments
by Duane330＠aol.com 02 Oct '10

02 Oct '10

Please read the following web-sites and spread these links to others. Duane Nichols, Co-Chair, WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1. _www.uppermon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org) 2. _www.wcag-wv.org_ (http://… [View More]

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GASLAND movie screenings: Oct 3, 11 & 12
by Duane330＠aol.com 30 Sep '10

30 Sep '10

GASLAND Movie Showings: No admission charges at any of the three locations below. Sunday, October 3rd, Uniontown State Theater, 37 East Main Street, Uniontown, PA. Two showings: 1 pm and 3 pm. Monday, October 11th, Ohio County Public Library, 5 16th St, Wheeling, WV 26003. (304) 232-0244. One Showing: Noon. Tuesday, October 12th, College of Law, WVU, off University Ave., Morgantown, WV. Time: 6:30 pm. "Green Tables" for information distribution. [Questions: _justpeace(… [View More]

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SPECIAL ISSUE: "Water Regulation Alert"
by Duane330＠aol.com 23 Sep '10

23 Sep '10

09/23/2010 _www.insideEPA.com_ (http://www.insideepa.com/) About Water Regulation Alert InsideEPA.com's Water Regulation Alert is a subscription-based weekly e-mailed newsletter covering EPA regulation of water quality. Tapping the editorial excellence of Inside EPA Weekly Report and InsideEPA.com, our water policy briefing keeps readers up to speed on clean water permitting, discharge standards, the scope of EPA's authority and other hot issues. Register for a free … [View More]trial For a limited time, we're offering you the option to sign up for four full weeks of Water Regulation Alert. All you have to do is _click here_ (http://iwpnews.com/water_regulation_signup.asp?code=water-923) and register, and you'll get the next four issues delivered straight to your inbox via e-mail. (Note: If you are prompted for an Invitation Code, enter the word "water-923" without quotes.) How To Subscribe One-year subscriptions to Water Regulation Alert start at just $300 per person, and economical site licenses are available for larger groups. To subscribe, or for more information, e-mail us at _iepa(a)iwpnews.com_ (mailto:iepa@iwpnews.com) , or call our customer service department at 703-416-8505. Editorial Contact Jeremy Bernstein 703-562-8752 _jeremyb(a)iwpnews.com_ (mailto:jeremyb@iwpnews.com) Free Trial Opportunity For a limited time, we're offering the opportunity to sign up for four full weeks of Water Regulation Alert; all you have to do is _register here_ (http://iwpnews.com/water_regulation_signup.asp?code=water-923a) , and you'll get the next four issues delivered straight to your inbox. ____________________________________ EPA's Inspector General is urging the agency to craft a model agreement between the agency and states for implementing and enforcing the Clean Water Act as a way to bolster lackluster state enforcement of federally approved permits. Environmentalists are urging EPA to set pollutant-specific standards to define impaired waters and strictly oversee state antidegradation plans for addressing pristine waters as part of a pending rule to revise the agency's regulation governing water quality standards. Activists are also headed to court to force EPA to decide whether to approve Kentucky's antidegradation plan, a decision that could set a precedent for how other states are required to act. The mining industry is asking a federal court to block EPA's controversial guidance governing water permits for mountaintop mining operations, a suit that faces a high legal bar as the plaintiffs must show the document has the effect of a rulemaking. In This Issue . . . _IG Suggests EPA National Model To Boost Water Permit Enforcement Pacts _ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#story01) EPA's Inspector General (IG) is suggesting that the agency craft a national model for a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between states and EPA on implementing and enforcing delegated Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting authority, which could address the IG's findings that most MOAs are out of date and hinder effective permitting oversight. _EPA Looks To New 'Urban Waters' Framework To Bolster Redevelopment _ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#story02) EPA is slated to soon unveil its draft framework for implementing the agency's new urban waters initiative, a plan that could use metrics like waterfront redevelopment to measure the initiative's success in improving water quality and economic conditions in environmental justice communities near urban waters, a key agency official says. _EPA Faces Legal Pressures To Make Decision On Landmark Antidegradation Plan_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#story03) Environmentalists are asking a federal court to force EPA to finalize its review of an antidegredation implementation plan submitted nearly a year ago by the state of Kentucky, a move that could eventually set a precedent for what the agency requires in other state programs to protect pristine waters. _Activists Seek Pollutant-Specific Limits In New EPA Water Antidegradation Rules_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#story04) Environmentalists are outlining a series of new antidegradation requirements they want to see as part of EPA’s revision to its water quality standards rule, including pollutant-specific standards to define impaired waters, stricter oversight of antidegradation implementation plans and more public participation in state regulatory efforts. _Despite High Legal Bar, Industry Seeks To Block EPA's Mining Guidance_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#story05) Despite a high legal bar, the mining industry is seeking to block EPA's mountaintop mining guidance, charging it has the effect of a regulation but has not been subject to a proper rulemaking procedure -- the latest effort by both industry and environmental groups who are challenging EPA's growing use of guidance and other “interim” approaches. _Expecting Pact With States, Activists, EPA Faces Industry Suit On Ballast Permit_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#story06) A pending industry lawsuit challenging EPA's commercial ship discharge permit appears set to move forward later this year, after EPA finalizes an expected settlement with state and environmentalist petitioners who had challenged the permit covering discharges of ballast water and other pollutants on separate grounds, according to new court filings. _Utilities Looking To Include Water Projects In Infrastructure Bank Proposal_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#story07) Water utility industry sources say they are looking for an opportunity to make the case for including water projects in President Obama's proposal for a transportation infrastructure bank, arguing that water projects will more readily be able to pay back their loans and thus have a lesser impact on the deficit than transportation projects. ____________________________________ IG Suggests EPA National Model To Boost Water Permit Enforcement Pacts EPA's Inspector General (IG) is suggesting that the agency craft a national model for a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between states and EPA on implementing and enforcing delegated Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting authority, which could address the IG's findings that most MOAs are out of date and hinder effective permitting oversight. While EPA says it agrees many of the existing state-EPA MOAs are outdated, agency officials stress that the agreements are not the only method for ensuring effective state implementation of the CWA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program. The agency also says it could update an existing MOA template from 1986 as part of its broader ongoing action plan effort to improve CWA enforcement. EPA recently updated state officials on the Clean Water Act Action Plan, saying they have developed four priority focus areas. States cannot operate delegated NPDES programs without an authorizing MOA. The agreements aim to establish how EPA will oversee the permitting program in states to ensure national consistency, the IG says. The IG outlined its concerns with the MOAs in a Sept. 14 report, “EPA Should Revise Outdated or Inconsistent EPA-State Clean Water Act Memoranda of Agreement.” The IG reviewed 46 MOAs as part of an ongoing series the Office of Inspector General is conducting of EPA oversight of state enforcement programs. MOAs are “critical because they are the common denominator for state-authorized programs and should represent a common baseline,” the IG says. Outdated agreements, or agreements that are not adhered to, reduce EPA's ability to maintain a uniform NPDES program with consistent oversight, according to the report. The IG found that the MOAs do not “ensure agency management control and effective oversight over a national program administered by states that is capable of providing equal protection to all Americans.” EPA headquarters also does not hold agency regional or state offices accountable for updating MOAs when necessary and relies on other tools to oversee state programs, an approach that may further hinder the NPDES program, the IG said. The report highlights existing concerns raised by EPA officials, the IG, and the Government Accountability Office about inconsistent CWA enforcement. For example, it notes a 2004 IG report that found that the MOAs between EPA Region III and the states it covers were all more than 10 years old and included outdated requirements. Outdated agreements hinder EPA oversight and the ability to ensure consistent NPDES permitting, the IG says in the new report, but there is no requirement law for states or EPA to update the MOAs. The IG says many of the agreements lack key regulatory requirements, including the establishment of data management systems to support compliance evaluation activities. Fifty-four percent of MOAs lacked policies for minimum civil penalties -- despite these being a requirement under federal regulations. Further, the report says that few MOAs have been updated to address increasing state responsibilities under the CWA, including new NPDES programs and the “expanding CWA universe.” Some MOAs are inconsistent with the water law, the IG says, with 17 percent of agreements containing language worded to limit EPA's authority to conduct inspection and enforcement activities in the states. “In a number of cases, this type of language has led to disagreements between EPA and states,” the IG says. For example, although the Code of Federal Regulations says the regional EPA administrator will normally notify a state at least seven days before an inspection, South Carolina's 1994 MOA says EPA shall provide at least 30 days notice before a joint or independent inspection. An EPA Region IV enforcement manager told the IG that this provision in the state's MOA “limited EPA's enforcement authority,” according to the report. Establishing National Baseline To address the IG's broad concerns about the quality of the agreements, coupled with the fact that some EPA regions do not use the MOAs to manage state enforcement programs, the IG says EPA could establish a national baseline for CWA implementation with an MOA template. Through this template the agency should identify the key requirements for an MOA, which would help to establish a national consistency for the pacts. The IG notes that state and EPA officials said that updating the MOAs could face state resistance due to the “considerable” resources it might require. Enforcement officials in two EPA regions indicated that MOA renegotiation would be a low priority because it would otherwise divert enforcement resources, according to the report. Nevertheless, staff from each region and other stakeholders interviewed by the IG agreed that a model MOA would be beneficial in determining the adequacy of the state-EPA NPDES agreements. While EPA agreed with many of the report's findings, the agency notes that MOAs are not the only method EPA uses for tracking the effectiveness of delegated state NPDES programs. EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe wrote in July 27 comments on the draft IG report that while the agency agrees that inadequate MOAs “may not support our efforts to ensure an effective state program, there are multiple layers of management controls and oversight programs that address the implementation and performance of the NPDES program but were not included in is review.” For example, the agency's Office of Water tracks implementation of the NPDES permitting program through permit quality reviews and other measures. Perciasepe also says that renegotiating and updating MOAs is not the only way to address an inadequate state program. Renegotiating can be “ time-consuming and unpredictable,” and EPA therefore should have flexibility to use other tools such as enforcement agreements to supplement MOAs, Perciasepe says. Perciasepe also notes that EPA established a national MOA template in 1986, “but we agree that it could be updated to be more useful.” EPA is in the midst of implementing its Clean Water Act Action Plan -- a broad effort to revamp the agency's CWA enforcement and compliance program -- and therefore Perciasepe suggests that any changes to the MOA template take place in coordination with other approaches under the action plan. Update On CWA Action Plan EPA recently updated the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) on its action plan efforts at ECOS' annual meeting Aug. 30 in Whitefield, NH. Lisa Lund of EPA's Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance said that the agency has narrowed roughly 50 recommendations for improving CWA enforcement down to 11 “concepts.” The agency is pursuing these concepts in four key areas: improving water quality, such as focusing on serious violations; improving compliance, which could include