River flows and gas woes

By SANDY LONG

NARROWSBURG, NY — Two natural resources—water and gas—kept Upper Delaware Council (UDC) members occupied in lively debate for most of their meeting on November 4.

A draft comment letter to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) regarding the Flexible Flow Management Program (FFMP) that will expire in May 2011 drew criticism from Town of Hancock, NY representative Fred Peckham, who objected to increasing the winter-release schedule.

“I think it harms the river more than it helps it,” said Peckham, who added that the presence of the invasive algae didymo appears to have increased, now that the river no longer freezes during the winter. Peckham argued for increased flood mitigation measures and a more comprehensive plan. He added that the letter does not address the PPL releases into the Lackawaxen River.

Correspondence submitted by Elaine Reichart of Aquatic Conservation Unlimited and Todd Eachus, majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 116th Legislative District, raised further questions about the current water-release protocols listed in the FFMP.

Town of Hancock alternate Jim Serio, who has devoted substantial research and expertise to the ongoing effort to revise the plan, said, “We absorbed that information and still feel that the letter is a step forward in the process. We want to revise FFMP rather than go back to square one and start over. It’s scheduled to expire May 31, 2011 and the alternative is to go back to Revision One, in which there’s less fishery protection and no spill mitigation, which means that flooding would be worse.”

New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) representative William Rudge added, “My staff was unanimously in support of FFMP being an improvement over Revision One. There is an opportunity here for incremental change.”

Others pointed out that three key members of the Water Resource Management committee (WRM), in particular Town of Deerpark’s Phil Chase, were absent from the meeting where the letter was finalized, and that their input is considered significant.

Tony Ritter, a member of WRM, who has operated a fishing guide service on the river for 16 years, agreed that the letter and the FFMP need more work. “This summer, water in the main stem went up to 85 degrees. If you think that’s an improvement, you’re mistaken.”

The UDC voted to send the letter back to WRM for additional work. Meanwhile, the UDC will send a preliminary letter to alert the DRBC that a more comprehensive letter will follow.

Gas talk

On the topic of natural gas, UDC chairman Harold Roeder responded to questions regarding his participation at the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance annual meeting and barbecue held on October 3. “I’ll just clear the air on that,” said Roeder. “I told them I was the chair of the UDC and that I was not representing the UDC, but that I was doing it on my own. I spent my time explaining what the UDC was and how it functions.”

Sean McGuinness, superintendent of the National Park Service (NPS) Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, said he recently attended the superintendent’s conference for the Northeast region and the national capital region combined.

In part, the session addressed the nation’s need to develop clean energy and how that relates to parks. “We were cautioned to do what we need to do to protect parks and to remember that the Department of the Interior is also responsible to develop ways to produce clean energy,” said McGuinness. “The Marcellus Shale and the Upper Delaware was mentioned, so the issue has been raised at the highest levels.”

McGuinness also attended a federal summit on gas with the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies, where each identified its top areas of concern to be the following: EPA, environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing; United States Fish and Wildlife Service, impacts to terrestrial and aquatic species and habitats; NPS, impacts to water, night skies, noise levels, visitor experience; Natural Resource Conservation Service, protecting private landowner rights; USGS, providing necessary science; National Weather Service, weather-related issues; FEMA, emergency response issues; and U.S. Forest Service, forest conservation issues.

A lengthy discussion ensued about what would go into the cumulative impact study proposed by NY Congressman Maurice Hinchey. “Most people realized that a million dollars cannot address the study adequately, so it was concluded that it would focus primarily on water-quality impacts,” said McGuinness.

In response to a question about whether or not drilling can be kept out of the river corridor, McGuinness replied, “I’m going to use my leadership role to educate folks about what could happen if drilling happens in the corridor. Then, it’s up to the UDC and the towns to make the right decision.”

Town of Tusten, NY representative Susan Sullivan distributed part of the Hazen and Sawyer study titled “Impact Assessment of Natural Gas Production in the New York City Water Supply Watershed,” then added, “I request that the UDC remember that our mission is to protect the health and safety of the people who visit and live here. This report indicates that the health and safety of all who live here, including the fish and wildlife, is at significant risk. There’s no justification to go forward without further studies.”

Finally, the nominating committee for the UDC’s 2011 slate of officers was established to consist of Jack Niflot (Town of Fremont, NY), Larry Richardson (Town of Cochecton, NY) and Fred Peckham (Town of Hancock, NY).