PROMOTING AND PROTECTING OUR RIVERS REQUIRES PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Click to enlarge above image)

From the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), July 10, 2022

Join BCMAC and friends July 17th to celebrate the Ohio River! We’ll have a free cookout and food, summer games, an info session with the Three Rivers Water Keepers, kayaking (feel free to bring your own), and a river clean-up with Mountain Watershed Association. We’ll also be giving out free school supplies!

(**In the event of inclement weather please check the Facebook page for any day of updates.)

Please register (RSVP) so we know how much food to bring. And please spread the word!

The event is being held at the Monaca River Front Park, which does not require steps to enter and has a bathroom and handicap-accessible bathroom on site. Childcare is not provided, but the event is child friendly, with children’s activities and a playground on site.

Vegan and vegetarian food options will be available, but please mark in the registration form for other dietary needs.

If you are feeling sick, have had a direct covid exposure, or have tested positive for covid within the past week, please sit this one out and join us next time! The event will be held completely outdoors and is not in a scent-free or scent-reduced environment. COVID-19 vaccination is not required to attend, but masks are encouraged and will be available on-site, with event organizers asking that attendees respect the need for distance between themselves and others.

Our mailing address is: Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, P.O. Box 31, Ambridge, PA 15003

WV Rivers Coalition supports regulations to protect our water

From West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Charleston, WV

In preparation for the 2021 WV Legislative Session, the Legislative Rule Making Committee will meet on Wednesday, 12/9, and water quality standards are on the agenda.

The committee needs to hear from you today about the importance of clean water!

This is the second time we are sharing this action alert with you. In September, the Committee met and Water Quality Standards were on the agenda. But your messages got committee members attention and the Water Quality Standards Rule was removed from the agenda. Your messages make a real difference!

You may recall that it was during a meeting of the Legislative Rule Making Committee in 2018 that essential updates to human health protections were stripped from the 2019 proposed water quality standards rule. This act by the Rule Making Committee triggered years of industry-led delay tactics and attempts to weaken drinking water protections. All the while, West Virginia’s water quality standards remained outdated.

Now, after years of delays, the Legislative Rule Making Committee will once again consider much needed updates to our water quality standards. We’ve reviewed the proposed water quality standards rule and sadly, the rule would rollback protections for 13 toxins.

It is extremely important that members of the Legislative Rule Making Committee hear from you before they meet. Tell members of the committee that you oppose any weakening of water quality standards.

WEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION
3501 MacCorkle Ave SE #129
Charleston, West Virginia 25304
wvrivers@wvrivers.org

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Dear Friends ~~~ December 8, 2020

Thank you so much to those who contacted me about the Water Quality Rule on the agenda for the December 9th Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee meeting.

I don’t see why this has become a partisan issue — no one should want our standards to be lowered for water quality. The huge number of emails I’ve received opposing weakening requirements is so encouraging – there are only four Democrats on this committee, and you are helping to demonstrate that the recent election does not reflect how West Virginians feel about clean water.

West Virginia is unique among the states in requiring Legislative approval of agency regulations. That process begins during interim meetings (like the ones today and tomorrow) and continues during the regular session. Our agency rules are put into bills, they must go through various committees, and must be passed by each House, then signed by the Governor – just like any other law. So there will be many more opportunities to weigh on this issue.

Please stay involved and help us protect our drinking water and public health!

Sincerely,

Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer

http://www.friendsofbarbara.com/

Friends of Barbara · 235 High St, Suite 618,
Morgantown, WV 26501,

Katharine Hayhoe has examined these issues in great detail

From an Article by Olivia Goldhill, Quartz Newsletter, September 18, 2019

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says her evangelical religion influences her approach to climate change. She is very concerned.

When evangelical environmentalists talk about climate change, they don’t stick to sea level rise projections and the carbon emissions associated with red meat. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, national organizer and spokesperson at Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA), also points to the psalms, and the Old and New Testaments.

These texts emphasize how God created and loves the Earth, and wants humans to love it too. So for Meyaard-Schaap, choosing to care for the planet—and fight climate change—is simply following his God’s wishes.

In the United States, evangelical Christians are not known for their environmental engagement. The group is “synonymous with resistance, if we’re honest,” says Meyaard-Schaap. Evangelicals are the religious group least likely to believe the Earth is warming due to human activity: 28%, compared to 50% of all US adults, according to a 2015 survey from Pew Research Center.

But in recent years, a few leaders have started connecting environmentalism with religion. They’re starting to find a receptive audience among evangelicals.