prioritizing responses to violations; strengthening state and EPA performance, for example through permitting and enforcement efforts; and increasing transparency. Jeanne Christie, executive director of the Association of State Wetland Managers, wrote in an Aug. 31 blog post on the action plan that although EPA is working on its action plan, “The underlying problem is in part that Congress has not provided the agency or anyone else with the tools to address the current problems plaguing the nation’s waters. This is because there is no consensus nationally that 1) there is a problem to solve or 2) how to solve it.” Christie says the primary water pollution problem is nonpoint source runoff, but the CWA is “a point source statute designed to regulate discharges at the end of a pipe or at a specific fill site. Meanwhile states are barely keeping up with existing programs to protect water and the environment.” State budgets are expected to decline through 2012, and perhaps through 2014, even though states will undertake most work to implement the CWA, she writes. One solution is to comment on the CWA action plan to try and “help shape future policy,” Christie says, adding that states should “help the public understand what is at stake and why it should be fixed.” -- Anthony Lacey _top of page_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#top) ____________________________________ EPA Looks To New 'Urban Waters' Framework To Bolster Redevelopment EPA is slated to soon unveil its draft framework for implementing the agency's new urban waters initiative, a plan that could use metrics like waterfront redevelopment to measure the initiative's success in improving water quality and economic conditions in environmental justice communities near urban waters, a key agency official says. But environmentalists are raising concerns that some EPA regulatory efforts -- such as permits to control urban stormwater runoff from new and existing developments -- are not strict enough to address persistent urban water pollution problems. And some community activists are raising concerns the redevelopment aspect of its urban waters initiative could gentrify poor and minority neighborhoods that are revitalized under the program -- an issue that EPA officials argue is beyond their authority. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced plans to develop the urban waters initiative last year as part of the agency's work with the administration's Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities, and she later integrated the initiative into the agency's broader work on water quality, one of the administrator's seven priorities for the agency. At a recent meeting of the agency's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC), EPA's deputy water chief Michael Shapiro said that the agency planned to soon release a framework outlining the agency's goals for the initiative. The White House Domestic Policy Council has also identified the initiative as an important new program and EPA has created a task force on the issue with representatives from 12 federal agencies, he said. The draft framework will outline the goals of the initiative, which include promoting an understanding of urban waters and their potential, promoting community connection and ownership of urban waters -- including safe and legal access to the water -- and promoting community revitalization through urban waters, Shapiro said. He added that the goals of the interagency task force include focusing on reversing past neglect in distressed communities and encouraging community improvement through partnerships. One informed source says senior agency officials on the interagency task force have been meeting weekly since April to develop the framework, which could be released as soon as this month. In addition to the framework, EPA has also been directing grant money toward urban waters. EPA earlier this year offered $600,000 in grants for urban watershed technical services to bolster the initiative and is seeking $5.5 million in new funding in fiscal year 2011 for the program. The agency's budget request says the "Community Water Priorities" program will use federal technical support grants to states to advance water improvements in urban watersheds through "targeted implementation of core water programs." Shapiro said EPA does not know how the initiative "will fare" in the budget process this year, but said EPA is committed to the initiative with or without the funding. The agencies on the task force are EPA, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Interior, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Economic Development Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Centers for Disease Control, Shapiro said at the NEJAC meeting Los Angeles River Jackson highlighted the initiative and its focus on redevelopment earlier this summer when the agency announced that it was designating the Los Angeles River as a "traditionally navigable water," a designation that ensures the entire 51-mile stretch of the urban water is eligible for federal protection under the Clean Water Act. "Right now EPA is developing a comprehensive and collaborative Urban Waters program to help urban communities reconnect with and revitalize the waters that are an important part of their health and prosperity," she said July 7, noting that the L.A. River presents a "great example" of a degraded urban river that could benefit from federal protection. "Because we all know the value of this river and its watershed, we're working to transform it. We want this to be a place where people can walk, bike or picnic. We want it to be an asset that can help attract new businesses -- revitalizing the community and creating local jobs," she said. To bolster the program's efforts, the agency's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response -- which oversees EPA's brownfields program for remediating and redeveloping contaminated sites -- is a "co-partner" in the initiative, Shapiro said. "We are certainly not starting from scratch," Shapiro said, adding that the agency has tried to identify ongoing work that could be adapted to the initiative. As one indication of the role redevelopment could play in the program, Shapiro said that the number of restored acres of urban waterfront is one metric the agency is considering to measure the success of the initiative. Other possible measures are improved water quality conditions, dollars leveraged for community investment, the number of urban water improvement projects initiated with EPA support and pounds of trash collected, Shapiro said. The informed source says that addressing environmental justice is closely linked with the addressing the economic concerns of the community. "I just think there are communities across our nation that have suffered more environmental injustice than others. There are Superfund sites that need to be cleaned up, there is environmental restoration that can occur . . . I think addressing the economic concerns of a community go hand in hand with addressing the environmental concerns of that community," the source says. However, some members of the NEJAC raised concern that past efforts to revitalize urban waterfronts has led to gentrification that forces out the environmental justice community the effort was supposed to help. Elizabeth Yeampierre, the chair of NEJAC, said that once waterfronts are cleaned up, the community -- and often the nearby manufacturing jobs -- are pushed out by luxury development. Shapiro said that the community planning process must anticipate retaining the community. However, he noted that EPA does not have direct authority over land use and that the issue is better addressed through other agencies partnering with EPA on the effort. Environmentalists are welcoming EPA efforts to clean up and redevelop urban waters but are concerned that EPA is not doing enough in its regulatory programs to limit harmful runoff. David Beckman, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, recently welcomed Jackson's efforts to revitalize urban waters but questioned why the agency's draft stormwater permit for the District of Columbia -- considered a model for other urban areas -- was not strict enough. "EPA's much-awaited regulatory blueprint for controlling polluted runoff in the nation's capitol--billed by EPA, itself, as a new, twenty-first century effort--is so perplexing," Beckman wrote in a recent blog post. "Washington, D.C. area waters, such as the Anacostia, are heavily polluted and have been, until recently, neglected and overlooked. There can be no more fitting place to make an Urban Waters Initiative real by effectively controlling the pollution source that often makes such rivers foul." -- Kate Winston. _top of page_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#top) ____________________________________ EPA Faces Legal Pressures To Make Decision On Landmark Antidegradation Plan Environmentalists are asking a federal court to force EPA to finalize its review of an antidegredation implementation plan submitted nearly a year ago by the state of Kentucky, a move that could eventually set a precedent for what the agency requires in other state programs to protect pristine waters. The environmentalists’ suit could also have key regional impacts as activists hope the agency’s review will result in a re-write of the state’s antidegredation rules to remove loopholes they say allow coal mining companies to dodge oversight. But they fear the suit is more likely to result in further procedural fights and litigation over the state’s plan that has been in limbo for more than a decade. In a Sept. 10 lawsuit, groups Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA), Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and the Sierra Club say EPA has waited too long to approve or disapprove Kentucky’s most recent antidegredation plan, which the state submitted for agency review last November. It’s the latest version of a plan that has been proposed, disapproved, overturned in court or otherwise remained unfinalized since 1995, activists say. Antidegredation policies require states to ensure that pristine waterways are not degraded, even if they exceed Clean Water Act (CWA) water-quality standards and to ensure that waters’ designated uses, such as fishable and swimable, are not degraded. But there is little if any case law on the scope of the authorities and none on how the requirements must be implemented. In one of the first appellate rulings on the scope of EPA’s authorities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in a 2008 ruling, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, et al. v. Stephen Johnson, et al., partially upheld EPA’s approval of Kentucky’s antidegradation program but remanded portions of the agency’s decision to EPA. Activists say Kentucky’s plan does not live up to these standards and is riddled with loopholes that allow activities such as coal mining, road construction and stormwater runoff to proceed without effective oversight. In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, activists say EPA “has failed to perform a mandatory duty” under the CWA by failing to rule within 90 days on whether it approves or disapproves of Kentucky’s antidegredation plan. It asks the court to declare EPA in violation of the act and issue an injunction requiring the agency to decide on the antidegredation plan within 30 days. Waiting For Policy “We are tired of waiting for a properly protective policy,” KWA executive director Judith Petersen said during a Sept. 10 conference call. “And subsequently, we are filing this action today to urge US EPA to do what is actually their mandatory duty under the Clean Water Act, and that is to rule on the Kentucky regulations.” EPA has said it hopes to complete its review of the antidegradation plan by this fall. The agency also is currently considering changing its rules governing how states set and implement water quality standards, including antidegradation requirements. According to an agency presentation from a meeting last month on the proposed rule changes, EPA believes there is confusion concerning what implementation methods states must include in their antidegradation plans and EPA’s oversight authority. To address this, EPA is suggesting that it could require antidegradation implementation methods to meet certain minimum requirements and to submit them to EPA for review and approval. Despite EPA efforts to clarify its rules, the activists say Kentucky’s proposed antidgredation plan is inconsistent with the 6th Circuit’s ruling that remanded the rule to EPA and continues to be inconsistent with the requirements of the water act. EPA is expected to object to at least some of the Kentucky plan and require state regulators to revise it. While EPA could step in and rewrite the Kentucky plan itself, environmentalists seem skeptical that will happen, instead predicting that disputes over the plan will continue with weak proposed revisions from the state, complaints from environmentalists in public comments and potential further rejection by EPA and continuing lawsuits. “We find ourselves . . . waiting for the umpire to make a call so we can start the next inning,” said Albert Ettinger, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center. At issue in the lawsuit is the lack of a so-called Tier II standard for waterbodies that would require maintenance of water quality in excess of a level “necessary to support propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water,” a standard typically referred to as maintaining fishable and swimable waters. “The antidegradation requirements of the federal water quality standards are essential to the maintenance and enhancement of the water quality of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” the activists argue in their lawsuit. “ Kentucky has consistently failed and continues to fail to adopt Tier II criteria and implementation procedures