Dear Senator Casey,
You had my financial support, and my vote, when you ran for the Senate in 2018. I was deeply disappointed by your letter in the February 8 issue of the River Reporter questioning President Biden’s pause of LNG exports. The only problem I have with President Biden’s policy is that it is only a pause, not a permanent ban.
Jobs in the natural gas industry are highly subsidized due to the externalities involved. The burning of any fossil fuel releases CO2, which is driving climate change. The production of natural gas results in methane leaks and methane causes significantly more warming than CO2 over a 20 year time frame. Methane leaks from LNG exports are even more substantial and make it worse for the climate than burning coal. We are spending billions now to mitigate the effects of climate change and, unless action is taken, will be spending many billions more going forward. As U. S. climate chief John Kerry stated recently: “The choice is, will we do this in time to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis? The question is, are you going to put your head in the sand and do business as usual, because you’re so greedy?”
In addition to the climate issue, the production of natural gas via fracking exposes those living nearby to significant health hazards. Fracking also produces millions of gallons of toxic wastewater that the industry has no way to dispose of safely. In western Pennsylvania, this wastewater has been spread on dirt roads, exposing local residents to another health hazard.
I am dismayed that you support subsidized jobs that harm the health of Pennsylvania residents and threaten the stability of Earth’s climate. Renewable energy is cost effective, does not contribute to climate change and is not a health hazard. Jobs building our renewable energy infrastructure are high paying. We need leadership that will get us off fossil fuels, promote renewable energy and take us into a clean, sustainable future.
Unless you change your position on LNG exports, I will not be giving you any further financial support. I believe you are running for re-election in 2024. Whether or not you get my vote will depend on the options available. I hope I will have the option of voting for someone who shows true leadership on these issues.
The addresses for Senators Casey and Fetterman are:
Please register now for EPA Webinar on Banning Vinyl Chloride 2.20.24, at 1:00 – …
]]>Please register now for EPA Webinar on Banning Vinyl Chloride 2.20.24, at 1:00 – 4:00
Please sign the Catskill Mountainkeeper petition telling President Biden and United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to keep “bomb trains” carrying highly explosive liquefied natural gas (LNG) out of our communities.
Download this Blog post as a pdf.
Jess Conrad, of Beyond Plastics, discusses the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment:
Victoria Lessor lives near the train tracks in Callicoon NY. She’s very concerned about the black and white tanker cars, of which she has counted up to 45 at one time, that are marked hazardous. The train company offers no info on what’s in these marked cars. She points out that we have protected the Delaware River from the fracking,..but, she states correctly, “The speeding trains along the Delaware could do as much damage (as fracking) if there was an accident”.
So Victoria invited a rep from Senator Schumer’s office, as well as Assemblywomen Aileen Gunther, to see the proximity of the tracks to the river in front of her home, and to alert them of her concern. They both said there is a federal bill that’s pending about rail safety. In the meantime, Victoria wants to know what they are carrying at such speeds, and what the risk is to the river corridor. Maybe certain trains with hazardous materials need to be rerouted to a less vulnerable area, away from this pristine water source, a valuable source of drinking water.
Rebekah Creskoff, a resident of the Delaware River Basin, and a volunteer for Beyond Plastics, is also concerned, and has been sharing information on the Upper Delaware Network about these train cars and what they are carrying. One main concern is the possibility that Vinyl Chloride is being transported along the Delaware River. Vinyl Chloride is a highly flammable liquefied gas, pressurized for shipment under its own vapor pressure via rail or truck.
Recently a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3, 2023. It was carrying 115,581 gallons of Vinyl Chloride. Jess Conard resides in East Palestine. I recorded her story regarding the East Palestine derailment during a Beyond Plastics class. Her life was forever changed because of this train derailment. She has since left her job, and now works with Beyond Plastics.
As early as 1974, scientists have warned the public that Vinyl Chloride, which is used to make polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC or Vinyl), is a known human carcinogen. As a gas, it emits a colorless sweet smell that causes liver, brain and lung cancers as well as leukemia and lymphoma. That’s one reason it’s labeled hazardous on the train cars that carry it, because if it spills or blows up it will contaminate any land, water, or air it comes in contact with, as well as the inhabitants that reside there. In addition, when the PVC pipe and all the other various plastics that are made from it decomposes in landfills, or is exposed to fire or incineration, it releases toxins into the soil, the air, and exposed water sources. Plasticizers are added to PVC to make it supple for use in Vinyl products like shower curtains, clothing bags, flexible plastic tubing, electric wire insulation and coatings, play mats, inflatable toys, camp beds, paddling pools, and vinyl toys. These soft PVC items often contain toxic additives called phthalates, like (DEHP) Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Phthalates are suspected carcinogens and reproductive toxicants. Other toxic chemicals like PFAS are getting into the Vinyl Chloride through the fracking process.
