Posts Tagged ‘van Rossum’

DRBC: The Delaware River BS Commission

December 11, 2012

[Updated: December 13, 2012]

Science Has No Agenda, Right?

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is the only governing body standing between fracking pollution and the fresh drinking water for 15.6 million people living in the Mid-Atlantic megapolis – a full 5% of the US population. So what is the DRBC doing to protect this precious, highly productive watershed from volatile shale gas pipelines and extreme fossil fuel extraction? Lately, not much.

The DRBC is an interstate commission, which is not a common thing. It’s comprised of the governors of PA, NY, NJ and DE (or their representatives), plus a representative of the Federal Government from The Army Corps of Engineers. It was created because the citizens in these states deemed the protection of their shared freshwater resources important enough to warrant utmost oversight and protection. That was 1961.

Today, DRBC commissioners act like children with mouths full of candy. It’s difficult to get a straight answer out of them, even at their own public meetings.   (more…)

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Posted in anti-fracking movement, fracking, PA Drinking Water, Pennsylvania Watersheds | 1 Comment »

The Simplest Way To Save The Delaware

April 8, 2012

The simplest way to ensure lasting protections for the fresh water resources of 15.6 million people is to raise the status the Upper and Middle Delaware River to “Exceptional Value” (EV). It would also help to ensure that EV or High Quality (HQ) tributary streams remain un-fragmented. At any rate, drillers seem to be getting along without having to drill in yet another precious watershed.

A statewide moratorium on new Unconventional Shale Gas Drilling permits in Pennsylvania might seem like a long-shot, but I gladly signed the Pennsylvanians for Clean Land Air and Water (CLAW) Petition. A ban on Fracking in the Delaware River Watershed ought to be more feasible, but as the CLAW signatures are rapidly accumulating, it occurs to me that maybe I’m just being cynical. (more…)

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Posted in fresh water pollution, PA DEP, PA Drinking Water, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Unconventional Gas Drilling | Leave a Comment »

Delaware Riverkeeper Won’t Support “Politically Palatable” Citizens Commission Report

October 21, 2011

The following is a press release from The Delaware Riverkeeper Network:

Delaware Riverkeeper Resigns From Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission

For Immediate Release, Contact: Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, 215 369 1188 ext 102

October 20, 2011, Bristol, PA – Days before the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission is scheduled to release its final report and recommendations, Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, resigned from her post as a Commissioner for the group. (more…)

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Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »