Opinion - West Branch Restoration, Each Year Brings Progress and Hope

As 2008 draws to an end, I take this time to reflect on the West Branch Susquehanna Region– a place of unrivaled beauty with its vast mountains, deep valleys, sprawling agricultural lands and all-American hometowns and cities.

 

Last year at this time, who knew to what extent the natural gas activities would unfold in 2008 with the West Branch Subbasin smack in the spotlight? Who could have predicted its affects on communities and citizens and the toll it would take on government agencies working to balance the promise of economic prosperity with environmental protection and the protection of public health and safety?

 

Along with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission was thrown into the frenzy as we worked to protect against unregulated water withdrawals and consumptive water uses. Despite the enormous pressure and escalated workload, I will end this year deeply proud of where the Commission stands. The hard work and dedication demonstrated by our commissioners and staff in the midst of tremendous adversity made us an even better agency able to continue serving all of our constituents.

 

I am optimistic we will continue to meet the challenges in a balanced approach and, as always, relying on good science to protect your vital water resources. Yes, there will undoubtedly be many more challenges ahead of us on the natural gas front, but the steps we have taken and will continue to take to streamline the regulatory process and enhance protection will go a long way.

 

The natural gas exploration and development in the Susquehanna watershed are not comparable to the unregulated coal mining of the past that still scars our lands and pollutes our waterways from abandoned mine drainage (AMD). I applaud the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for its commitment to the future of the West Branch – a time when its streams will once again team with healthy aquatic life and draw outdoor and sporting enthusiasts in much greater numbers than today.

 

SRBC and many others are working in the West Branch to help the Commonwealth achieve its goal of remediating AMD impairment. Funding challenges will make reaching that goal harder. But with each passing year, and with dedicated partners working hand-in-hand, there is tangible progress and good reasons for optimism.

 

More opportunities for progress now exist following the development of the West Branch AMD remediation strategy. SRBC, under the guidance of the West Branch Susquehanna River Task Force, developed the strategy in 2008 that helps target priority AMD-impaired subwatersheds for restoration.

To prepare the strategy, SRBC compiled and analyzed extensive amounts of existing water quality data, set up a database, identified priority remediation areas and created an easy-to-use web-based tool program that can predict likely restoration outcomes for AMD-impaired sites. Of the water quality and quantity data compiled, about 40 percent met the selection criteria set for this project.

 

Based on the qualifying data, SRBC concluded that nearly 80 percent of the AMD discharges in the entire West Branch subbasin likely originate in that 10 percent study area. SRBC then divided its study area into 11 management units, indicating them as priority restoration sites.

 

The vast percentage of these priority management units fell within the Clearfield Creek, Moshannon Creek and Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek subwatersheds. Targeting limited resources to such priority areas will have the greatest benefits for the West Branch Subbasin.

 

SRBC and its project partners concluded that the total capital costs to restore the West Branch Subbasin from AMD impacts could be as high as $400 million.

 

Funding for the West Branch Susquehanna Subbasin AMD Remediation Strategy (SRBC publication #254) was provided by the departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources and by Trout Unlimited.

 

The study is available online or by calling 717-238-0423 ext. 302 or sending email to: srbc@srbc.net for paper copies.

 

For more information, visit the West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Coalition website.