Beyond Plastics: The Perils of PVC Plastic Pipes
Beyond Plastics is at the forefront tackling the plastic pollution problems. Here’s a link to a recent study on why Beyond Plastics believes this harmful chemical must be banned.
Endocrinologist Pete Myers on Plastic and Fetal Development
In case you’re not convinced, here’s the link to a presentation by Pete Myers, an expert on endocrine disruptors on how plastics threaten fetal development. Pete Myers wrote a book along with Dr.Theo Colborn, PhD, and Dianne Dumanoski in 1996 called Our Stolen Future which introduced the world to endocrine disruptors. Pete Myers states,” I can’t tell you how many physicians I’ve spoken to who said, “you changed my career with that book.” Dr. Colborn worked tirelessly with DCS to ban fracking in the Delaware River Basin. She was featured in the movie Gasland.
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Here’s the extensive coverage of this train rail issue by Ted Waddell at the River Reporter
2/21/2023 Concerns about railroad derailments
This article is the first in a series that will explore safety protocols, historic derailments, and the coordination and communication between the national, state and county emergency management agencies that help ensure railroad safety and respond to emergencies.
3/7/23 Guardians of the Delaware River – National Park Service
Excerpt-Beginning at the confluence of the East and West Branches of the Delaware at Hancock, NY, the UPDE extends 73.4 miles downstream to Railroad Bridge No. 2 near Mill Rift, PA, and is mandated, along with numerous cooperating partners, to protect and manage the river and 55,575 acres of land associated within the designated boundaries. The management partnership includes 15 municipalities, NYS, PA, the Delaware River Basin Commission DRBC, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) and the NPS…..The National Response System, a unit of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a “multi-layered system involving individuals and teams from tribal, local, state, and federal agencies, as well as industry and other organizations.” At the heart of the system is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan….
3/7/2023 Putting derailments in perspective
Excerpt- For the record, there are about 3,500 miles of track in New York State, down from a reported 8,400 miles during the halcyon days of the 1920s. Pennsylvania ranks near the top with 5,600 miles of rail….and ….As a result of the highly publicized derailment in East Palestine, OH, emergency response personnel and residents were reportedly exposed to a toxic brew of chemicals such as vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, isobutylene, and butyl acrylates, resulting in numerous complaints of health-related concerns and environmental contamination.
3/1/23 Concerns about railroad derailments
Excerpt- A trip through history The first recorded derailment in the Upper Delaware River corridor occurred on July 15, 1864 and was tabbed by the Civil War-era press as “The Great Shohola Train Wreck,” a deadly disaster that claimed the lives of many butternut-clad Confederate prisoners of war, and several of their “Yankee” guards in blue. Here are the others. —February 13, 1907—September 1, 1915—January 31, 1965— Late December, 1974—August 19, 1999—-October 12, 2005—August 9, 2018
3/22/23 The firestorm for railroad safety reforms intensifies
Excerpt-“On March 8, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), which bills itself as the “world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on safety and productivity of rail carriers,” weighed in on the recent derailments with several suggestions for the industry, geared toward restoring trust in the nation’s rail carriers.
(Here’s one suggestion I thought would be helpful for residents who live near tracks and for first responders, but please read them all).
“…..expanding access to the AskRail app, which “provides real-time information about the contents of every car in a train and the safe handling of those contents [in the event of an accident] into the hands of every first responder”. Wouldn’t you want that if you were a firefighter or a homeowner near the river?
3/28/2023 Turning up the heat on the rail industry
Excerpt-“According to an article published by ProPublica, Norfolk Southern Railroad policy allows officials to order train crews to ignore safety alerts from “train track sensors designed to flag potential mechanical problems” such as overheated wheel bearings, which were reportedly the cause of the February 3 derailment in Ohio, in which 38 rail cars derailed, 20 of which contained hazardous materials in the consist, and 11 of which were derailed.”
(Rebekah Creskoff, from Beyond Plastics, shared these articles on the UD Network. The 2 links to the history of train derailments are highlighted. As you can see, another derailment is a very real threat.
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Vinyl Chloride Comes From
ETHANE CRACKER PLANTS
At Ethane Cracker plants ethane is extracted from the natural gas stream (it is one of the natural gas ‘liquids’), and is processed into plastics like polyethylene and Vinyl Chloride. Living near an Ethane Cracker plant exposes one to toxins that put health at risk. According to the American Chemistry Council, industry has plans to significantly increase the number of cracker plants around the US. Most people don’t know about the insidious connection between plastics, cracker plants, and the fracking industry, but they find out very quickly once they hear when one is being proposed. They’re attending hearings, writing editorials, alerting elected officials and sharing details about what it is like for communities living near these ethane plants.
