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E-News      July 2012    
A monthly Update from the Water Resources Education Network
a project of the League of Women Voters of PA - Citizen Education Fund 
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In this issue
July Feature: Farm Bill - Protecting Environmental Compliance Programs - A Public Health Priority
DEP Issues Drought Watch for 15 Western PA Counties
Bethlehem Authority's Historic Conservation Deal
No More Naked Storm Drains!
Shale Updates
Susquehanna Added to Historic Water-Trail
Why Are We Watering Concrete?
EPA Releases Materials on Innovative Activities
Quick Links
Save the Date
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July Feature: Farm Bill - Protecting Environmental Compliance Programs - A Public Health Priority 
  

Farm Bill Compliance Public Health How does the Farm Bill affect human health? Believe it or not, this legislation can help to manage land and water to reduce hazardous chemicals and the spread of disease.

 

If too much fertilizer or pesticides are applied, those excess nutrients can end up in drinking water. These toxins can cause stomach illness, allergic reactions, liver damage, and cancer in our families.

 

The  Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Futurebelieves that as farm subsidies are phased out of the new Farm Bill, public health and the environment will suffer. They suggest linking environmental compliance to other surviving programs such as crop insurance.    

 

In Pennsylvania, one in seven workers have a hand in our food supply. Over 63,000 farm families operate in Pennsylvania. The importance of the 2012 Federal Farm Bill to these citizens as well as those they are feeding is undeniable.

 

Read more about the link between the Farm Bill, conservation practices, and human health in a study from Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future 

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DEP Issues Drought Watch for 15 Western PA Counties

 

While many areas of the U.S. contend with severe drought, the Department of Environmental Protection has issued a drought watch for 15 Western Pennsylvania counties.

Drought Western PA"A hot, dry summer made it necessary to take this first step of declaring a drought watch in the affected counties," DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. "This measure will alert the public and water suppliers that there are voluntary, common-sense ways to conserve."

  

A drought watch declaration is the first and least severe level of the state's three drought classifications. It calls for a voluntary five percent reduction in nonessential water use and puts large water consumers on notice to begin planning for the possibility of reduced water supplies. The other two drought classifications are drought warning and drought emergency. Managing the Commonwealth's water resources during droughts is the responsibility of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), with direct support from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  Many drought management activities are coordinated at the county level.    

 

The 15 counties under the drought watch issued are Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Warren and Washington.


DEP is notifying all water suppliers in the affected areas of the need to monitor their supplies and update their drought contingency plans as necessary.
Click here to read the entire press release.

Pennsylvania is not the only state affected by drought conditions this year.
Check out the U.S. Drought Portal at www.drought.gov.
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Bethlehem Authority's Historic Conservation Deal

Forest for Bethlehem Clean drinking water, wildlife, recreation, and Pennsylvania's forest products industry will benefit from a new agreement between The Nature Conservancy and the Bethlehem Authority. The agreement will protect 22,000 acres of forest in the watershed that provides drinking water to Bethlehem and surrounding communities. The city serves over 100,000 customers entirely from surface sources stored in reservoirs in the Pocono Mountains.  Acting on a unanimous approval vote by the Bethlehem Authority Board, City Council agreed to join the Conservancy's  Working Woodlands Program, which provides forest landowners with a rigorous analysis of their property and access to forest certification and carbon markets, in exchange for a commitment to practice sustainable forestry.  

  

"Our primary mission is to supply the highest quality drinking water to the 115,000 plus customers of the Bethlehem Water System as we possibly can. Preserving the pristine quality of our watershed properties supports that mission, said Stephen Repasch, Executive Director of the Bethlehem Authority. Bill Kunze, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy in PA, was a guest speaker at the WREN Grantee meeting last month. He said this creative strategy is the first of its kind anywhere. Read more here. The renowned  Stroud Water Research Center, based right here in Pennsylvania, has determined that streamside forests reduce flooding and reduce the cost of clean drinking water by reducing the need for chemicals to treat the water.  

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No More Naked Storm Drains! 

Storm Drain Reveal James River Basin 
Laura Lynch, the People's Choice winner, is pictured with her storm drain art. Photo used with permission from the James River Basin Partnership.
Several states are combining street art with educational messages. Storm drain art is popping up in places such as Springfield, Missouri where they hold an annual "Storm Drain Reveal."