that are sufficiently broad, protective, and consistent with federal water quality standards.” Kentucky’s Plan Is Flawed Environmentalists say Kentucky’s antidegredation plan is flawed in several ways and does not provide proper protections to high-quality waters in the Commonwealth that are capable of supporting aquatic life. A key concern for the groups is that the plan exempts from antidegredation reviews mining activities authorized under the state’s general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the sector. EPA just last year approved the five-year general NPDES permit for surface mines and has acknowledged that it is does not have authority to change the permit until it expires, upsetting environmentalists who fret that the vast majority of coal mining in the commonwealth is covered by the general permit, hindering other EPA efforts to crack down on the controversial practice of mountaintop mining in Kentucky and other Appalachian states. However, if EPA were to reject Kentucky’s antidegredation plan and write a stricter replacement that eliminated the general permit exemption, it could force companies to perform more thorough antidegredation reviews to ensure that pristine waters are not being polluted and that there is a socioeconomic justification for any pollution they will create. Requiring antidegredation analyses would provide a fuller “opportunity for somebody to look at the permit carefully because that’s not what’s happening now,” Ettinger said during the conference call. Petersen said that under the general permit mining companies only have to submit a superficial impact analysis that typically is the same from site to site and does not account for whether discharges will affect higher quality streams or have other localized impacts. She also said the public only gets 15 days to comment on those submissions, compared to 30-day comment periods that are more typical under federal law. _top of page_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#top) ____________________________________ Activists Seek Pollutant-Specific Limits In New EPA Water Antidegradation Rules Environmentalists are outlining a series of new antidegradation requirements they want to see as part of EPA’s revision to its water quality standards rule, including pollutant-specific standards to define impaired waters, stricter oversight of antidegradation implementation plans and more public participation in state regulatory efforts. In recent comments submitted to EPA, environmentalists also seek broader requirements for states to include so-called Tier I implementation methods in antidegradation regulations. Activists say that explicit Tier I requirements are necessary to immediately provide minimum protection to all waters, even if more stringent rules are being developed, and to set controls for nonpoint sources of water pollution that are left out of other requirements. Antidegradation policies require states to ensure high-quality waters are not degraded, even if they exceed Clean Water Act (CWA) standards, and to maintain waterbodies’ designated uses, such as fishing or recreation. Activists in their comments are focusing most heavily on proposed revisions to antidegradation requirements. EPA last year formally launched a rulemaking to revise its water quality standards regulations, and in recent months has started reaching out to stakeholders for input. Among the updates the agency is considering are measures to tighten state antidegradation programs, which aim to maintain pristine waters; clarify how states designate particular uses for waterbodies; and limit the use of variances, which allow states to waive water quality standards. As part of the antidegradation planning process, states establish a three-tiered system to define waterbody uses and the level of protection they need. Tier 3 standards are assigned to outstanding waters whose quality exceeds existing standards; Tier 2 standards are assigned to high quality waters that can support recreation and wildlife; and Tier 1 standards apply to all other uses of a waterbody, such as industrial or agricultural. In comments filed Sept. 3 on the upcoming water quality standards rule, several environmental groups note that existing policy allows a state to avoid assigning Tier 2 standards if they identify just a single pollutant that impairs a waterbody, thereby lowering the threshold to contribute additional pollutants to the waterbody. The groups, including Clean Water Network, Mississippi River Collaborative and Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), say states should apply Tier 2 antidegredation standards based on particular pollutants. “It is contrary to the basic policy of the Clean Water Act . . . to allow a water body to be unnecessarily degraded as to a pollutant for which it is meeting standards because it is not meeting standards as to another pollutant or pollutant parameter,” the groups say, adding that EPA should require Tier 2 protection for “all water bodies that support any significant recreational and aquatic life.” Tier 2 protections are intended to prevent anything beyond a de minimis degradation in water quality without a demonstration that the proposed discharge of pollutants is necessary and important for broader social and economic goals. But activists say states can avoid applying those standards if a waterbody exceeds applicable criteria for just a single pollutant. For example, activists in Kentucky, who are challenging the state’s antidegradation implementation plan, say the state could define a waterbody as impaired because it exceeds criteria for pathogen pollution and avoid strict oversight for permits seeking to contribute additional pollution. “What Kentucky is saying in these cases is that because you have fungal foot you might as well have cancer,” said ELPC’s Albert Ettinger during a Sept. 10 press call on environmentalists’ efforts to force EPA to rule on the state’s antidegradation implementation plan. State Implementation Methods The environmentalists also say EPA should “require states to more explicitly set forth their implementation methods” to maintain antidegradation plans. EPA is required to approve implementation plans, but there is relatively little case law covering the scope of its authorities and how the requirements must be implemented. In one of the first appellate rulings on the scope of EPA’s authorities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in a 2008 ruling, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, et al. v. Stephen Johnson, et al., partially upheld EPA’s approval of Kentucky’s antidegradation program but remanded portions of the agency’s decision to EPA. Environmentalists have returned to court asking for a decision from EPA on the Kentucky program, arguing it has exceeded CWA deadlines to approve or disapprove of it. Meanwhile, another environmental group, Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA), in Sept. 8 comments is urging EPA to make a number of changes to its water quality standard program, including revamping its so-called Tier I requirements to fill regulatory gaps and require states to address nonpoint sources of water pollution. The group also backs using a parameter-by-parameter approach to protecting higher quality waters. States’ implementation of this antidegradation program has failed so far, especially regarding Tier I protections, NWEA says. “[D]espite its importance to water quality protection and restoration, and EPA’s clarity that antidegradation is a part of water quality standards, antidegradation policies are routinely ignored by states,” the group says. To address these problems, EPA should require states to set explicit Tier I implementation methods in regulations -- including controls for nonpoint sources -- to set minimum protections that would immediately apply to all waters, NWEA says. The requirements would also apply to other agencies that establish management practices for nonpoint sources, the group says. Implementation methods could range from narrative requirements and performance expectations to specific numeric provisions, the group says. For example, states could require forested riparian buffers to prevent excess sedimentation and toxics, or require a variety of baseline nonpoint source controls. These requirements would fill several regulatory gaps, NWEA says. Tier I requirements could provide minimum protection during the often lengthy process of adopting a total maximum daily load (TMDL), which creates a pollution budget to restore water quality. The implementation methods would also protect waters that violate narrative criteria but have not yet been scheduled for a TMDL or waters that have criteria for toxic pollutants are set below levels that can be detected, NWEA says. The requirements could also fill gaps in Tier II requirements, which have no mechanism to prevent nonpoint sources from lowering water quality that currently meets water quality criteria, the group says. Explicit Tier I protections “would be the minimum and . . . would not be sufficient in all cases, to ensure protection (and restoration) of existing uses and the water quality necessary to support them. However, such protections would go a long way to improving and preserving water quality,” NWEA says. _top of page_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#top) ____________________________________ Despite High Legal Bar, Industry Seeks To Block EPA's Mining Guidance Despite a high legal bar, the mining industry is seeking to block EPA's mountaintop mining guidance, charging it has the effect of a regulation but has not been subject to a proper rulemaking procedure -- the latest effort by both industry and environmental groups who are challenging EPA's growing use of guidance and other “interim” approaches. The National Mining Association (NMA) Sept. 17 asked a federal district court in Washington, DC, to block EPA from imposing new requirements on Clean Water Act (CWA) permits because the “interim” guidance document and a separate agreement with other federal agencies have the effect of new rulemaking efforts that were not implemented through formal procedures outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and violate the water law. The industry strategy seems aimed at heading off expected arguments from EPA that its new requirements are not yet ripe for judicial review because the agency has largely avoided taking “final” action to prevent mining permits from being issued. Drawing heavily from the landmark ruling in Appalachian Power v. EPA, a 2000 federal appeals court decision that rejected EPA efforts to impose new requirements through a guidance document, NMA argues that EPA's surface mining guidance is having a similar effect and should be thrown out. NMA's challenge to the mining guidance mirrors arguments raised by environmentalists in a separate case pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit -- Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA -- that argues EPA guidance to states on imposing fees for ozone emissions is subject to court review because it reinterprets requirements of the Clean Air Act. State officials are also increasingly concerned about EPA's mechanisms for implementing guidance and other informal requirements and recently began considering their options to counteract EPA's growing efforts to object to state-issued permits as a way of forcing adoption of "interim" policy guidance and strict new pollution limits in a number of different environmental media. Tough Legal Tests But winning such legal arguments can be difficult as key courts have generally resisted challenges from private parties, finding that the agency documents are not “final” decisions subject to judicial review. The fundamental question in cases challenging guidance documents and similar products is whether the documents have the effect of rulemaking, sources who have worked on similar cases say. “If the agency is telling you what they're likely to do in the future in this type of situation, then it's a guidance and it doesn't have any immediate impact. But if the agency is saying 'here's what we will do' . . . and it has an immediate impact then [courts are] going to hold that that's a rule,” says one lawyer who has represented other industries on similar challenges but is not involved in either pending case. The lawyer notes that challenges to guidance documents tend to be “highly fact-specific,” meaning that plaintiffs or petitioners need to demonstrate that the particular document being challenged is actually affecting regulatory policy. Some legal commentators, however, have noted that the Appalachian Power ruling is one of the few instances where courts have found guidance documents have legal force. "Unfortunately for those who liked the outcome in Ap palachian Power, it seems to have been the high-water mark for those wanting to circumscribe agency use of guidance," Seth Jaffe, a partner at Foley Hoag, noted in a 2009 posting on the firm's blog. Jaffe noted that in a 2007 ruling, Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition v. EPA, the agency successfully staved off an industry challenge to a risk assessment guidance protocol for hazardous waste combustion units by taking into account the standard the court set in Appalachian Power. "In response to Appalachian Power, EPA had edited the guidance to make it look less binding," he wrote. In a Sept. 17 filing, NMA asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to issue a preliminary injunction against EPA to prevent the agency from applying new standards for review of CWA section 402 and 404 permits it has outlined since the Obama administration took office. NMA is primarily targeting two documents in which EPA seeks to impose new standards for CWA permits, the April 1 guidance on “Improving EPA Review of Appalachian Surface Coal Mining Operations Under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and the Environmental