“Plastic production is increasing NOT because consumers want more plastic,” said Judith Enck, the president of Beyond Plastics, an advocacy group working to end plastic pollution. “It’s because there’s a glut of fracked gas.” Frack gas is cheap and abundant now. At the same time, Americans are turning to sustainable alternatives. Too bad these companies can’t embrace what Americans want, and what’s good for all future residents of this planet. This article in Inside Climate News explains how fracking fuels plastics manufacturing. The local Climate Reality chapter has even designed a cracker plant toolkit to guide your education and activism.
A Final Comment about the Train Bombs
There’s a vast plastic-making infrastructure in the US that traverses thousands of miles of US railways. Do we really need all this additional plastic in our lives, in our oceans, in our air, in our water, in our soil, in our bodies, and on our railways? Plastics are being incinerated and landfilled, not recycled. Only 6% of all plastic is being recycled. For every 3 tons of plastic incinerated, one ton becomes toxic waste, full of pollutants like micro plastics, bisphenols, phthalates, and PFAS.
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Where Does the EPA Come In And How You Can Help?
The EPA often holds daytime webinars
They need to hear the concerns of the public
In December 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was beginning the process to prioritize five chemicals for risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). One of those chemicals is (you guessed it) vinyl chloride, which Beyond Plastics wants to see BANNED and so does DCS.
You can register now for this important webinar on February 20, 2024, at 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST.
There will be a comment period towards the end of the webinar about the banning of vinyl chloride. You will not be able to speak unless you signed up previously.
Beyond Plastics is asking that you wear red to remind the EPA where you stand.
If you did sign up to speak, and you have any questions you can email Sarah Soliman.
If you would like to send written comments
EPA will accept written public comments on these chemicals for 90 days after publication at the Regulations pageExit EPA’s website under docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2023-0601
https://www.regulations.gov/faq?anchor=downloadingdata
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3/14/23 Keeping Watch- Catskill Mountainkeeper:
Excerpt- Gillingham referred to the 2018 derailment near Deposit, NY, an incident that spilled an estimated 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the West Branch of the Delaware River. It occurred, he said, “during a rainstorm, an extreme weather event… at a stream crossing that had washed out. “Basically the train tracks were [up] in the air, and couldn’t hold the train when it went to cross,” he said.
Petition From Catskill Mountainkeeper
“Bomb Trains, art, and more” by Wes Gillingham 2/22/23 River Reporter
Sign the [Catskill Mountainkeeper] petition telling President Biden and United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to keep “bomb trains” carrying highly explosive liquefied natural gas (LNG) out of our communities.
The Petition
*The petition can be found at www.catskillmountainkeeper.org/stop_lng_by_rail. There are 248 signatures to date. There needs to be many more. Please share this.
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The River Reporter
Community Journalism
As you can see the River Reporter has written many articles on the topic of TRAIN BOMBS. Help keep community journalism strong by subscribing. The RR played a huge roll in keeping everyone informed about the Fracking issue and continues to keep us informed. There’s nothing like the paper copy, but the digital version is easy to maneuver. The SUSTAINABILITY articles alone are worth the cost of the subscription. There are many about plastics and the reason why these toxic chemicals are being produced and transported to begin with. Under Community Living, click on Sustainability. Here are two to get you started.
https://riverreporter.com/stories/building-healthy-houses,121052?
https://riverreporter.com/stories/dress-sustainably,131869?
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How to Contact the Railroad
(Provided by Laurie Ramie, Executive Director of the www.upperdelawarecouncil.org)
Here is information on how to contact the railroad’s parent company, New York Susquehanna & Western Railway. The operator of the Southern Tier Line tracks is Central New York Railroad based in Cooperstown. Their phone number is (607) 547-2555, including for their Safety and Compliance staff.
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OTHER NEWS SOURCES COVERING THIS
The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, ProPublica, NPR, NYTimes
The Surprisingly Lax Regulations of Our Railroads NPR FreshAir interview Award-winning ProPublica reporter Topher Sanders has spent the last two years investigating America’s aging freight train system. He says the Federal Railroad Administration monitors “less than 1% of what’s happening on the rails.” Sanders talks about the toxic East Palestine, OH derailment, the prevalence of blocked railroad crossings, and why railway safety legislation is yet to be passed. (This link does nor work on Safari)
The toxic legacy of an Ohio train derailment is still unclear Bloomberg News
One year after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, residents have little information about long-term health impacts.
