Action Alert: Tell the Delaware River Basin Commision to "Wait For The Science!"

WITH ALL OF THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE POSESS ABOUT THE BOON AND BUST CYCLES ASSOCIATED WITH MINERAL EXTRACTION......................WITH US KNOWING THAT THE LAND CAN NEVER BE THE SAME ONCE THE DRILL PADS, MACHINERY, ROADS AND OTHER INDUSTRIALIZATION THAT ACCOMPANIES ANY TYPE OF MINING BEGINS...............THE SHORT 100 YEAR LIFE CYCLE OF MOST HUMAN BEINGS AND THEIR CONSTANT ATTEMPT TO HAVE MATERIAL POSESSIONS OVERIDES ANY MORAL CONCERNS THAT MAY CROP UP IN PEOPLES BRAINS ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY ARE USHERING IN THE DESTRUCTION OF A LARGE SWATH OF THE CATSKILL MOUNTAIN WATERSHED IN SOUTHWESTERN NEW YORK STATE....................AND THE ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS CANNOT WAIT TO GET IT ALL GOING.......................NO WONDER MOST SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS DEPICT THE HUMAN RACE AS "CHILDREN" WHEN BEING DEPICTED BY OTHER MORE ADVANCED OUTER SPACE CIVILIZATIONS..............."I WANT IT.............I WANT IT........................I WANT IT..................WE SEE IT READILY IN LITTLE KIDS AND ATTEMPT TO MITIGATE THEIR BEHAVIOR...................AND YET WHEN WE ACT OUT IN THE SAME FASHION, WE DEFEND OURSELVES BY TRUMPING THE "ECONOMY BENEFITS" CARD......................SUCKS THAT WE JUST CANNOT GROW UP!-BLOGGER RICK

 

 

 

Catskill Mountainkeeper Action Alert October 7, 2010   HELP SAVE THE DELAWARE RIVER The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is about to issue a broad range of regulations related to how gas drilling using hydrofracking will be conducted in the Delaware River Basin.  The Basin is a 13,539 square mile territory that stretches from New York's Delaware County south to Delaware Bay and includes much of Sullivan County in New York State.    These regulations are being issued in spite of calls from federal officials, federal agencies and environmental groups that the Commission wait for the results of the EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study, which is now being conducted and a Cumulative Impact Study proposed by Rep. Maurice Hinchey whose funding is currently being approved by Congress.   Brig. Gen. Peter "Duke" Deluca, the Army Corps of Engineers federal representative on the Delaware River Basin Commission is ignoring these appeals and has said that the Commission will not wait for the results of these scientific studies because it does not want to delay the economic boost he says that drilling could bring.   In a strongly worded response, Rep. Hinchey reminded the General that the DRBC's mission is the environment and not the economy and that under the DRBC Compact and other federal designations impacting the Delaware River Basin, such an interpretation of the federal role is inappropriate and has no basis in statute or regulation.   The DRBC was created in 1961 to address regional water conflicts, and is made up of representatives of the governors of four states, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey as well as Brig. Gen DeLuca from the Army Corps of Engineers who acts as the President's representative.  Its stated mission is oversight of the Basin's water quality and sources of pollution.   It is abundantly clear that Brig. Gen. DeLuca is acting in a rogue manner and it is now up to us to make sure that his point of view will not prevail and that regulations are not issued until the science can be reviewed.   TAKE ACTION Please click here to send letters to Mark Klotz (the NY State representative on the DRBC) and Carol Collier, Executive Director of the DRBC. We must tell them that: 1.      The DRBC's mission is the environment not the economy 2.      The DRBC's role is to prohibit and control pollution of the waters of the Basin 3.      Regulations governing the permitting for gas drilling using hydrofracking should not be issued until the results of the EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study and the Cumulative Impact Study are completed and assimilated 4.      We cannot allow gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin to threaten the drinking water for millions of people and turn this beautiful river into an industrial zone.   If the DRBC does issue these regulations, Catskill Mountainkeeper will be looking at legal action on behalf of all Catskill region residents to have them nullified. This will be an additional and substantial expense on top of all the other expenses Mountainkeeper is making to continue to lead the fight against gas drilling in our state and region. Give now so we can continue to fight for you.     About Catskill Mountainkeeper Catskill Mountainkeeper is a community based environmental advocacy organization, dedicated to creating a flourishing sustainable economy in the Catskills and preserving and protecting the area's long term health. We address issues of water integrity for the Delaware and Susquehanna River Systems, the defense of the vast woodlands that encompass the Catskill Forest Preserve and the New York City Watershed as well as farmland protection. We promote "smart" development that balances the economic needs and concerns of the Catskill regions' citizens and the protection of our abundant but exceedingly vulnerable natural resources. Catskill Mountainkeeper is an independent not for profit 501c3 organization.  We use the Citizen Action Program of the Open Space Institute, Inc., for administrative support.   For more information on the Citizen Action Program and the more than 50 organizations that participate in the service click here.