Justice Executive Order ” and a June 11, 2009, memorandum of understanding (MOU) between EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers establishing an “Enhanced Coordination Process” for issuing CWA section 404 permits. Dozens of pending 404 permits are being held up as they are subjected to the process called for in the MOU. Permitting System The group says its members are being denied their right to a consistent, predictable permitting system through the imposition of new requirements via the guidance and MOU and expected or proposed EPA objections to state- or Corps-issued permits. “This is all about [EPA] delaying ever saying yes or no,” a second industry source says. “We don't have a right to a permit, but we do have a right to a timely yes or no. . . . And we're being denied that.” NMA says in a 53-page memo filed in support of its injunction request that EPA is immediately applying new criteria in the guidance, despite the fact that it is still in “interim” form, undergoing public comment and based on science that has not yet been peer reviewed, and that the agency through the MOU is encroaching on the Corps' permitting role as defined by the CWA. The group says it has tried to work cooperatively with EPA and the Corps' to understand the new requirements, “despite NMA's belief that the agencies were subverting federal law. What has evolved however, is an unduly prohibitive and dramatically lengthened permitting process that is having immediate and irreparable effects” on its members, NMA argues in the memo. NMA argues that EPA is overstepping its statutorily defined role in reviewing 404 permits by redefining the various roles played by EPA and the Corps in the process. The MOU lays out new review criteria EPA will apply to proposed 404 permits, which are issued by the Corps, to determine what permits should be subject to increased scrutiny. Previously, EPA could just comment on proposed permits and had the option of “vetoing” selected sites for the construction of valley fills, which mining companies use to dispose of excess spoil in streams. NMA also argues EPA is violating CWA statute and regulation covering issuance of section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, which states issue with oversight of EPA. Through the guidance, EPA says 402 permits should adhere to a benchmark value for conductivity, which measure salinity in water. NMA says that requirement amounts to an establishment of a regional water quality standard for conductivity, in violation of the CWA, which says states need to establish their own waterbody-specific quality standards. EPA's guidance and MOU should be considered “legislative rules” promulgated in violation of the APA and do not fall into categories for which Congress has created exceptions from notice-and-comment requirements, such as “ interpretive rules [or] general statements of policy,” NMA argues. It also cites Appalachian Power to argue that an “agency's characterization of its own actions is not controlling.” In response to the injunction request, an EPA spokeswoman says, “EPA issued this sensible guidance - which companies, stakeholders and elected officials all requested - because the agency believes Americans living in coal country should not have to choose between the economic benefits of coal mining and a way of life in the Appalachian mountains that depends on clean water and healthy watersheds -- we can provide both. . . . The guidance is based on emerging science and the law and sends a strong message that we are willing to work with companies to figure out how to mine coal while reducing the environmental and health impacts.” The EPA spokeswoman says of the 79 permits that were originally subject to the enhanced review outlined by the MOU, “only 36 remain pending a final decision and EPA is working to review these permits as expeditiously as possible. All of these remaining applications were filed during the previous administration and were delayed by lawsuits filed by coalfield citizens seeking to protect their communities.” -- Nick Juliano _top of page_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#top) ____________________________________ Expecting Pact With States, Activists, EPA Faces Industry Suit On Ballast Permit A pending industry lawsuit challenging EPA's commercial ship discharge permit appears set to move forward later this year, after EPA finalizes an expected settlement with state and environmentalist petitioners who had challenged the permit covering discharges of ballast water and other pollutants on separate grounds, according to new court filings. The case at issue, Lake Carriers Association v. EPA, pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, consolidated several review petitions filed by industry, environmental and state petitioners challenging on various grounds the Bush administration's first-time National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for vessels that was finalized in December 2008. Environmentalists assailed the permit as being too lenient while industry officials have focused their criticism on an extensive list of state-specific requirements that were included in the permit's appendix under section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), which allows states to set conditions on federal actions to ensure their water quality standards are met. In the wake of the litigation, EPA pursued two tracks of settlement talks. Efforts to reach a settlement with industry petitioners collapsed earlier this year, while talks with environmentalist and state petitioners were more fruitful. In a joint Sept. 8 filing, EPA and the environmentalist/state petitioners say they "have reached a tentative settlement encompassing virtually all issues" and ask to sever their part of the case from the industry challenges and keep it on hold for another 75 days while they finalize a settlement. The settlement will be between EPA and petitioners Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, Northwest Environmental Advocates and the state of Michigan. Details of the settlement remain unclear, but environmentalists have previously complained that the existing permit puts too little emphasis on implementing water-quality-based requirements, in favor of technology-based standards. EPA already has convened two scientific panels to provide recommendations for its next ship discharge permit, which will be finalized by 2013, and the early efforts to set strict standards for the next permit indicate that the existing permit is unlikely to be revised as part of a settlement agreement, contrary to earlier expectations. EPA says the next five-year general NPDES ship permit likely will include numeric limits for ballast water discharges, which the agency is regulating to control the spread of invasive species that can be transported between ports via ballast water. EPA has asked a panel of the National Academies of Science to examine water-quality based limits and a Science Advisory Board panel to examine available treatment technology in preparation for its next ship permit. Industry Challenge Industry petitioners Lake Carriers Association, American Waterways Operators and the Canadian Shipowners Association concur that the cases should be severed, so long as EPA does not use any settlement it reaches with the other petitioners "as a basis for opposing or seeking dismissal of Industry Petitioners cases," according to a separate industry filing. Industry challenged the permit over its inclusion of the state-specific discharge standards, which industry says were added to the permit after its proposal and notice-and-comment period without the proper time for review. Industry wants the permit to set a single national standard for discharges, saying the myriad state-by-state requirements complicate implementation. But states have generally argued that CWA section 401 allows them to attach conditions to federal decisions, such as the vessel permit, to ensure they are able to maintain water quality standards. EPA proposes a briefing schedule, with which industry concurs, that would have industry petitioners file an opening brief Nov. 1, to which EPA would respond by Jan. 31, 2011, and industry petitioners would file a reply by Feb. 21, 2011. The environmentalist and state petitioners will be allowed to intervene on EPA's behalf in the case, with their brief expected by Feb. 7 under EPA's proposed schedule. _top of page_ (mip://042b3aa0/default.html#top) ____________________________________ Utilities Looking To Include Water Projects In Infrastructure Bank Proposal Water utility industry sources say they are looking for an opportunity to make the case for including water projects in President Obama's proposal for a transportation infrastructure bank, arguing that water projects will more readily be able to pay back their loans and thus have a lesser impact on the deficit than transportation projects. President Obama announced on Sept. 6 that he would push Congress to pass a $50 billion initiative aimed at rebuilding the nation's transportation infrastructure -- including highways, airport runways and rail projects -- through an "infrastructure bank" model, which would allow states and municipalities to apply for low-interest loans to finance projects rather than have individual projects financed through earmarks or other means. The proposal is expected to be introduced as a prelude to a more comprehensive transportation bill, but several water utility sources say they are eager to convince Congress to broaden the scope of the infrastructure bank to allow it to include water infrastructure as well. One water industry source says it is not surprising that the Obama proposal is focused solely on transportation because such projects are highly visible -- a bonus in a highly contentious midterm election season. But the source says the fact the president is making a high-profile pitch to establish an infrastructure bank at all opens the possibility of developing the kind of proposal that water utilities can take advantage of. "We're a little disappointed that there was no mention of water, but we weren't really surprised," the source says. "But we very much believe that water projects are strong candidates" for federal support. Unlike most transportation projects, water projects have an inherent revenue stream from utility rate payers, another industry source says. That means the loans have a higher probability of being paid back, thereby keeping the bank's budget impact to a minimum and making the idea "more palatable for Congress and [the White house Office of Management & Budget]," the source says. One water utility group is already publicly calling for the inclusion of water projects in the infrastructure bank proposal. The American Water Works Association (AWWA), which represents drinking water utilities and has long been a supporter of the infrastructure bank idea, praised the Obama proposal in a Sept. 8 statement and strongly urged the inclusion of water systems in any such funding mechanism. "Because the bank would issue loans -- not grants -- it would have minimal impact on the federal budget and would require no new taxes," AWWA Executive Director David LaFrance said. "It's a fresh, sustainable approach to financing our nation's aging water infrastructure problem that strikes just the right balance between federal assistance and local responsibility." Dim Prospects Sources say that the omission of water infrastructure from the president's proposal is also less of a blow because of the initiative's dim prospects of passage this year, given the dwindling number of legislative days left in the 111th Congress and the Republican party's immediate and scathing criticism of the plan as a replay of the 2009 American Reinvestment & Recovery Act, known as the stimulus bill, which they say has failed to generate jobs or stimulate the economy. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) dismissed the plan as "more government stimulus spending" after the president's speech Sept. 6, while Rep. John Mica (R-FL), ranking member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, said the administration should take steps to streamline the funds appropriated under the 2009 stimulus bill rather than call for still more spending. Sen Jim Inhofe (R-OK), ranking member of the Senate Environment & Public Works committee and frequent advocate for the need for additional resources for infrastructure, called the initiative "all show for the election" in a Sept. 6 interview with the Tulsa World. A second industry source says the discussion of an infrastructure bank may in fact be little more than a campaign exercise, but that the issue may well be taken up in the next Congress and so industry is working on preliminary efforts to include water projects as part of that ongoing dialogue in the next Congress. "It may be a campaign talking point, but if that's the case, it may be looked at next year," the source says. "So preliminary work can be done to sort out what [a more comprehensive] infrastructure bank would look like." The source went on to say the question of whether it would be possible to get water projects into an infrastructure bank bill depends in large part on what legislation Congress takes up as a model. If such legislation is modeled on a bill that Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced last year or a bill outgoing Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced in the 110th Congress, then water projects would have an easier opportunity to apply for loans from an infrastructure bank. But if the bill is a strict transportation measure, the prospects for including water projects would be unlikely. "If they use existing bills, they're much wider -- they cover transportation, water, energy, public buildings," the source says. "If they're talking only about transportation infrastructure, it's hard to see how that would work.." ____________________________________ [View Less]