Millions of Americans Face Risk of ‘Toxic Bomb Train’ The Washington Post
Throughout any day, more than 200 rail cars filled with the chemical are moved across nearly 2,000 miles of U.S. railways…
This Deadly Chemical Should Be Banned The New York Times
(Please consider sharing this with other concerned individuals)
America is replacing its pipes: Is ductile iron pipe a good alternative for plastic?
One year after the toxic train derailment, is East Palestine safe? Depends on whom you ask.
Though there are 8 more LNG facilities that are permitted and not yet …
]]>Though there are 8 more LNG facilities that are permitted and not yet built that will not be paused, this is still extremely good and important news. It means that finally there is recognition by the all-important federal regulators of the many factors that add to the real costs of using methane/natural gas as an energy source. Not only are the costs that we have been pointing out since 2008 – of all the health impacts where the drilling and infrastructure resides, but also that the decline rate of the wells requires continued expansion of drilling, that the cost of the subsidies and exemptions held by the oil and gas industry are very large, that the life-time emissions of the gas places it even worse that using coal or oil (neither will be necessary as renewables come further on-line), and the waste is and will further hurt our environment and health, but now the global climate impact is finally being recognized!
In our immediate area, this could mean the end of both the Gibbstown and Penn America’s Chester proposed LNG export terminals, which would also stop the potential transport of explosive LNG through communities less than 50 feet from rail or roadways. Less export will mean less drilling.
We will keep you informed as things move forward and keep pushing for more progress toward a safe, renewable fossil-free future. B. Arrindell, Director, DCS
Joe Biden’s administration has hit the brakes on the US’s surging exports of gas, effectively pausing a string of planned projects that have been decried by environmentalists as carbon “mega bombs” that risk pushing the world further towards climate breakdown.
On Friday, the White House announced that it was pausing all pending export permits for liquified natural gas (LNG) until the Department of Energy could come up with an updated criteria for approvals that consider the impact of climate change.
The pause, which will likely last beyond November’s presidential election, could imperil the future of more than a dozen gas export terminals that have been planned for the Gulf of Mexico coast. According to one analysis, if all proposed LNG projects go ahead and ship gas overseas, it will result in 3.2bn tons of greenhouse gases – equivalent to the entire emissions of the European Union.
Continue reading in The Guardian
Read the statement from the White House on this decision
Read the Fact Sheet from the White House on this decision
In the Delaware River Basin the DRBC thought that road spreading (actually disposal) of waste from “conventional” gas and oil wells should be allowed and that they should not even step up to regulate it – DCS disagreed! – so we sued them – filing a strong enough brief with extensive exhibits that they quickly (for DRBC!) withdrew their statements allowing this mistaken practice and we dismissed our lawsuit with the ability to re-open it if we need to – to protect the environment and our health.
There are many studies showing the insanity of allowing toxic, radioactive waste to be dumped into communities anywhere in PA, that even considering this as a possibility is – in word – nuts!
A gas industry advisory council to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection opened its meeting earlier this month by discussing the possibility of legalizing the spreading of toxic wastewater from conventional gas drilling on roads as a dust and snow treatment, despite studies showing the practice is potentially harmful to human health and the environment.
Spraying roads with “produced water,” highly saline wastewater containing proprietary drilling chemicals as well as benzene, arsenic and radium 226 and 228, both radioactive isotopes, has been outlawed in Pennsylvania since 2016, but only for fluid that comes from unconventional, or fracked, gas wells. The DEP issued a moratorium on spraying produced water from conventional wells onto roadways in Pennsylvania in 2018 after the practice was challenged before the state’s Environmental Hearing Board.
Scientists in Pennsylvania who study the chemical composition of produced water and its effects once spread on roadways have found that it is an ineffective means of suppressing dust and melting ice, and is potentially harmful to human health and the environment.
David Hess is an environmental treasure! When I first saw this article title I sort of panicked – thankfully he is still with us and working! Wonderful article – some history, insights, and descriptions of how he has solved specific problems.
We at DCS have worked with Mr.Hess for years sharing information and observations – he is an incredible sponge for details with the ability to lay out complexities clearly so the details and the ramifications are understood. We certainly want many more years of working with a real environmental protector! B. Arrindell, Director, DCS
Now, 20-odd years after David Hess, former head of the PA Department of Environmental Protection retired, lawmakers and environmentalists say his lasting legacy as an environmental champion in Pennsylvania revolves around his blog, the prosaically named PA Environmental Digest. The blog sports a mid-2000s web aesthetic that belies uncompromising coverage of Pennsylvania’s environment and its energy policy.
Once the most powerful environmental regulator in Pennsylvania, Hess spends a lot of his time these days birddogging a destructive force he never saw coming during all his years in Harrisburg: hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking.
