Delaware
River gets special
By Amanda Cregan, Intelligencer,
July 17, 2008
Ewing Twp., N.J. —
It was the moment they've been building toward for more than a decade.
Advocates for the Delaware River held their breath as the
Delaware River Basin Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to designate the river as Special Protection Waters, a move that
aims to improve water quality by further restricting businesses and sewage treatment facilities that discharge wastewater
into the Delaware.
Up until Wednesday afternoon's vote at the DRBC, supporters
of the designation were unsure of its passage. The governors of New York,
New Jersey, Delaware
and Pennsylvania and representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers make up the
board.
The Delaware River
serves as a natural boundary between the four states and is distinctive as the longest free-flowing river in the eastern United States.
Gov. Rendell has been the only governor to express opposition
to the act, citing the extra expense to businesses along the river if stricter pollution regulations were put into place.
Cathy Curran Myers, who represented Rendell at the meeting,
thanked residents for their patience.
“This has been an extremely difficult decision for
Pennsylvania,” said Myers, the deputy secretary for water management at
the state Department of Environmental Protection. “By accident of geography, it's Pennsylvania that has some of the older sewage treatment plants and this places a heavier burden
on them.”
Special Protection Waters discourages direct wastewater
discharges into the river. Regulations also require that all new or expanding wastewater treatment plants in the Special Protection
Waters region use advanced treatment and employ safeguards to ensure they always meet discharge requirements.
It also focuses on storm water runoff and construction-related
runoff.
The stricter pollution rules also serve to protect residents
who are affected by flooding. The water that can seep into their homes and businesses along the Delaware might not carry with it as many chemicals and pollutants.
In recent months, the commission has wrestled with how to
balance protecting the quality of the Delaware
River's water while maintaining economic
development.
Changes to the draft allow treatment plants to appeal to
the commission if they are unable to further restrict their wastewater discharge because of hefty financial costs or if there
are technological barriers.
This easement to the Special Protection Waters designation
had some Delaware River advocates crying foul.
“We've been working for several decades to restore
the Delaware,” said Danawa Buchanan, who heads the Bucks County Native
American Alliance. “The rivers are the lifeblood coursing the veins of this planet. When we contaminate the water on
this planet where are we going to get any more?”
Though Buchanan was happy for the designation, she criticized
the board for easing its standards for some treatment plants. “Where these few demanded compromise, the people downriver
will pay.”
Rendell's representative Myers noted that a grant program
was included in the state budget, passed July 4, which is designed to help wastewater treatment plants implement the new pollution
requirements.
“The commonwealth stands ready to assist financially
with $1.2 billion in assistance to wastewater facilities,” she said. Myers said facilities in the Lehigh Valley would be at the front of the line.
Members of several area environmental groups have campaigned
for a permanent Special Protection Waters for years, and Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum thanked the board for its vote
but said she would carefully evaluate the changes.
“We've had a tremendous outpouring of support from
the community,” she said. “Hundreds have spoken out in support of Special Protection Waters.”
Article's URL:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-07172008-1564183.html