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WV-PA Watershed Groups seek new rules & enforcement
by Duane330＠aol.com 23 Sep '10

23 Sep '10

News Upper Monongahela River Association (UMRA) _W.Va. and Pa. Watersheds Seek Help from Lawmakers_ (http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func… 4&ct=ga&cad=:s1:f2:v0:d1:i0:lt:e0:p0:t1285207541:&cd=e8RqN9Y1t2c&usg=AFQjCNE nUIcaX-MbnmkNxItUx5cERqY-Rg) _State Journal_ () ... to speak with one voice on water quality issues in the Monongahela River basin. ... A year ago this week, TDS levels in Dunkard Creek reached crisis … [View More]

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CHEAT LAKE UPDATE --- Sept 13, 2010
by Duane330＠aol.com 13 Sep '10

13 Sep '10

CHEAT LAKE UPDATE..............September 13, 2010. The level of the water in Cheat Lake is down to a critical level, in my opinion. It is now at approximately 867.5 feet above sea level and digressing at about 0.02 feet per day. Less than 100 cubic feet per second of water is entering the Lake from all sources, so power cannot be generated and the current Lake level cannot be maintained unless we get rain soon. The last rain this past Saturday was only about 0.1 inches. The … [View More]

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Bow Hunting for Deer on the Shoreline
by Duane330＠aol.com 10 Sep '10

10 Sep '10

To: CLEAR members and friends RE: Deer hunting with bow and arrow near Cheat Lake Some residents who own shoreline properties have proposed bow and arrow hunting for deer on their residential lots this coming October and possibly November and December. I believe that this is unsafe and a risk to users of the Lake, be they swimmers, in canoes, in kayaks or other boats. Fishing boats of various sizes and types use the Lake year around. If shooting is toward the Lake, then … [View More]

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EPA promotes healthy waters
by Duane330＠aol.com 08 Sep '10

08 Sep '10

EPA MEETING ON THE EFFECTS OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING CHANGED TO SEPT. 13 AND 15 A public meeting originally scheduled for August 12 to discuss the effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water has been changed. Two sessions will now be held on Sept. 13th and 15th at the Broome County Forum Theater in Binghamton, N.Y. Registered speakers will have the opportunity to directly provide verbal or written comments on their views to EPA. Please pre-register for the meetings online at … [View More]

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Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Recommended
by Duane330＠aol.com 01 Sep '10

01 Sep '10

Protect our community and our waterways.............. Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, September 25th _http://ee.dominionpost.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RFBvc3QvMjAxMC8wOS8wMSNBcj AyNTAy&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom_ (http://ee.dominionpost.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RFBvc3QvMjAxMC8wOS8wMSNBcj… kin-custom) _http://www.justice.gov/dea/index.htm_ (http://www.justice.gov/dea/index.htm) nationwide!