Hess follows the global fight against climate change and believes the fracking industry—which produces billions of gallons of toxic, radioactive “wastewater” and leaks volatile organic compounds and the super-polluting greenhouse gas methane into Pennsylvania’s air—is the defining environmental issue for this generation of Pennsylvanians.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law Legislation S.1856-A/A.7640, known as the Birds and Bees Protection Act. This nation-leading legislation protects New Yorkers from potentially harmful toxins by prohibiting the use of certain neonicotinoid pesticide (neonics) treated corn, soybean, or wheat seeds and neonicotinoid pesticides for outdoor ornamental plants and turfs, creating important protections for New York’s pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.
“By signing the Birds and Bees Protection Act, New York is taking a significant stride in protecting our kids, environment and essential pollinators,” Governor Hochul said. “This law underscores our commitment to fostering a thriving ecosystem while we prioritize sustainable farming and agricultural practices.”
This event will take place from 1:00- 3:00 at the DCS Storefront, 25 Main Street, across from …
]]>This event will take place from 1:00- 3:00 at the DCS Storefront, 25 Main Street, across from The Heron, in Narrowsburg NY. Please come celebrate with us! Refreshments will be served.
We will be honoring local artist Nancy Wells and her assistant Jaquel Theis. On display in the “Forest Room” at the Storefront will be a magnificent hand crocheted wall hanging. The title of the piece is…
Earth Is Where Our Heart Is!
We are the earth
Our light the trees
Our thirst the water
We are the breeze
“Earth is Where Our Heart Is”
Crocheted Wall Hanging
and poem collaboration
Artist: Nancy Wells ~ Assistant: Jaquel Theis
Backing, Tacking and Finishing:
Jane Cyphers, Program Coordinator & Liz Livingston, retired fashion professional.
This title fits in perfectly with the mission of the DCS Storefront Project. That is exactly where my heart is and I know many of yours are also. Being in the presence of this quilt is nothing short of magic. Come and enjoy and then share your wanderings with Nancy and Jaquel and your neighbors.
The DCS Storefront’s mission is to become an Environmental Hub where locals and visitors can stop by and hear about what’s happening regarding the environmental issues DCS is involved in. You’ll learn about the community groups we collaborate with on preservation and conservation. You can pick up our What’s In the Water Poster. With your smartphone you can easily access all the posted up-to-date information. One of the main goals of DCS is to find and post sustainable solutions, so we want to invite you to post your sustainable solutions.
The “forest” room, where Nancy’s quilt resides, will be a collaboration by local artists and writers. The space will take on a life and a purpose of its own as children are invited to take part in art and musical programing centered on sustainability. Every child is integral to the future of our planet and we must make a commitment to teaching and sharing with them all the beauty that our natural world has to offer.The ecological fragility of our planet is today’s challenge and we have a chance here to help our youth become major influencers in the preservation and restoration of our natural resources. “We are the Earth”. (Look forward to the scheduled programing in the spring! )
The Storefront Project will welcome all to share their ideas and inspiration for living more sustainably, with the goal of protecting the land, air, and water quality of the Delaware River Basin and its inhabitants. The “Forest Room” will be a place of sanctuary for all ages, to relax to the words and images of local poets and artists, and to become activated to become part of the solutions the earth so desperately needs.
Over the last 15 years our community has taken on the threat of Fracking and WE WON! We networked to make sure everyone in the Delaware River Basin was aware of the industrialization and contamination involved in fracking. There were hundreds of presentations and meetings and marches and hearings and letters and fundraisers that made this happen. And now, the Frack Ban Coalition, of which DCS is one of the founding members, continues to be vigilant in their mission to protect our land, water, and air. The legacy of this historic win will be honored at the Storefront in Narrowsburg, NY.
If you are a newcomer to the area and are unable to attend this event, please stop by the Storefront any weekend from 12-3 to find out more or check out our amazing website, www.DamascusCitizens.org. You can also email me if you would like to volunteer in some capacity. I have lists of ideas just waiting to be shared! I’m at jane_skates@yahoo.com.
Please come this Sunday and join us in celebration on December 17th from 1-3 PM. All are welcome!
WATER IS LIFE
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DCS has always been a catalyst for real change. From being the first to sound the alarm on the menace of fracking, then documenting the harms that it causes, to guiding the transition away from fossil fuels.
Sometimes tedious and incremental work, it pays off with wins like the reversal of the DRBC’s decision to allow import of oil and gas liquid waste and its disposal on roads in the Delaware River Basin.
We are committed to the communities affected by energy practices. The education we provide on the impacts of gas drilling is often the motivator that creates a unified voice and collective action. Over 18,000 copies of our Delaware River Basin What’s in the Water poster gave the clear, informed, accurate and basic science that the oil and gas industry was trying to deny. Telling the truth in understandable language drives change!
