NY, PA, NJ, DE, & US Army Engineers

Article from The News Eagle, Trenton, NJ, January 14, 2018

WEST TRENTON, N.J. – The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) on January 8 announced that the period for written comment on proposed regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing activities in the basin has been extended from Feb. 28 to March 30, 2018. Two additional public hearings also have been scheduled in February and March. One of them is by telephone.

“The commissioners believe the extended comment period and two additional hearings announced today in response to numerous requests will provide adequate opportunities for the public and government officials to study the proposed regulations and offer input to inform the commissioners’ decision-making process,” said DRBC Executive Director Steve Tambini. “Those interested in commenting are encouraged to review the full text of the draft rules, related materials, and information on the public input procedures on the commission’s web site at www.drbc.net.”

To supplement the four previously announced public hearings – two on Jan. 23 in Waymart, Pa. and two on Jan. 25 in Philadelphia – the commission is adding the following two hearings:

1. February 22, 2018, 3 p.m. to as late as 7 p.m. at the Lisa Scheller-Wayne Woodman Community Services Center, Lehigh Carbon Community College, 4525 Education Park Dr., in Schnecksville, Pa. Register in advance to attend at http://bit.ly/2qI1tBC or register onsite. Persons who have registered to attend by 5 p.m. January 26, 2018 will be contacted by DRBC prior to the hearing date and provided with an early opportunity to request speaking time. Registrants may also sign up to speak at the hearing and will be heard if time allows. Elected government officials and their staff will have the opportunity to identify themselves when registering.

2. March 6, 2018, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The commission will host a moderated public hearing by telephone. Members of the public are encouraged to listen by calling 1-866-831-8713 and asking the operator to connect them to the DRBC call. Those wishing to address the commission at this hearing can register for an opportunity to speak at http://bit.ly/2pdqxQ9.

Seating capacity remains available at all four of the public hearings scheduled in January. Those who would like to attend are encouraged to register online through 5 p.m. on the day preceding each hearing. On-site registration for each hearing will also be available. Those who have not registered in advance are encouraged to check capacity through the online system before traveling to attend a hearing.

Written comments on the draft regulations, which will receive the same consideration as oral comments, will be accepted until 5 p.m. on March 30. Written comments and attachments should be submitted through the DRBC’s online comments webpage at: http://dockets.drbc.commentinput.com/.

The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for managing the water resources within the Delaware River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The five commission members are the governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.

To learn more about the commission, please visit www.drbc.net or follow DRBC on Twitter at @DRBC1961.

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WV-DEP: Wednesday, November 1, 2017 @ 10:57 AM
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2017

WVDEP Announces Permit Adjustments for Mountain Valley Pipeline

“State Stormwater Permit includes enhanced inspection and enforcement, stronger environmental guidelines for project”

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Cabinet Secretary Austin Caperton announced today that the agency has lifted the suspension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) state Stormwater Permit. The suspension of the state Stormwater Permit was put in place in September to allow the agency to properly respond to all public comments received.

Additionally, the state has chosen to waive the individual 401 Certification of the federal permits for the MVP. The Army Corps of Engineers recently reissued, with provisions that are specific to West Virginia, the Nationwide 12 permit which is used for stream crossings. These new conditions, when combined with specific requirements that are included in the state’s storm water permit, will allow for better enforcement capabilities and enhanced protection for the state’s waters.

“This is a case where the public review and comment system worked especially well,” noted Secretary Caperton. “This summer, after months of diligent work, WVDEP put forth for public review and comment a draft certification and permit for the MVP pipeline. As a result of some of the issues that were included in those public comments, our agency developed a revised strategy that will better utilize the state storm water permit to provide significantly stronger safeguards for the waters of West Virginia.”

West Virginia is unique among all surrounding states in that it has a stormwater permitting program for oil and gas activities that it created nearly five years ago. The program was purposely designed to provide protection from the impact of large-scale projects like the MVP that are otherwise exempt from federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit conditions.

For more WV-DEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov.

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Dereliction of Duty: WVDEP Abandons Water Quality Review of Fracked Gas Pipeline — State Surrenders to Fossil Fuel Industry Instead of Protecting Health of West Virginians

CHARLESTON, WV — Today, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) waived its opportunity to review the water quality impacts of the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. Under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, states must certify that proposed pipelines will not violate state water quality standards before construction can begin. DEP has the responsibility to determine whether or not to issue that certification for West Virginia, but announced today they are abdicating that responsibility.

WV-DEP previously certified the MVP, but in response to a lawsuit brought by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of a coalition of environmental groups, a federal court set aside that certification and allowed DEP to start over. That coalition is now exploring legal strategies in response to today’s news.

Derek Teaney, Senior Attorney at Appalachian Mountain Advocates, issued this statement:

“This is an outrageous and unprecedented dereliction of duty by DEP. After assuring a federal court that it was committed to reconsidering whether the MVP would degrade the hundreds of streams that it would impact, DEP has thrown up its hands and admitted that it is not up to the task of protecting West Virginia’s environment. This action suggests that DEP does not believe in the laws–including the antidegradation policy–that it is charged with enforcing. It also makes you wonder whether DEP intends to give the Atlantic Coast Pipeline–the other ill-conceived pipeline project it is currently reviewing–the same free pass it has just given to MVP.”

Angie Rosser, Executive Director, West Virginia Rivers Coalition said:

“DEP is a taxpayer-supported agency whose job is to protect public health and the environment. But when it came to one of the biggest projects DEP needed to review to protect water quality, the agency quit on the citizens of the state. We often hear from our political leaders that we don’t need federal agencies to regulate, that the state can handle it. But waiving their authority to do so is no way to handle it. It appears that political favor to industry has won the day over the agency’s responsibility to do everything in its power to protect the public’s right to clean water.”

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