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Mon River at Risk from Pollutants
by Duane330＠aol.com 24 Aug '10

24 Aug '10

Silty, salty Monongahela River at risk from pollutants By Tim Puko, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, Tuesday, August 24, 2010 _http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_696233.htm l_ (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_696233.html) The Monongahela River is at a crossroads. Not just at the Point, where the dark, silty Mon -- lifeblood to heavy industry -- merges with the clearer Allegheny. The Mon might be one of the country's most … [View More]endangered rivers, according to scientists studying the river. Since 2008, the river has filled each summer with levels of contaminants higher than in at least 10 years. What role the region's gas boom might play in the pollution is unknown. State environmental officials are employing stronger regulations and may ask for federal intervention to save the river from new threats and a legacy of mine pollution. "There's been dry seasons before, and it's never affected everything as much as it has now," said Mark Stoner, a chemist with the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority and chairman of RAIN, the River Alert Information Network, an alliance of about 30 water utility companies. "I have colleagues who are in RAIN that worked on the Mon, and they've not seen this in 20 years, not to these levels at all. ... This is not normal." The problem started in late summer 2008. A pollutant that scientists call "total dissolved solids" turned the water smelly and sour for some of the 1 million people in Pennsylvania and West Virginia who get drinking water from the Monongahela basin. After decades of improvement to the river, the pollution surprised water experts from around the region. Total dissolved solids, or TDS, is a catchall term for different minerals that essentially turned the river into mild saltwater. It was only about 3 percent the strength of ocean water, but that's high enough to violate the state's secondary drinking water standards for taste and smell. As river flow decreased in the dry summer, high levels returned for shorter spells in 2009 and this year since late July. Scientists at the Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia University and Carnegie Mellon University began analyses of chemicals in the river. Drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus shale caused more than a fifth of the pollution in 2008 because drillers diluted wastewater by dumping it into the river through sewage treatment plants, according to RAIN and the DEP. But DEP stopped most of that with new rules; gas wastewater probably doesn't cause more than 5 percent to 10 percent of pollution now, said Ron Schwartz, assistant director of the department's southwest region. Gas drillers are adamant their expanding industry isn't responsible for the river's pollution. "You'd have salt trucks lined up from here probably all the way to Wyoming to make that much impact on the water," said Tony Gaudlip, the water operations manager at Range Resources Corp., which essentially discovered the Marcellus shale. The Houston, Texas-based company has offices at Southpointe. Gaudlip blames acid mine drainage for the problem, and other scientists agree it caused most of the Mon's pollution for decades. Power plants started to screen out harmful metals from their exhaust to meet air quality standards and dump that pollution instead into the river, Schwartz said. This spring, the DEP began the process to have the river designated as "impaired," which would allow the federal government to set standards for river polluting. The Environmental Protection Agency would commission a study to determine limits for industrial dumping of total dissolved solids in the river. The DEP is implementing its own strengthened standards. Starting this week, gas drillers must treat wastewater to secondary drinking level standards -- solids must be fewer than 500 milligrams per liter -- before dumping it into the river. Most other industries have limits four times as high, and abandoned coal mines -- which fill with water -- are exempt, Schwartz said. Ken Zapinski, senior vice president at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, said targeting gas drilling wastewater is unfair and adds to the false perception that the gas industry is to blame for the Monongahela's condition. "We hoped that further work would be done to document where the TDS is originating from," he said. There's no scientific consensus that shale drilling isn't playing a role. The industry uses millions of gallons of water per well; a lot of that water comes from the Mon and its tributaries, which means the river has less water to dilute pollutants, Stoner and Schwartz said. In parts of the Mon, the river flow is less than half of what it usually is this time of year, and September often brings even drier conditions, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Some early indicators from about a year's worth of detailed readings show more evidence of salt, a sign of the shale drilling industry, said researchers at West Virginia and the University of Pittsburgh. The change in the Youghiogheny River tributary has been especially dramatic, said Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute. That river historically was low in TDS, mostly from calcium sulfate, the signature chemical of mine drainage, he said. But readings since January show the number doubled, primarily from salt, sodium chloride. "Something is dumping a lot of sodium chloride in the water. Where that's coming from, I don't know. But one might suggest (gas drilling wastewater) was getting into the Yough," Ziemkiewicz said. "I think if we ... don't get a grip on fluid disposal, we could have some serious problems." [View Less]

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<clear> Proposed Landfill near Bruceton Mills for Drilling By-Products
by Duane330＠aol.com 27 Jul '10

27 Jul '10

Friends of the Cheat has been informed that a developer is proposing to build and operate a 150 acre industrial landfill about 1 mile south of Bruceton Mills, in the Big Sandy sub-watershed (please see attached map). The WV Department of Environmental Protection has been informed about this potential project, but has yet to receive the Class F industrial landfill permit application. Friends of the Cheat was advised to contact the Preston County Solid Waste Authority to find out more … [View More] information, but has yet to receive a response. We were also informed that local landowners may have already sold land in the areas of interest but we do not know this for certain. According to the information provided to Friends of the Cheat, the landfill, a proposed solid waste facility, would serve as a disposal site for residual brine from natural gas drilling operations. Residual brine is a term for a by-product of Marcellus shale drilling, specifically a process called hydro fracturing or fracing. Water recovered from the fracing process contains a variety of proprietary compounds in addition to high levels of salt. The environmental impacts of these fluids is yet to be determined and many aspects of the process is currently unregulated here in West Virginia. Other pollutant threats include sediment from construction and increased truck traffic. Friends of the Cheat is concerned about this potential development. The Big Sandy sub-watershed was the first local area successfully restored from the impacts of abandoned mine drainage (AMD) pollution. A collaboration of partners, agencies, and individuals logged many hours and contributed millions of dollars to bring the Sandy back. This success story was recently highlighted in Trout Unlimited's report, "Restoring the Wealth of the Mountains: Cleaning Up Appalachia's Abandoned Mines": http://www.tu.org/atf/cf/%7BED0023C4-EA23-4396-9371-8509DC5B4953%7D/TU%20AMD %20report.pdf “The Little Sandy doesn’t look like most streams polluted by mine drainage,” says Bill Thorne of the TU P. Pendleton Kennedy Chapter. “It looks like a healthy stream lined with boulders, riffles and good forest canopy.” The Little Sandy used to hold thriving trout populations, but extensive mining in the middle of the 20th century led to their demise. “A lot of people looked at us like we were crazy for trying to bring back Little Sandy, because they thought the stream would be dead forever,” says Thorne. “But a few of us saw that the water’s worst was in its past and that we could help it in the future.” Working through the River of Promise framework, several mine drainage treatment technologies were installed along the Little Sandy and its feeder streams during the late 1990s. Notably, several of these projects were made possible by the OSM Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative. The National Mine Lands Reclamation Center at West Virginia University was also a key player, adding both the experience and ability that come from years of exploring mine drainage issues. These combined efforts paid off. In 2002, state fisheries biologists discovered many young-of-the-year brook trout in a Little Sandy tributary to which a team of volunteers, including many TU members, had transferred brook trout during the preceding year. Because brook trout cannot survive without clean, cold water, the fact that natural reproduction was occurring was a significant sign of progress for the watershed. In addition to providing habitat for West Virginia's most popular game fish and state fish, the brook trout, the Big Sandy is a getaway for whitewater enthusiasts. Referred to as "a pristine whitewater jewel...unlike anything else on the east coast," the Sandy hosts a variety of rapids that will challenge top notch kayakers (lower Sandy) and entertain the family (upper Sandy). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RVqglTw-6Q&feature=channel The Big Sandy and its tributaries also provide valuable fresh water resources to the local community, which includes some of Preston County's most valued farm land. Friends of the Cheat encourages concerned individuals and groups to stay informed and ask questions about the proposed landfill. The permitting process requires public meetings, but it is imperative that the research and conversations begin now so everyone is prepared for a healthy discussion based on facts. Please distribute this e-mail and information to community members, fisherman, boaters, environmental advocates and anybody downstream so we can work together to protect the Sandy. Sincerely, Amanda Pitzer Executive Director Friends of the Cheat [View Less]

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proposed TMDL's for Cheat watershed streams
by Duane330＠aol.com 26 Jul '10

26 Jul '10

CLEAR members and friends. We very much need some people interested in the Cheat watershed to attend one or both the meetings below. I'll be on my annual vacation trip with family until August 8th. Duane Nichols ============================================================ Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 5:01 PM ============================================================ The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct the first of two public meetings on … [View More]

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Work session this Wed. @ 9:30 am
by Duane330＠aol.com 20 Jul '10

20 Jul '10

CLEAR Work Session. We will have a work session at the Millstone Point, just south of the Day Use Boat Docks near the Morgan Run Backwater, on Wednesday, July 21st starting at 9:30 am. Each person must sign it at the Guard House and indicate that they are working with CLEAR. The work involves the cutting of vines and underbrush, the collection of debris from the land and shoreline between Millsone Point and the Day Use Boat Docks. We will then be able to use this area for "… [View More]

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CLARIFICATION --water withdrawal monitoring
by Duane330＠aol.com 15 Jul '10

15 Jul '10

CLARIFICATION Last week Friends of the Cheat was notified that the WV DEP had issued guidance against water withdrawals from WV streams. Because there is no current rule mandating water withdrawals the guidance is open to interpretation and also not enforceable. From what we understand inspectors are open to interpret this guidance and determine whether withdrawals are appropriate. Still, if you see something that concerns you--please report it to the WV DEP Oil and Gas office. I … [View More]

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Update on Dunkard Creek @ OLLI
by Duane330＠aol.com 10 Jul '10

10 Jul '10

LATEST UPDATES ON DUNKARD CREEK FISH KILL AND WATER QUALITY ISSUES NOTE! If you are not a member of OLLI –WVU (see below), and plan to attend, we ask you email Don Strimbeck at _dcsoinks(a)comcast.net_ (mailto:dcsoinks@comcast.net) , stating you plan to attend. We need to ensure we got enough seats for attendees!! Wednesday 14 July, 6:30-8PM, Mountaineer Mall, Morgantown WV. Barry Pallay informed me (Strimbeck) that this meeting is open to the PUBLIC and NEWS MEDIA. Osher … [View More]