Katharine Hayhoe, a prominent climate change scientist and evangelical Christian, says her religion motivates her interest in climate change. She finds the concept of protecting God’s planet to be an effective framing when talking to religious groups. “As Christians, we believe that we have been given responsibility over every little thing on this planet,” she says, “and we believe we’re to care for people who are less fortunate than ourselves.”

Hayhoe first started talking about the importance of combating climate change from a religious perspective in 2008. That’s when she realized that audiences thought she cared about the environment simply because she was a scientist—and disengaged as a result. Since she shifted her approach, she says, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “I can count on the fingers of my hands and maybe just a few extra toes the letters and emails and even nasty tweets I’ve gotten from atheists over the last decade,” she says. “On the other hand, I can count on my fingers and toes how many I get from people who call themselves Christians every week.”

Of course, not every evangelical Christian applies the loving-protection maxim to climate change. There are two types of evangelicals in the United States, says Hayhoe: political and theological. “For political evangelicals,” she says, “their statement of faith is written first by their political ideology and only a distant second by what the Bible says.” Evangelicals are more likely to be Republicans than Democrats, and their religious beliefs can be interpreted to support conservative views on climate change. “As a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us,” Republican congressman Tim Walberg said in 2017. “And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”

But there are ways to communicate the importance of addressing climate change across the political spectrum, says Meyaard-Schaap. He says that, when talking to conservatives, YECA emphasizes the economic freedom that comes from not accessing energy through a regulated monopoly. Also a plus: the national security benefits of not being dependent on hostile foreign powers for oil. YECA members also highlight how climate action is a pro life issue, as burning fossil fuels contributes to low birth weight and preterm babies, and heavy metals emitted through the burning of coal cross the placenta and impede fetal development.

Amidst these messages, there are signs that evangelical engagement on climate change is shifting: A recent poll found that 40% of evangelical Christians support the Green New Deal. In July, YECA released a statement highlighting the “biblical principles” in the proposed legislation. “The Green New Deal shows clear concern for making sure that we have tangible ways of protecting the natural environment, caring for God’s creation,” says Meyaard-Schaap.

Hayhoe would like to see even more support from the evangelical community, though she doesn’t expect evangelicals to embrace environmental action en masse, as long as “political ideology continues to drive the belief system of those who identify as Christian.”

Meyaard-Schaap, meanwhile, sees a distinct generational divide. Millennials and Generation Z often already care about climate change, he says, and YECA focuses on training these young leaders to talk with their parents and pastors.

Although politics is a strong indication of belief in climate change, Meyaard-Schaap says YECA activists are motivated by religion rather than politics. “We come at this work not because we’re environmentalist, even though some of us identify that way, and not because we’re Democrats or Republican,” he says. “We come at this because we’re Christians and we believe that acting on climate change and calling the church to action and it’s just part of what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century.”

>>> This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

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Denominational Religious Statements on Climate Change

>>> Inter-Faith Power & Light Campaign Compilation

Most religious communities have released statements on “climate change” and the need to care for the earth and living things. The compiled list (organized alphabetically first by religion, then by denomination) demonstrates the unity within the religious community on these important issues.

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VIDEO: Burke Lecture: An Ecological Inquiry – Jesus and the Cosmos with Elizabeth Johnson – UCSD-TV – University of California Television, July 6, 2010

Prof. Elizabeth A. Johnson, a former president of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the ecumenical American Theological Society, argues that interfaith dialogue has made clear that each religious tradition has its own distinctive contribution to make. In this Burke lecture, she explores one line of thinking peculiar to the Christian tradition, namely, the meaning of Jesus Christ. Her question is whether the central, organizing figure in Christian faith also has anything intrinsic to do with the natural world.

https://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=18746

Quality water is essential to our lives!

From the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, June 27, 2018

You deserve to know what’s in your water. Every three years the rules that govern what’s in West Virginia’s water undergo a revision process called the Triennial Review. West Virginia is in the midst of this process and WVDEP has released their proposed changes for public comment, you can view them here.

WV Rivers has reviewed WVDEP’s proposed revisions to Water Quality Standards and recommends additions to safeguard human health from waterborne toxins. View our fact sheet on the Triennial Review and our full comments to WVDEP to learn more.

One change to WV’s Water Quality Standards would expand allowances for toxic hotspots in our waters. These areas are called overlapping mixing zones, learn more here.

Overlapping mixing zones have concentrations and combinations of pollutants that are dangerous to human health. The proposed rule would allow these areas, and it does not deal with the requirement to notify the public of their presence or danger.

