Howdy River Folks and Happy New Year!
And what a new year it is shaping up to be. We are already working on Hydro-Dam re-licensing, reductions in pollution from construction sites, documenting and stopping pollution from factory farms, researching the causes of Susquehanna fish die-offs, and much more (we can't fit it all in the updates, so contact us if you need an update on something that's not here).
Next Saturday, January 31st, is the Susquehanna Smallmouth meeting with PA Fish and Boat, PA DEP, USGS, and others. This meeting to discuss the causes of the smallmouth die-offs in the Susquehanna will be held at the River Rescue Building located at 1119 South Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA. Doors open at 9 am to meet with researchers and staff, then the meeting starts at 10 am and goes to 12:30. There will be more opportunity for discussion until 2 pm. We are bringing in the Shenandoah Riverkeeper, Jeff Kelble, to sit in on the meeting. The Shenandoah River has had similar problems in recent years, but much worse. Jeff has been working with researchers to determine the causes of their die-offs and may be a great help to us. Show your concern for the Susquehanna by attending this meeting.
Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna has been working with the PA Campaign for Clean Water to get the PA DEP to implement new buffer rules for construction sites. This would establish a minimum 100-foot buffer on construction sites adjacent to waterways. Unfortunately, the PA Builders Association has lobbied Harrisburg and turned a good regulation into a give away for the builders that leaves citizens out of any review of runoff impacts from new construction. Click here to get the facts:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.orgThen...Write Governor Rendell TODAY to support "Buffers 100", new rules that would require 100-foot forested buffers on all new construction. Write to Gov. Ed Rendell at 225 Main Capitol, Harrisburg PA 17120 or fax him at 717-772-8284
- Tell him that we need a mandatory buffers program, not a voluntary one.
- Remind him how important buffers are for reducing water pollution and flooding.
- Tell him that DEP's plan to eliminate its review of stormwater plans is a bad idea that will cause more pollution and flooding and degrade our streams.
We are gearing up for the most intensive review of the lower Susquehanna River hydro-dams ever done by a private organization. Four facilities, the York Haven, Holtwood, and Conowingo Dams, as well as the Muddy Run Pump Storage Hydro Facility are all starting their relicensing process this year. This only happens every 35 to 50 years, so this is our one shot. If you would like to be more involved in the review of these facilities please contact us.
Your Riverkeeper, along with six citizens from York County, just attended the National CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) Conference in North Carolina. North Carolina has been ravaged by the Industrial Hog Production Industry, and now they have their eyes set on Pennsylvania. One important thing I learned was that small independent farmers have relatively low fixed costs (taxes and family needs), while their variable costs (how many animals to house, how many employees they have) is high and more adjustable to the economy. If the price of hogs goes down, they can reduce the number of hogs they have until the price gets better, simple supply and demand. A factory farmer doesn't have that option. The factory farmer mortgages his/her land to build the big operation, so they have to pay taxes plus a fixed mortgage payment. Because these costs don't adapt to the marketplace, factory farmers have to increase the number of hogs even when the price is low. This works completely against supply and demand, and continues to push the price of livestock down. This continued depression of the price will eventually run both the factory farmers and the small farmers out of business. So it's not just the environmental damage that Tyson, Smithfield, and the others are inflicting on us, but the actual destruction of our farming way of life.
Due to concerns with CAFOs throughout the Chesapeake Bay, we've just joined other Waterkeepers in filing for a hearing with the MD Department of Environment for their new rules for permitting CAFOs. These new rules allow manure piles to sit in the fields for 90 days with no cover, exposing our waterways to substantial runoff. There are also no protections for streams that are already impaired by the fertilizers and can't handle any more.
View the filing documents here. That's it for now. Keep in touch, and send us your photos of the beautiful ice and migratory birds that are now on the river and streams, or send us photos of manure and sludge being applied on frozen ground. We need to know about both to have a clear picture of what we must do to preserve and improve our beloved Susquehanna.
P.S. We are in the process of sending our last batch of receipts for 2008. If you have not received your receipt and need it for tax purposes contact us and we will get it to you ASAP. Thanks.
From the Mighty Susquehanna, Michael R Helfrich
Lower Susquehanna RIVERKEEPER®