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Environmental Costs of Marcellus Gas
by Duane330＠aol.com 10 Jul '10

10 Jul '10

July 9, 2010 | Scientific American Concerns Spread over Environmental Costs of Producing Shale Gas The extent to which utilities will burn natural gas to slash carbon dioxide emissions tied to global warming is a national issue. But on the ground, where it's being produced, the issues become very local. By _Joel Kirkland_ (http://www.scientificamerican.com/author.cfm?id=2404) and _ClimateWire_ (http://www.scientificamerican.com/author.cfm?id=2308) : See the web-site below: … [View More]

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Temporary Moratorium on Water Withdrawals
by Duane330＠aol.com 09 Jul '10

09 Jul '10

NOTICE.................................. In response to increased temperatures, lack of substantial rainfall, and overall depleted levels of surface and groundwater, the WV Department of Environmental Protection has issued a temporary moratorium on all water withdrawals for natural gas drilling operations. If you see what appears to be a tanker withdrawing water from a stream you are urged to contact the WV DEP Office of Oil and Gas. Please note specifically WHERE and WHEN you saw … [View More]

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FRACing impacts on drinking water (EPA meeting)
by Duane330＠aol.com 07 Jul '10

07 Jul '10

EPA TO HOLD INFORMATIONAL MEETING IN CANONSBURG, PA ON A RESEARCH STUDY ADDRESSING HYDRAULIC FRACTURING'S POTENTIAL IMPACT ON DRINKING WATER "Hydraulic fracturing" is an increasingly common method to access Natural gas, but concerns are being raised about its impact on drinking water. EPA is hosting informational meetings to draft a study plan to study the potential adverse impact of fracking on drinking water. One of the meetings (one of four nationwide) will be held July 22 from … [View More]

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Tier 3 designation for trout streams
by Duane330＠aol.com 29 Jun '10

29 Jun '10

The Comment Period on Tier 3 Stream Nominations Is Now Underway On May 12 the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection published official notification in local newspapers that it is proposing to add three streams located primarily on private land in Preston County to the Tier 3 stream list. Tier 3 designation would provide these streams on private land the highest level of protection under the antidegradation provisions of the federal Clean Water Act, and the three … [View More]streams would be the first private-land streams designated since the Legislature adopted the new antidegradation provisions in 2008. The three streams are Watkins Run, Fill Hollow Creek, and an unnamed tributary of Fill Hollow Creek, all located in Preston County. They are classic, pristine West Virginia native brook trout streams that fully deserve to be protected from future degradation. You have until July 12, the end of the public comment period, to let DEP have your comments on adding these streams to the Tier 3 list. Here’s where to send your comments: Written comments on this proposal must be sent by U.S. mail, postmarked or hand-delivered by July 12, 2010, directed to: Scott Mandirola Attention: Tier 3 Nomination WV Department of Environmental Protection 601 57th Street, S.E. Charleston, WV 25304 Comments may also be sent by e-mail to _dep.comments(a)wv.gov_ (http://www.dep.comments@wv.gov/) . ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Background: This proposal is based upon a nomination the DEP received on November 23, 2009, to add the entire lengths of Watkins Run, Fill Hollow Creek, and an unnamed tributary of Fill Hollow Creek to the Tier 3 list. The nomination was made by Ladd Williams on behalf of Friends of Laurel Mountain. In his nomination, Mr. Williams documents that the streams are “abundant with aquatic insects and native brook trout.” The nomination also documents, among other things, excellent water quality in the streams, and includes petitions signed by an overwhelming majority of the adjacent landowners in support of the designation. The entire nomination package may be viewed by visiting the Water Quality Standards home page on the DEP’s Web site: _http://www.dep.wv.gov/wqs_ (http://www.dep.wv.gov/wqs) . Watkins Run was previously nominated and adopted as a Tier 2.5 (Waters of Special Concern) stream by the West Virginia Legislature in May, 2005. EPA approved this nomination in September, 2006 and Watkins Run was the state’s only Tier 2.5 stream from September, 2006 to September, 2009, at which time EPA approved the DEP’s recommendation to eliminate the Tier 2.5 designation from its water quality standards rule and adopt the new Tier 3 provisions. Tier 3 waters are also known as “Outstanding National Resource Waters” and are afforded a higher level of protection than Tier 1 and Tier 2 waters. Most native brook trout streams on public lands automatically qualify for Tier 3 protection. But streams primarily on private lands must be nominated for protection. Any interested party may nominate a water to be listed as an Outstanding National Resource Water. And DEP’s decision to list streams as Tier 3 waters no longer requires legislative approval. There are eight qualification criteria to be considered in determining whether to assign an Outstanding National Resource Water designation to a stream, as follows: Impact on private property owners Whether the interests of all affected parties have been adequately represented during the nomination and designation process Location of the water Previous special designations Existing water quality Factors that indicate outstanding ecological value Factors that indicate outstanding recreational or aesthetic value Other factors determined by the Secretary, when applicable Generally, nominations that fail to address at least three of the qualification criteria will be considered insufficient. The DEP has determined that Mr. Williams’ Tier 3 nomination satisfies the minimum criteria. Streams granted Tier 3 status are to be maintained, protected, and improved where necessary. Any proposed new or expanded regulated activity that would degrade the water quality, other than temporarily, is prohibited. This requirement only applies to point source discharges, such as sewage treatment plant and industrial discharges. It does not apply to non-point source activities, such as timbering, farming, and oil and gas drilling, as long as best management practices are implemented and maintained. WVRC has long campaigned on the Antidegredation and Tier 3 classification issue to protect the water quality of all the states rivers and streams. In 2008 the Legislature to eliminated the compromise Tier 2.5 antidegredation category, and finally initiated designation of Tier 3 waters across the state. Now is your chance to comment on these protections of our highest quality streams. Please send in your comments to DEP before the July 12 deadline. These Tier 3 designations are supported by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and they may be contacted at: _WV_Rivers_Update(a)wvrivers.org_ (mailto:WV_Rivers_Update@wvrivers.org) ............................................. To make a donation to support their work please _click here_ (https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1002062) or call their offices at 304-637-7201. [View Less]

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current EPA activities.............
by Duane330＠aol.com 28 Jun '10

28 Jun '10

EPA STRENGTHENS COMMITMENT TO REDUCE LEAD IN THE ENVIRONMENT EPA will notify the states by October 2010 whether they are attaining or not attaining the revised 2008 national air quality standards for lead. Once nonattainment designations take effect, the state and local governments will outline how they plan to attain and maintain the new, more rigorous lead emissions standards. Lead exposure can cause a range of adverse health effects, especially in children. EPA is seeking … [View More]

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<FOC> Save our Streams WORKSHOP
by Duane330＠aol.com 28 Jun '10

28 Jun '10

Subject: Friends of the Cheat Offers Save our Streams Workshop Friends of the Cheat will host a Save our Streams training event on Friday, July 2nd starting at 10:00am at the Cheat River Festival Site in Albright. West Virginia Save our Streams Coordinator Tim Craddock will lead a hands-on workshop teaching techniques used to complete a stream bio-assessment. The bio-assessment consists of three basic elements: water quality analysis, physical characterizations, and an assessment of … [View More]

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"Cheat Snail Seminar" Monday 10:45 am w/ directions
by Duane330＠aol.com 26 Jun '10

26 Jun '10

To: All interested persons, this is our only opportunity on this topic: "The Preservation of the Three-Tooth Snail in the Cheat Canyon" Monday, June 28th, 10:30 am. Room 320 Percival Hall, Evansdale Campus of WVU. NOTE: Percival Hall is interconnected with Allen Hall (taller portion). Information: Duane Nichols, Cell: 304-216-5535. Chad Pierskalla, Office: 304-293-6530 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&… [View More]

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1440 AM RADIO = MON RIVER WATER QUALITY CRISIS = Wednesday @ 9:05 am
by duane330＠aol.com 22 Jun '10

22 Jun '10

MORGANTOWN AM, RADIO 1440 FROM 9:05 TO 10 AM, TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23RD. GUESTS WILL BE DELEGATE BARBARA FLEISHAUER AND FROM C.L.E.A.R. DUANE NICHOLS. TOPIC: WATER QUALITY CRISIS IN THE MONONGAHELA RIVER WATERSHED.

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Seminar: The Cheat Three Tooth Snail
by Duane330＠aol.com 16 Jun '10

16 Jun '10

NOTICE: The program entitled "The Preservation of the Cheat Three Tooth Snail in the Cheat Canyon" will take place on Monday, June 28th at 10:30 am. This will be held in Room 320 of Percival Hall, Evansdale Campus of West Virginia University. Presentations by the Cheat Lake Environment & Recreation Association (CLEAR) and by the Copperhead Consulting Group will be made. Representatives of the current owner of Cheat Canyon forest lands will be present to answer … [View More]

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Hiking Trail off South Branch of Cheat Lake Trail
by Duane330＠aol.com 08 Jun '10

08 Jun '10

LUNCHEON MEETING TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY AT ZEN CLAY. This last minute call is for those who wish to discuss a proposed hiking trail in the Cheat Haven Wildlife Management Area. Location: Zen Clay on University Avenue Time: 12 noon. P.S. We are also planning a meeting for 10:30 am on Monday, June 28th to discuss the Cheat Three Tooth Snail Protection in the Cheat Canyon, location to be determined.