According to the James River Basin Partnership website, citizens have misconceptions about where storm water drains:

"In Springfield, as in most cities across the country, storm drains lead to our rivers and other surface waters. An ongoing and hazardous misconception is that the storm drains are "sewers" that lead to the wastewater treatment plant. With this misconception, the storm drains are misused as a 'safe' way to dispose of waste such as soapy water, oil, paint, trash, and other pollutants. When pollutants are disposed of via storm drains, they end up in our waterways. Storm Drain Reveal is designed as a public education project to inform the community of the connection the storm drains have with our waterways."

Their Storm Drain Reveal goes a long way in educating citizens on how they can make a difference for clean water in their community. Click here for the project brochure.

WREN is interested in starting a storm drain art project in Pennsylvania. Contact Julie Kollar or click on Upstream Art for more information on these projects. 
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Shale Updates

Shale Gas Drilling Creates Market Opportunity To Clean Fracking Water 

The shale gas industry
is spurring a new market for disposal and treatment of wastewater used during fracking. The New York and Pennsylvania market alone will exceed $3 billion per year, according to the banking firm Boennings & Scattergood.
 
Shale Network Formed to Collect Data
 
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The National Science Foundation funded the creation of a group of individuals to work together to organize water quality and quantity data in regions where shale gas is being exploited. 

The ShaleNetwork will create a central and accessible database for water quality and quantity information collected by watershed groups, government agencies, industry stakeholders, and universities working together to document natural variability and potential environmental impacts of shale gas drilling. The data will be used to determine the potential for public health risk. Since there is not currently a funded statewide registry to gather health impact data, the ShaleNetwork is taking on this responsibility.

Health Impacts of Shale Gas Extraction Workshop Materials Available from Institute of Medicine
Presentations and meeting materials are available for download from the Institute of Medicine's website.  "The Health Impact Assessment of New Energy Sources: Shale Gas Extraction" workshop materials are on the right, listed by presenter.  

EPA Releases Plan for Studying the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing
EPA Study Plan on the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources: Approach to Study Potential Health Impacts outlines how the EPA will go about studying the health effects from hydraulic fracturing.
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Susquehanna National Park Service 
Photo by Dr. Duane Griffin. Used with permission from Bucknell University Environmental Center.
 
On the banks of the Chesapeake Bay on May 16th, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar designated the Susquehanna and several other smaller rivers as national historic connector trails to the Chesapeake's historic water-trail network, culminating five years of work by a Bucknell University-led team involving undergraduate researchers. The Susquehanna trail will be part of the first, and longest system of historic water trails (or "blueways") overseen by the National Park Service. Read more... 
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Why Are We Watering Concrete?

A webinar was held in February titled, "Why Are We Watering Concrete? Managing Rainfall to Protect Our Water Supply." The 51 minute webinar, sponsored by Environmental Entrepreneurs, is available to watch here.

The webinar illustrates ways that development can be done in an environmentally responsible manner without increasing impervious cover by using improved practices that embrace stormwater best management alternatives. Green infrastructure solutions are presented using Philadelphia as an example.  
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EPA Releases Materials on Innovative Green Projects

EPA Green Project Reserve site 

EPA is releasing a suite of materials highlighting the innovative approaches states have used to successfully implement projects that address green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency, or other

environmentally innovative activities using the Clean Water State Revolving Fund's (CWSRF) Green Project Reserve. The CWSRF program, through the reserve, is helping achieve innovative solutions to wastewater infrastructure needs, achieving economic and environmental benefits that will continue to accrue for years to come.

 

For more information click here.   

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Quick Links       

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Save the Date - See WREN Calendar for details   

   

August 2 - 4, 2012

14th Annual Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference - State College

"New Frontiers in Reclamation"

 

August 8, 2012

Public Hearing:  PA Water Quality Standards, Rachel Carson State Office Bldg, Harrisburg

 

September 27, 2012

Dive Deeper Environmental Education Summit-  Harrisburg, PA 

 

September 27-28, 2012

7th Annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum- Shepherdstown, W. VA

 

September 29, 2012 10 am - 2 pm 

 

October 12, 2012  

Schuylkill Highlands Mini-Grant Round #6 Applications Due (requests may be up to $25,000)   

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