Without your support, we just can’t continue our advocacy and outreach efforts. So, of course, this appeal letter is a request for financial assistance; it also offers an opportunity to be an all-important part of our work. Your help this year will drive tangible change. Please give generously. See what we’ve accomplished this year and what we’re striving towards in 2024.
We are fighting for this bridge with a combination of people-power and legal actions. Since lead agency PennDOT’s own contractor declared that YES! the bridge is restorable, keeping its historic character right up to its original 10-ton capacity for a 25-year design life (longer with proper maintenance), now we will push to get some movement on making that restoration a reality. It will likely need some legal fire for PennDOT to eliminate the lengthy delay they have declared they want.
Over the last several months, DCS has made voter registration forms, voting calendars and important information available to Delaware River Basin States. We are encouraging local voters to register, check registration status, and vote in municipal and federal elections. By tabling weekly at the Narrowsburg Farmer’s Market at The Union and publicizing registration on our website we have mobilized many individuals and groups in the area to get-out-the-vote..
Did you know if you own or rent two properties in New York State you can register at your secondary home? We have provided this information, printable handouts and more on our website. Please register to vote and join us in encouraging local and wider voter turnout!
Over the years, DCS has commissioned informational posters that have been widely distributed, starting with our seminal What’s in the Water poster pertaining to the Delaware River watershed.
Last year we completed a long-asked-for companion, What’s in the Water: Upper Ohio River Basin, covering areas in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio with maps, timelines, and facts directly pertaining to those areas. As in the Delaware Basin, we can now give people the overview and context of what they are facing and place what the oil and gas industry is telling them next to more accurate historical, legal, and scientific facts.
We are now distributing the posters with western PA groups; one is tabling with them in a Lush Cosmetics store. The Lush Charity Pot program helped fund the production of the poster.
Over 18,000 of the Delaware River Basin What’s in the Water posters have had a powerful impact, clarifying facts and dispelling fossil fuel industry propaganda since their 2010 release. Now with an update sheet tucked in, they are still gratefully received by those concerned but new to the subject.
Contact DCS to get your hard copy of one or more of these posters. Or, head to our website for downloadable PDFs.
Yes, we would like to do more: maybe a What’s in the Water focused on California! – a major oil and gas producing state with “green” intentions and water shortages. With your help it can happen.
The Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) Dec. 2022 rules governing drilling wastewater contained a loophole big enough to drive a frack waste truck through!
They would have allowed toxic wastewater from “conventional” wells (which are almost always fracked) to be imported and directly discharged into the Basin. DCS, and only DCS, responded to the setup of this loophole. We engaged brilliant environmental attorney Lauren Williams and sued the DRBC.
The result? The DRBC agreed to close this loophole and DCS has voluntarily dropped its suit. This is a huge win for everyone living in the Basin!
An AP article about this concludes with a quote from DCS Director, Barbara Arrindell: The agency “has thankfully seen the light. We are glad to see DRBC fulfilling its role to proactively protect the Delaware River Basin.” DCS will continue to monitor the situation and will go back to court if necessary.
The use of fracking waste as road de-icer. We are especially concerned about rural areas, but even more developed municipalities might be tempted to “save money” by allowing this waste with heavy metal salts, other toxic and radioactive contents as a de-icer in winter, which is a recipe for large-scale harm to residents and surroundings.
The oil and gas industry bullies individuals, small towns, and organizations (like DCS) by operating with exemptions to major federal protective environmental laws.
These exemptions remove liability for damages the industry knew would occur making redress so very difficult. Case in point: we have been subpoenaed over help we gave to some people in western PA to itemize their health impacts from nearby drilling, who are now challenging the industry and PA DEP for the contamination of their home’s water and harming their health. Legal help is needed to respond properly. However, lawyers are expensive. Your donation today makes sure we have the resources to fight for you.
Publicizing the oil and gas (and coal) industry exemptions to major federal protective environmental laws has been a priority since we began as an organization. They remove liability for damages that the industry knew would occur, making community and individual redress difficult to impossible.
Since the 1980s, these industries have campaigned to get a pile of exemptions including: making the wastes “special” via amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, removing oversight over oil and gas workers from OSHA regulation, and exemptions to the “exploration and production” that are in the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
These exemptions are actually subsidies paid for by the environment, by people in communities where the activities are and downstream by the global impacts we are seeing today.
Over a number of years we have appealed in writing and in meetings to a half dozen congresspeople to use the Congressional Research Service to quantify in dollars what the exemptions are worth to the industry. Each time they reply, “Yes, what an excellent idea, I’ll make that happen” but they don’t.
WE ARE NOT GIVING UP! We will go more public, involving more organizations, approaching many more congresspeople and making this potentially embarrassing if not followed through on. We will prevail.