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Coopers Rock Celebration -- Saturday 6/12/10
by Duane330＠aol.com 04 Jun '10

04 Jun '10

COOPERS ROCK CELEBRATION of the OUTDOORS. An event of the Coopers Rock Foundation in cooperation with other local groups including the Sierra Club, Friends of Blackwater, Cheat Lake Environment & Recreation Association, and others............. The event is scheduled for Saturday, June 12, and will run from 9 to 3 with a discussion session happening sometime in the later morning, e.g. 10am or 11am. Duane Nichols Contact: Gwen Jones, _gwendolyn.jones(a)fairmontstate.edu_ (mailto:gwendolyn.jones@fairmontstate.edu)

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Mon River crisis in news
by Duane330＠aol.com 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

Two West Virginia Rivers on Most Endangered List Posted Thursday, June 3, 2010 ; 06:00 AM | The State Journal file photo Photo Credit: Dunkard Creek near Morgantown The Gauley and Monongahela rivers have been identified by American Rivers as threatened. By Pam Kasey, Morgantown, WV Mountaintop mining and extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale have placed two West Virginia rivers, the Gauley and the Monongahela, on the 2010 list of most endangered rivers. The … [View More]nonprofit American Rivers prepares the list of rivers threatened by pending decisions each year. The list based on nominations from river groups and concerned citizens across the U.S. Rivers are chosen for most endangered status based not on current stresses, but on pending permitting, regulatory or other actions that could significantly impact their health. The Gauley River is listed as No. 3 in 2010 because of to mountaintop mining. Citing effects including burial of streams, contamination of drinking water, displacement of communities and increased flooding, the organization has called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect water quality by creating national standards for conductivity and selenium in streams. Appearing as No. 9 is the Monongahela River in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Troubling the Mon River, the organization's report states, are the combined effects of old and current coal mines as well as the beginnings of natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale. In 2008, gas well hydraulic fracturing fluids that were high in dissolved solids fouled drinking water for Mon River communities in Pennsylvania. Municipalities at the time accepted gas well wastewater they could not adequately treat. While they have discontinued the practice, neither West Virginia nor Pennsylvania has yet passed water quality standards for dissolved solids. In 2009, drainage from coal mines, also high in dissolved solids, contributed to a fish kill on the Mon River tributary Dunkard Creek. The organization calls for the enactment of water quality standards for dissolved solids -- a process that already is under way in both states. American Rivers also called on Congress to pass the FRAC Act to repeal the exemption for gas well fracturing fluids in the Safe Drinking Water Act and to require disclosure of the chemicals used in those fluids. The last time a West Virginia river appeared on the list was in 2006. That year, the Shenandoah River was listed for poorly managed development. Topping the list this year is the Upper Delaware River in Pennsylvania and New York, which provides drinking water to 17 million. American Rivers said that river also needs protection from improperly treated Marcellus Shale fracturing fluids. Rounding out the list are the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in California, threatened by outdated water and flood management; the Little River in North Carolina, where better alternatives to a proposed dam may be available; Iowa's Cedar River, subject to outdated flood management; the Upper Colorado River in Colorado, depleted by excessive water diversions; the Chetco River in Oregon, threatened by gravel mining; the Teton River in Idaho, also threatened by a new dam; and the Coosa River in Alabama, where the renewal of seven hydropower licenses pose an opportunity for increased protections for endangered species. This is the 25th year American Rivers has highlighted the nation's most endangered rivers. The group said its advocacy efforts have helped to improve rivers throughout the United States, including the removal of old dams and prevention of new ones, restrictions on mining and oil and gas drilling, and policy revisions that stopped the draining of wetlands. [View Less]

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EPA offers information to the public
by Duane330＠aol.com 01 Jun '10

01 Jun '10

EPA WEB SITE OFFERS MORE TOXIC CHEMICAL INFORMATION EPA is increasing the chemical information that certain industries and federal facilities must submit under the Toxic Substances Control Act _(TSCA)_ (http://www.epa.gov/tri/) . More than 6,300 chemicals and 3,800 chemical facilities are now available for analysis on how they affect our air, water and land. In the months ahead, EPA intends to increase the information and to make the public portion of the TSCA inventory free of … [View More]

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Gans Compressor to release Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)
by Duane330＠aol.com 29 May '10

29 May '10

DEP Public Notice - County - Monongalia - Notice for the Draft Permit R13-2720A for Appalachia Midstream Services, Inc. LLC's Gans Compressor Station: Friday, May 28, 2010 @ 1:12 PM =========================================================== AIR QUALITY PERMIT NOTICE Notice of Intent to Approve On March 26, 2010, Appalachia Midstream Services, LLC applied to the WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality (DAQ) for a permit to modify a natural gas … [View More]compressor facility located in Monongalia County, WV. >From Morgantown on I-68 East, take the Cheat Lake exit onto Route 857 North. Go approximately 6 miles and turn right into Laurel Aggregates Quarry. Stay to the left while going toward Lake Lynn Laboratory for 0.9 mile. Turn right, go 0.3 mile. Turn right through gate to compressor site. A preliminary evaluation has determined that all State and Federal air quality requirements will be met by the proposed facility. The DAQ is providing notice to the public of its preliminary determination to issue the permit as R13- 2720A. The following increase in potential emissions will be authorized by this permit action: Particulate Matter, 1.02 TPY; Sulfur Dioxide, -1.23 TPY; Oxides of Nitrogen, 7.09 TPY; Carbon Monoxide, 9.52 TPY; Volatile Organic Compounds, 10.30 TPY; Acetaldehyde, 0.22 TPY; Acrolein, 0.05 TPY; Benzene, -0.07 TPY; Ethylbenzene, 0.01 TPY; Formaldehyde, 4.34 TPY; n-Hexane, 0.30 TPY; Toluene, 2.50 TPY; Xylenes, 3.79 TPY; Total HAPs, 9.58 TPY. Written comments or requests for a public meeting must be received by the DAQ before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 2, 2010. A public meeting may be held if the Director of the DAQ determines that significant public interest has been expressed, in writing, or when the Director deems it appropriate. The purpose of the DAQ’s permitting process is to make a preliminary determination if the proposed modification will meet all state and federal air quality requirements. The purpose of the public review process is to accept public comments on air quality issues relevant to this determination. Only written comments received at the address noted below within the specified time frame, or comments presented orally at a scheduled public meeting, will be considered prior to final action on the permit. All such comments will become part of the public record. Jerry Williams, P.E. WV Department of Environmental Protection Division of Air Quality 601 57th Street, SE Charleston, WV 25304 Telephone: 304/926-0499, ext. 1223 FAX: 304/926-0478 Additional information, including copies of the draft permit, application and all other supporting materials relevant to the permit decision may be obtained by contacting the engineer listed above. The draft permit and engineering evaluation can be downloaded at: www.dep.wv.gov/daq [View Less]

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Support for Friends of the Cheat
by Duane330＠aol.com 25 May '10

25 May '10

DEAR FRIENDS: CHEAT LAKE IS THE CHEAT RIVER, ITS WATER IS OUR WATER! From: Duane Nichols, May 25th. _duane330(a)aol.com_ (mailto:duane330@aol.com) (304-216-5535) _Janet Lenox_ (http://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=1527794757&mid=265b01fG5af321ad92…) May 25, 2010 at 7:19am Subject: Eat for the Cheat! Hello Folks! Do you shop at Krogers? Do you want to support Friends of the Cheat. If you answered "Yes" to both of those questions, see below for a easy way to … [View More]

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HELP. Please respond a.s.a.p.
by Duane330＠aol.com 18 May '10

18 May '10

To: CLEAR members and friends................... From: Duane Nichols. Proposal: It is herewith proposed that CLEAR become a participant in the upcoming WV Water Conference to be held at the Waterfront Hotel in Morgantown on October 6th and 7th. We would become an Exhibitor at a cost of $100 and we would submit one or two abstracts representing talks to be presented. Abstracts are due by June 30th. One presentation would be on "Cheat Lake Recreational Activities" and the … [View More]

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Water Quality Standards -- public meeting -- 5-19-10
by Duane330＠aol.com 04 May '10

04 May '10

NOTE: The hearing below is very important to Monongalia County, as well as to the whole state. We need a drinking water standard of below 500 parts per million TDS (total dissolved solids) as in Pennsylvania, to protect our public water sources and to help prevent chemical substances and algae from killing the living things in streams, including the fish, mussels and other critters. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&… [View More]

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