Susquehanna Tops 'Most Endangered Rivers' List
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
17 May 2011
By Laura Olson, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG -- A Pennsylvania river again tops an annual list of "most
endangered rivers," with a national advocacy group saying natural gas
drilling and the resulting wastewater have put the Susquehanna River at
risk.
While two state waterways listed by American Rivers last year no longer
are on the list, the group says the Monongahela and the Delaware rivers
both continue to face threats from the state's rapid growth in drilling
activity.
Some controversial regulations are under consideration by the Delaware
River Basin Commission to manage drilling in the state's northeast
corner, but some activists are urging stronger oversight by state and
federal regulators as well.
The Susquehanna, which flows through the state's drilling-heavy
northern tier, is one of two rivers on the list near gas drilling. The
Hoback River in Wyoming, another area where hydraulic fracturing is
used to release shale gas, came in at No. 7.
But it's Marcellus Shale drilling that again was a top concern for the
advocacy group.
"We could have a top-10 list where all 10 were in the Marcellus Shale,"
said Jessie Thomas-Blate, who coordinates the most endangered rivers
program.
The report is the latest push from environmental groups seeking to
update the state's Oil and Gas Act. Changes, such as mandating wider
buffers around gas wells and requiring companies to share pipelines,
were suggested last week by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the
Pennsylvania Environmental Council.
Some legislation has been introduced to beef up protections, but
changes are not likely until after the governor's Marcellus Shale
Advisory Commission completes its report in July.
That's not fast enough for some state environmental groups, which have
rallied in the state Capitol and outside the advisory commission's
meetings. They say the current law is outdated. "It didn't contemplate
the kind of drilling that's going on now," said Jeff Schmidt, director
of the state Sierra Club chapter. "It isn't your grandmother's gas
drilling."
Regulators with the state Department of Environmental Protection have
made some changes to address wastewater issues. The agency asked
drillers to stop transporting briny, chemically tainted wastewater to
municipal treatment facilities, saying it was contributing to unsafe
bromide levels.
Test results released Monday by Pennsylvania American Water Co. showed
that the private utility's water quality complies with federal and
state standards. Similar tests on river water, including samples from
the Mon, were within safe limits for radioactivity and other pollutants.
But Ms. Thomas-Blate of American Rivers said officials need to take a
harder look at the long-term impact. While the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission has increased its oversight of water withdrawals, it needs
to do more on water-quality issues and on analysis of the cumulative
impact of wells in the region, she said. Her group and the state Sierra
Club are calling for a moratorium on fracking along the Susquehanna
"until better protections are in place."
The report noted that since the Delaware's inclusion on last year's
list, its river basin commission has drafted regulations that are
"comparatively stronger than others in the region." The commission is
reviewing the thousands of comments on the rules that it received last
month.
Laura Olson: lolson@post-gazette.com or 1-717-787-4254. The Associated
Press contributed to this report.