We will continue to invoke the power of municipalities to take a public stand against drilling, waste import into the river basin and water export for fracking elsewhere.
In the early days of our fight against fracking in the Delaware River Valley, DCS, as NYH2o, educated and persuaded all but one of the Community Boards that make up the New York City Council passing resolutions banning fracking to protect the NYC watershed.
New York City has figured prominently in DCS strategy, producing tremendous results with Mayor Bloomberg ordering the first ever environmental assessment of frack drilling, the Hazen and Sawyer Report.
The towns and cities’ stance was a significant element in the DRBC’s 2011 decision to abandon its original proposed regulations allowing fracking in the river valley. This led to a de facto moratorium until the eventual DRBC vote to ban high volume fracking in the Delaware Basin in February, 2021.
Sincerely, and the happiest of winter seasons to you and yours,
B. Arrindell, Director
We insist that gas is just one more fossil fuel that needs to be phased out as rapidly as possible. Damascus Citizens continues its work to make fracking a thing of the past for the generations to come and to work for a sustainable, renewable future.
Please give as generously as you can, and together we will continue to be the little, grassroots organization that makes a BIG difference.
Your contribution is fully tax deductible! Damascus Citizens for Sustainability is a 501(c)3 tax exempt, non-profit.
Donate using PayPal or credit card.
Or send a check to:
DCS
P.O.Box 147
Milanville, PA 18443
Visit our new office – upstairs in The Union!
Suite 203 – 7 Erie Ave, where the Narrowsburg Farmers Market is on summer Saturdays
Call for office hours: 845-252-6677
THE DCS STOREFRONT – 25 Main St, Narrowsburg, NY
Our administrative offices are now at The Narrowsburg Union. We’ve maintained the DCS Storefront, at 25 Main Street, with a mission to become an Environmental Hub. Folks can pop in, pick up our What’s in the Water poster, and get important up-to-date information. We’re there on Saturdays and Sundays from Noon – 3pm. Come spring, we’ll have Childrens’ programming and incorporate the work of local poets and visual artists; all-ages can share and be part of the solutions that the earth so desperately needs.
]]>Carbon dioxide (“CO2”), a greenhouse gas, is accelerating climate change, with drastic …
]]>Carbon dioxide (“CO2”), a greenhouse gas, is accelerating climate change, with drastic consequences. CO2 emissions need to be cut, or eliminated. Large fossil fuel plants have, for decades, dumped CO2 into the atmosphere with impunity and without charge, leaving citizens and the environment to suffer the consequences.
Incredibly, while in office Pennsylvania’s former Governor Wolf decided that it was fair and beneficial to the citizens of the Commonwealth to charge for this atmospheric CO2 dumping and invest the proceeds in clean air programs. He was guided by the success of an initiative by other states in the Northeast to charge for greenhouse gas dumping and invest the proceeds into community beneficial programs. Governor Wolf issued an Executive Order mandating Pennsylvania to join this Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced “Reggi). It was very exciting that Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s largest fossil fuel producers, wanted to join RGGI and be a part of a climate change solution.
It took PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about four years to develop regulations governing its participation in RGGI. In 2022, however, when Pennsylvania was about to join RGGI, opponents got serious.
What is RGGI?
RGGI is best explained by analogy to a local dump that opens down the street, into which big companies dump toxic garbage. No one oversees the dump, and as it grows exponentially bigger, everyone living around it gets sicker. Here, the atmosphere is the dumping site, and CO2 is the toxic garbage. Large fossil fuel energy plants, the dumpers, have been dumping CO2 into the atmosphere at no charge for decades, and degrading the environment in the process.
RGGI is designed to serve as the regional gatekeeper to this atmospheric dump. It both charges fees for the dumping privilege and caps the total amount of CO2 permitted to be dumped, referred to as the allowance. By charging fees RGGI incentivizes large energy plants to modernize and reduce the amount of CO2 pollution they generate. The cap of total CO2 allowances sold in a year is lowered periodically, resulting in ever-declining permissible emissions levels of CO2. According to its website, RGGI.org, RGGI has reduced emissions reduced by more than 50%—twice as fast as the nation as a whole.
The DEP estimated that Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI would prevent 227 million tons of CO2 pollution by 2030. According to an NPR’s StateImpact Pennsylvania article (November 2023), that’s like taking 44 million cars off the road for one year.
RGGI now includes 11 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. Pennsylvania could be the 12th State.
RGGI’s system of fees and allowances has, since its inception in 2009, raised $6 billion that the participating states share and invest in programs that benefit their local communities. Pennsylvania has earmarked its RGGI proceeds for air pollution control programs. That could include job retraining and clean energy projects.