WV Rivers requests WVDEP specify signage requirements at overlapping mixing zones that graphically depicts and states that the waterbody within the mixing zone contains high levels of pollutants harmful to human health, and that contact with the water or consumption of fish harvested in the area could have severe health impacts.

Speak Up Now! Share with WVDEP why you deserve to know when the water is dangerous. Request public health notifications at overlapping mixing zones by commenting on WVDEP’s revisions to Water Quality Standards through July 10. View our fact sheet and submit your comments here. You can also submit comments in person during a public hearing on July 10 at 6:00pm at the WVDEP headquarters in Charleston.

Martina Angela Caretta, WVU assistant professor of geography

Source: WVU, Institute of Water Security & Science, October 30, 2017

Water is the driving force of all nature, but how do people react when an area begins to run out of water? Martina Angela Caretta, assistant professor of geography at West Virginia University, seeks to answer that question in a report she co-authored for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

In the report, Caretta discusses how water scarcity leads to migration of a land, while also studying how gender plays a role in the migration process. She also evaluates how water availability affects social stability and the number of jobs available for younger generations. The report indicates that two-thirds of the world’s population, or four billion people, live in conditions of severe water scarcity at least one month per year, while another half billion people face severe water scarcity year-round.

“Climate change is triggering migration, especially in areas of the world that are water scarce,” Caretta said. “Water is a resource we cannot live without in the Global North as in the Global South. My research is about how our society is organized around water, who has access to it and who doesn’t and how we can preserve water or remedy water quality so that we can have sustainable development.”

Without that water, individuals cannot grow food for themselves, so they have to migrate to another area to find food and water. This migration ultimately leads to overcrowding, which can upset local citizens and lead to conflict.

One example of this dilemma is the war in Syria, says Caretta. Communities in the northern part of the country could not produce enough food for themselves due to water scarcity, so they migrated to the capital, which led to population pressure in a city where food shortage was already an issue. This, in turn, triggered conflicts between the local ethnic group and the newcomers.

“There are a few studies that show a connection between climate change and reduced rainfall, failing yields, loss of livelihoods, conflict and migration,” Caretta said. “More research needs to be done to close this knowledge gap.”

The report estimates that nearly 25 million people per year are forced from their homes nationally and internationally due to natural disasters. These migrants move from dry to wet countries in search of better economic opportunities and a better quality of life.

With much of the Global South, or countries with low and medium development, living in water scarcity conditions, a failure of the agricultural sector is expected to lead to substantial employment cuts, according to the report. Agriculture is a primary employment sector and unreliable water resources threaten the disappearance of jobs. Roughly 95 percent of jobs in the agriculture sector, 30 percent of jobs in the industry sector and 10 percent of jobs in the services sector are heavily dependent on water, according to the United Nations’ World Water Development Report in 2016.

Climate change has different impacts on women and men, explains Caretta. While few studies provide research of this phenomenon, migration is a gendered process which depends on local societal gender norms. However, there is a lack of knowledge and resources regarding the link between migration, youth employment, gender and water scarcity due to the dangers associated with carrying out research in water-scarce countries. Caretta has been collaborating with UNESCO to address this knowledge gap.

“The truth of the matter is that this phenomenon cannot be studied any other way than going to refugee camps and interviewing people to understand how water played a role in their migratory decision and how the water resources in the receiving society have been put under strain,” Caretta said.

In addition to the UNESCO study, Caretta is currently researching how local organizations, in large part led by women, in West Virginia are working to restore rivers contaminated by chemical industries or acid mine drainage.

“We are a headwater state that can actually use water for economic development, but our water here is impaired,” Caretta said. “I’m looking at organizations that are trying to remedy these situations and specifically at what type of economic development we can have in this state that can restore and maintain where we have clean water quality.”

Together with Jamie Shinn, an assistant professor in geography, Caretta is also carrying out another project focusing on the response to the 2016 floods in southern West Virginia.

“The work of Caretta and other social science researchers at WVU contributes what is often the missing human perspective to the technical aspects of water scarcity and quality,” said Tim Carr, chair of the Department of Geology and Geography. “Her work helps to complete the picture and to outline viable paths to address the critical personal, regional and global issues of water supply.”

To learn more about the UNESCO report, visit http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/display-single-news/news/wwap_launches_a_new_paper_on_water_and_migration/

Construction of the Ohio Valley Connector, a 30-inch natural gas pipeline in Wetzel County

From the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Charleston, December 14, 2017

You can submit comments to WVDEP on the Mountaineer XPress Pipeline’s and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s stormwater and sediment control permits, which regulate polluted runoff from oil and gas development. Learn more about stormwater permits here, from the WV Rivers Coalition.

