This post is one in a month-long series speaking to 15 of
PennFuture's significant victories. It was 15 years ago this September
that we began our work to protect the environment and champion a clean
energy economy.
In 2010, Pennsylvania adopted a pair of crucial clean water regulations that protect the drinking water of millions of Pennsylvanians and the health of our very best streams. PennFuture worked in concert with a coalition of organizations to pass both regulations.
One regulation protects over 20,000 miles of our best streams by requiring that new development projects along Exceptional Value and High Quality streams must maintain a 150-foot buffer between earth disturbances and the waterways. These buffers are one of the most cost-effective and best management practices available to control sediment and nutrient pollution of our streams and rivers. Vegetative buffers also reduce storm water pollution, create and protect wildlife habitat, and are vital to the health of cold water fish species.
The other regulation created a total dissolved solids (TDS) standard for waste water treatment that protects aquatic life and the quality of our drinking water. In particular, the regulation requires gas drilling companies that discharge water polluted with TDS to treat the discharges to meet safe drinking water standards.
In 2008, high TDS levels in the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh affected the drinking water supplied to over 330,000 people. The high TDS levels also threatened to shut down industrial facilities, including some owned by U.S. Steel, that depend on fresh river water for their operations.
Unconventional shale gas operations usually result in high levels of TDS, primarily chlorides, because of substances in the shale that dissolve during hydrofracturing operations. Thanks to these regulations, the drilling industry now must treat its waste water to the higher standards. As a result, more and more gas companies are moving to recycle their waste water.
PennFuture will celebrate 15 years of environmental victories on September 25. Please consider joining us!