RGGI does have detractors. Some critics argue it could do better, provide greater incentives to reduce CO2 emissions, and so on. Others do not want any regulation to restrict fossil fuel production. Virginia’s current governor, for example, is trying to withdraw Virginia from participating in RGGI. New Jersey, under ex- Governor Christie, did withdraw, and then, after Christie left office, rejoined RGGI.
The Lawsuits to Stop Pennsylvania’s Participation in RGGI
Two lawsuits are pending that seek to prevent Pennsylvania from joining RGGI. Three GOP Senators and three GOP House of Representatives (“GOP Intervenors”) intervened in one lawsuit before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. They argued that Pennsylvania could not join RGGI because the CO2 allowance fee was actually an illegal tax, not a fee, which voided the entire program.
Judge Michael Wojnick agreed that the RGGI fee was a tax. He noted that “a fee may constitute a tax where the revenue generated exceeds the costs reasonably necessary to operate the program.” He considered the fees that would be generated by the State’s participation in RGGI to be excessive:
“Where, as here, the moneys generated and received by the Commonwealth’s participation in the auctions are ‘grossly disproportionate’ to the costs of overseeing participation in the program or DEP’s and EQB’s annual regulatory needs, and relate to activities beyond their regulatory authority, the regulations authorizing Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI are invalid and unenforceable.”
Taxes, unlike fees, are revenue-generating and can only be imposed through legislative action pursuant to Article III, section 10 of the Pa. Constitution. The Court held that DEP’s regulations imposed an unconstitutional tax; Pennsylvania needed “legislation duly enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly” to participate in RGGI. This ruling resolved both of the RGGI cases.
Judge Ellen Ceisler, the sole dissenter, thought this decision was premature. In her view the fees imposed by RGGI were a novelty; they might not seem like “fees in the traditional sense, but, by the same token, it is not entirely clear that the proceeds raised thereby would constitute a tax.” She would have preferred for the parties to engage in a robust and fully-developed discussion of the nature of the fees charged under RGGI.
The Commonwealth Court’s disappointing ruling has stopped Pennsylvania’s laudable effort to reduce GHG emissions and clean up the state’s air quality. It also ignores the mandates of the Environmental Rights Amendment.
Governor Shapiro is not a fan of RGGI, but he has announced his intent to appeal the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. According to his spokesperson, the Governor does not want his executive power to be curtailed. Pennsylvania’s ramping up to participate in RGGI was initiated by ex-Gov. Wolf through an executive order.
Hopefully Judge Wojnik’s ruling will not be the last word on Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI.
Jacqueline Sailer is a New York attorney who spends a lot of time on the Delaware river.
]]>I want to make two points:
First – that DRBC’s origin and the moving force behind it has been a concern for health – the health of the PEOPLE who live here – the very PUBLIC these rules changes seek to exclude from its decision-making. Projects within the basin and within the purview of the Commission to allow or not allow and under what conditions, can and will deeply impact the public and public health both near and downstream from the projects being considered.
Second – that the narrowing of the DRBC decision making process to exclude or minimize public input, public knowledge of DRBC decisions and decision making process actually will weaken the Commission’s ability to protect the resources of the Basin. Protecting those resources is why it exists. A unitary executive, top down behind the scenes hidden process will make the DRBC less effective, less knowledgeable of conditions it needs to know about. And by dis-engaging the pubic coupled with changing Freedom of Information Law rules so DRBC’s hidden activities are not discoverable these critical decisions are also hidden – decisions that directly affect the quality of our environment, our drinking water, our air quality, the diversity and health of the Delaware River, its species, habitats, ecosystems, tributaries and communities throughout the entire Watershed. We cannot effectively take part and influence outcomes if the decision-making process is not open and interactive, with all important decisions and the underlying information about them fully disclosed and available for review and comment. We also want the DRBC Commissioners to be hands-on involved and engaged with the decisions that are made as these representatives of our elected government are accessible to us, as members of the public, and they are required to respect our rights and protect the environment for the public good. That is not what this rulemaking proposes to do. In fact, it does the opposite in almost all of its proposed sections.
Please re-consider these rules changes and don’t break what is not broken.
A little more on that first point – The DRBC originated out of INCODEL, the Interstate Commission on the Delaware River, a voluntary arrangement among the basin states’ departments of Health, yes, Health – that sought to promote health, of its residents – human and otherwise, solve existing environmental problems and prevent additional hurtful contamination, pollution, or destruction of resources of the basin.
The DRBC must not set up a situation where ease of corporate decision-making is more important than doing the job it was assigned to do in its formation – and has been doing a pretty good job along the way to today- the Delaware is much cleaner than when DRBC was formed.
There will be more in our written comments.
Thank you,
B. Arrindell, Director
DCS