Thorough scrutiny of stormwater permits is critical for the protection of WV’s streams, especially since WVDEP has waived their authority to issue a 401 Water Quality Certification for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. This is the same permitting authority WVDEP waived for the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

WV Rivers reviewed each permit application and found that they lack critical information the WVDEP needs to certify that the projects will be able to meet WVDEP’s stormwater permit requirements.

We made it easy for you to submit comments online to WVDEP! You need to send comments on each pipeline separately.

Comment on the Mountaineer XPress Pipeline

Read our fact sheet on the MXP’s stormwater permit and submit your MXP comments to WVDEP by Friday, December 22, 2017.

Comment on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Read our fact sheet on the ACP’s stormwater permit and submit your ACP comments to WVDEP by Sunday, December 31, 2017.

Two public hearings on the ACP’s stormwater permit are scheduled for Monday, Dec. 18 in Buckhannon and Thursday, Dec. 21 in Dunmore. Learn more.

For more information contact the West Virginia Rivers Coalition:
www.wvrivers.org – (304) 637-7201

Red Barn @ Mason Dixon Park

Preserving & Promoting Mason-Dixon History and Culture

Friday, August 21^st, 7 pm to 9 pm – Native American flute music blended with other musical instruments.  Cody BlackBird Band, Mason-Dixon Historical Park, 79 Buckeye Road, Core, WV 26541.  $10 adults, children free under 12. This location is on Dunkard Creek, Monongalia County, WV at Brown’s Hill and Greene County, PA.

Saturday & Sunday, August 22^nd & 23^rd, 10 am to 5 pm – POW – WOW & Cultural Festival, Native American arts and culture; regalia, drumming, singing, story telling; style crafts, jewelry, clothing.  Auctions at 2:30 pm.  Native American fry bread, Indian tacos, other foods and drinks. $5 adults, children free under 12.

Contact: Phyllis Bruce on 304-662-6496 (leave a message).

See also an article from last year: Mason-Dixon Line celebrated on 250th anniversary

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The Future Looks Brighter for Dunkard Creek

From the Editorial, Washington PA Observer-Reporter, August 10, 2015

Six years ago next month, toxins from an algae not common to Southwestern Pennsylvania killed fish, mussels, salamanders and other aquatic life along a 30-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The algae was later identified as golden algae, which state and federal environmental agencies investigating the kill described as an organism normally found only in southern coastal waters with high levels of salt and minerals. The agencies agreed what created the conditions for the algae to thrive in Dunkard Creek were the very high levels of chlorides and other contaminants from mine water discharges at Consol Energy’s Blacksville No. 2 Mine.

Last week, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission reported it had reached a tentative settlement in a lawsuit it filed in West Virginia for damages it claims were caused by the mine’s polluted discharges. Though Consol was named in the suit, the liability has been assumed by the Murray Energy Corp., which in December 2013 purchased Consol’s northern West Virginia mines.

Details of the agreement were withheld pending finalization of the settlement. However, in stories published on the proposed agreement, John Arway, Fish and Boat Commission executive director, said any money that may be included in the settlement will be used to help further the recovery of the creek. The creek is coming back, he said, and any money received through the settlement would be used to hasten its return.

As part of an earlier settlement for Clean Water Act violations with federal regulators, Consol also had agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty and construct a water treatment plant to treat chlorides discharged from its mines in northern West Virginia, including the Blacksville No. 2 coal mine.

That treatment plant in Marion County WV went on line in 2013 and should help ensure another fish kill, at least from golden algae, won’t happen again. It also will help ensure any money invested in the creek won’t go to waste.

All of that should be good news to local fishermen, who once reported catching 40 and 50 inch muskellunge in the waters of Dunkard Creek before the September 2009 fish kill.

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Subject: Dunkard Creek Fish Kill and Recovery, August 11, 2015

I have just read the Editorial from the Washington PA Observer-Reporter about Dunkard Creek and the settlement pending for damage from the 2009 algae bloom that killed over 40,000 fish and thousands of other creatures.

The article is reminiscent of catching big muskie in Dunkard Creek. Well, the fact is that BIG muskie are thriving at this time in Dunkard Creek’s feeder streams. The rapid reappearance of adult muskie (36 inches and up) is explained by WV-DNR as “they came up from the river.” As many as nine of the big fish have been identified in a half-mile stretch when the water was low and clear, 30 miles upstream from the Monongahela River.

