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H2O Man

(73,323 posts)
Tue Mar 13, 2012, 07:29 PM Mar 2012

Save the Susquehanna!

Save the Susquehanna!

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“My role is to bring a message to non-Indian people along the Susquehanna and the rivers that are connected, like the Unadilla and Chenango. And my message is to work together to clean and protect these rivers. ….My goal is to teach people that the Susquehanna was my people's first highway. It is the actual bloodline of Mother Earth. My message is that the Susquehanna is sacred, and deserves our greatest respect.”
Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman; AHSKWA; 1997

In December, 2011, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission approved twenty new permit applications, allowing gas industries to withdraw massive amounts of the river's water for hydrofracking in Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, March 15, the SRBC will meet again, to consider passing sixty new permits. If passed, this would allow gas companies to withdraw 50 million gallons of water from the river daily.

Each water-transporting truck carries 4,000 gallons. Thus, this would mean over 12,000 new trucks carrying water from the Susquehanna, in addition to those permitted in December.

An average of one million gallons of water is required for every individual hydrofracking well. Each well also requires over 75,000 gallons of toxic chemicals, which are mixed into the water used to hydrofrack. As a result, one of the most significant evironmental dangers caused by hydrofracking for gas is millions of gallons of poisoned water: some will migrate to other water supplies under the ground, while more will be “disposed” of by discharging it into municipal waste treatment plants that are not equiped to deal with toxic industrial wastes. Thus, ground water supplies, as well as rivers, creeks, lakes, and ponds will be poisoned.

We need all concerned citizens to make four phone calls on Wednesday and Thursday. We are hoping to convince four politicians to tell their commissioners to vote “NO!” on all new water-withdrawal permits for hydrofracking in the Susquehanna River Basin – at least until a cumulative impact study is made.

The four politicians are:

1- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo: 518-474-8390.
2- Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett: 717-787-2500.
3- Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley: 410-974-3901.
4- President Barack Obama: 202-456-1111.

The fact that no cumulative impact study has been done suggests that the SRBC is serving the needs of the energy corporations, rather than protecting the Susquehanna River and the plant, animal, and human populations living in the river basin.

Please call all four of these politicians both days. Also, spread the word to other family members, friends, neighbors, or groups/individuals interested in protecting the integrity of our planet.

Thank you,
Patrick R. McElligott

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Save the Susquehanna! (Original Post) H2O Man Mar 2012 OP
Do they even care what they're doing to the river and all who depend on it? CaliforniaPeggy Mar 2012 #1
I don't think so. H2O Man Mar 2012 #2
Look at what Tom Corbett has been up to: blue neen Mar 2012 #3
Thanks. H2O Man Mar 2012 #4
Another 50M gallons? hootinholler Mar 2012 #5
kick H2O Man Mar 2012 #6

H2O Man

(73,323 posts)
2. I don't think so.
Tue Mar 13, 2012, 07:37 PM
Mar 2012

It's a crime against nature. I think it is obscene.

I hope that DUers from other states know that their phone calls are helpful. I appreciate any and all support.

H2O Man

(73,323 posts)
4. Thanks.
Tue Mar 13, 2012, 07:45 PM
Mar 2012

While the article you linked is "bad news," it is very important. I appreciate it very much. And I'll be sending it along to many others, who don't read DU ....at least not yet.

I think we have some long and difficult legal cases ahead of us. If I had much of any faith in the court system's ability/willingness to deliver just rulings, I think we would win. But it's going to be tough.

This forum will remain the first place I'll "report" on updates.

Again, thank you.

hootinholler

(26,449 posts)
5. Another 50M gallons?
Tue Mar 13, 2012, 10:08 PM
Mar 2012

From where in the river?

A cubic foot of water is 7.68 gallons and the Harrisburg Pa gauge says the flow is roughly 50kcfs or 50,000 cf/s, which is 384000 gallons/second.

So if the 50M gallons/day were withdrawn at once per day (50000000/384000) the river would not run for 130ish seconds. More than 2 minutes.

I probably screwed the pooch on the math, but that's a lot of water.

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