Initial fish population recovery was fast and the fishing was good even a couple of years after the kill. It was easy to catch bass and bluegill. But now the muskie seem to be keeping those populations in check. WV-DNR should promote Dunkard Creek as a muskie stream.

See the interesting and comprehensive historical summary on the Dunkard Creek fish kill entitled “What Killed Dunkard Creek?”

Betty Wiley, Dunkard Creek Watershed Association

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NOTE: Marcellus shale drilling and fracking continue on hilltops overlooking Dunkard Creek. Dunkard Creek continues to be at some risk from such operations.  Marcellus shale drilling pads in Monongahela County include the Beach, Boggess, Campbell, Coastal, Eddy, Jenkins, Kassay, Statler, and Yost Pads with multiple wells present in most cases. The WV-DEP Office of Oil & Gas maintains an on-line database for these natural gas wells.

Also, the Dunkard Creek water quality continues to be spoiled by the legacy underground & surface coal mines that contribute acid mine drainage, i.e. sulfuric acid dissolved in the water and ferric hydroxide as a finely divided suspension resulting in a yellow-orange precipitate which can be seen along the lower (eastern) section as the flow joins the Monongahela River in Greene County, Pennsylvania.

WVEC: www.wvecouncil.org

Roundup: “The Week Just Passed, The Week Ahead”

Weekly Report by  Vickie Wolfe, WV Environmental Council, March 7, 2015

>>>>>>>>>>  Note: This Week Ahead is the Last Week of the Regular 60 Day Session

Please join us for our annual awards dinner/fundraiser TUESDAY, MARCH 10 at 6:00 p.m. We will enjoy dinner, music and fellowship in the pleasant surroundings of the Women’s Club, 1600 Virginia Street East, Charleston. Suggested donation $15.

Tell committee members to pass this rules bundle without amendment! For additional information see a previous action alert here.

On Wednesday, Delegate Mike Caputo (D-Marion) had a letter hand-delivered to the Governor asking him to veto the bill because of mine safety concerns. You can read a statement from Delegate Caputo here.

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Bills We Are Tracking

Updated: March 7, 2015:  Tag: Legislation

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

WVU CAC March 24 - 28

MFA exhibition focusing on Deckers Creek Watershed open March 24-28

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.– WVU Master of Fine Arts candidate Forrest Conroy will present his MFA thesis exhibition, focusing on the Deckers Creek Watershed, at the Creative Arts Center during March 24-28.

Titled “Watershed: A Call to Action,” the graphic design project will be on view in the Paul Mesaros Gallery. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held Thursday, March 27 at 6 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

The goal of Conroy’s exhibition is to educate visitors and challenge people to see how their personal actions are connected to the health of their environment. The cornerstone project of his thesis work is CreekDog, a web application that allows citizens to report and track serious pollution issues throughout the Deckers Creek Watershed.

Industries that used the creek as a source of water power included a forge and iron furnace, grist mills, saw mills, and a pottery and a paper mill. Rapid industrialization in the first half of the 20th century took a heavy toll on the once-pristine creek, as water quality declined and aquatic life diminished. Recreational fishing and boating on the creek eventually ceased after acid mine runoff and open sewage fouled the water.

Friends of Deckers Creek (FODC), a community non-profit watershed association, organized in 1995 to start clean-ups of illegal dumps and to monitor water quality. In 1998, the state Department of Environmental Protection and federal Natural Resources Conservation Service committed $10 million to clean up acid mine drainage in the Deckers Creek Watershed, an effort that continues to be guided by FODC.

Conroy’s project was developed in partnership with Friends of Deckers Creek and is based on their Watershed Bill of Rights Program that calls citizens to take action. CreekDog takes this one step further by providing a tool that facilitates action between citizens and the public agencies responsible for addressing these issues.

“It is important that we find ways to educate and empower citizens to take an active role in protecting their environment and bettering their communities,” Conroy said. “The story of Deckers Creek is one of both immense beauty and complex environmental issues. People want to help and do the right thing. Many people either don’t know there’s a problem, or, if they do, don’t know how to solve it—but everyone plays a part. I hope that this exhibition helps to create an opportunity for people to make a difference.”

The CreekDog project is being funded, in part, by a grant from the Appalachian stewardship foundation. The Mesaros Galleries are open Monday through Saturday, from noon to 9:30 p.m. For more information on the event, contact Robert Bridges, curator of the Mesaros Galleries at 304-293-2312.