BWA Environmental Alerts
What you need to know in environmental news
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October 2018
Environmentalists win battle to protect ‘exceptional’ streams in the Poconos
A group of resort owners had challenged DEP's new classification of headwater streams in Monroe County ... READ MORE HERE
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August 2018
My Turn: Exceptional waters define the Poconos and deserve protection
A new vision for Pocono tourism is now being touted, one that PennFuture and several of our local partners, neighbors and advocates do not support. This vision translates into major development schemes that will change the region. ... READ MORE HERE
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July 2018
Your Morning Cup of Coffee Is in Danger. Can the Industry Adapt in Time?
As temperatures rise and droughts intensify, good coffee will become increasingly difficult to grow and expensive to buy. ...READ MORE HERE
NEW GUIDE FOR LANDOWNERS
“Helping your Woodland Adapt to a Changing Climate,” a guide for landowners, has recently been published by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation. Read the guide here.
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June 2018
Pennsylvania Supreme Court addresses agency deference and the Environmental Rights Amendment in ruling on unconventional well drilling regulations
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part a preliminary injunction issued by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court with respect to newly promulgated regulations regarding unconventional well drilling. ... READ MORE ON LEXOLOGY
May 2018
bee kind: go native in your garden
Bees are in decline, and that’s a big deal .. read more here
April 2018
DWGNRA acquires former girl scout camp
1000 acres added to park ... Read More Here
Letter: Thanks for creek clean-up
Addressing the pellet problem ... READ MORE HERE
Letter: Communities benefit from clean streams
How lucky we are to have clean, healthy waters ... READ MORE HERE
Why Clean Stream Protections Matter in the Poconos
Exceptional Value streams: What are they, and why do they matter to you? ...READ MORE HERE
willian penn foundation gives $42 million to protect delaware river
Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI) benefits Monroe County ... Read more here
Truck crashes, dumps 49,000 pounds of plastic pellets into Pocono Creek
A chain-reaction crash spilled almost 49,000 pounds of small blue recycled-plastic pellets into Pocono Creek on Saturday. ... READ MORE HERE
March 2018
Study: PENNSYLVANIA 2nd Worst In Nation In Waterway Industrial Pollution
Most of the pollution is in eastern Pennsylvania. ... READ MORE HERE
Clean water and responsible development are a natural in the Poconos
An op-ed in the Pocono Record by Jacquelyn Bonomo, president and CEO of PennFuture
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February 2018
Straight Talk About The Financial Condition Of The Fish & Boat Commission
An enlightening op-ed by John A. Arway, executive director of the Fish & Boat Commission
PETITION TO PROTECT OUR STREAMS
BWA and PennFuture are intervening in an appeal before the Environmental Hearing Board, seeking to protect the Exceptional Value water quality of six streams in Monroe County, including Cranberry Creek, Paradise Creek, Devil’s Hole Creek, Tank Creek, Swiftwater Creek, and Tunkhannock Creek. ... READ MORE HERE
MCCD WORKSHOP TO HELP BUILDERS, ENGINEERS, DESIGNERS WORK WITHIN REGULATIONS TO BENEFIT ENVIRONMENT
Workshop "will highlight the disconnect that sometimes occurs between design engineers and the guys who are actually building” the project. ... read more here
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November 2017
We’re not even close to being prepared for the rising waters
"For the 10,000 years of human civilization, we’ve been blessed with a relatively stable climate, and hence flooding has been an exceptional terror. As that blessing comes to an end with our reckless heating of the planet, the exceptional is becoming all too normal." ... READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON POST
The boomtown that shouldn’t exist
"Cape Coral, Fla., was built on total lies. One big storm could wipe it off the map. Oh, and it’s also the fastest-growing city in the United States." ... READ MORE FROM POLITICO
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September 2017
House GOP plan To empty environmental funds means not paying 900 grants already awarded
A plan by a group of conservative House Republicans lead by Rep. Dan Moul (R-Adams) to empty environmental special funds and transfer the money to the General Fund will mean not paying communities for all or part of at least 900 grants for local projects already approved and underway over the last two years. ... READ MORE FROM PA ENVIRONMENT DIGEST
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August 2017
LAWSUIT: ‘Not one drop’ of Poland Spring bottled water is from a spring
Poland Spring, the country’s best-selling bottled water, is “a colossal fraud,” according to a class-action lawsuit. ... Read more from the Washington Post
A Texas Farmer on Harvey, Bad Planning and Runaway Growth
An opinion piece by East Stroudsburg author and journalist Seamus McGraw. ... READ MORE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
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July 2017
Letter to the Editor: State budget ignores need for clean water
As former Vice President Joe Biden remarked, “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” The Pennsylvania State Legislature just sent a loud and clear message — we do not value clean, drinkable water. ... READ MORE FROM THE POCONO RECORD
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June 2017
BOTTLING BUCK HILL WATER?
Buck Hill Falls Water Company has been in discussions with Niagara Bottling Company for selling bulk water ... trucking it out of town to be bottled and sold. Read more on this issue at the Barrett Township website. Click here to see the Delaware River Basin Commission docket on the issue.
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May 2017
Delaware Water Gap showing effects of climate change
BUSHKILL, Pa. – In the past 125 years, the Kittatinny Ridge has sunk – climatologically – about 600 feet and now the ridge-top has a climate more like northern Virginia was a century ago.
... READ MORE FROM THE NEW JERSEY HERALD
Green Infrastructure: Managing Stormwater Runoff At Municipal Level
If left unchecked, stormwater can add pollutants like soil, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), and pathogens into our streams and rivers. This may lead to health impacts, unsightly and unpleasantly smelling waterways, and a degraded environment. That is why there are laws in place for proper management of stormwater runoff. For a brief overview of those laws, with a special focus on municipal ordinances and the important role they play in stormwater management, click here.
The Department of Environmental Protection created a model stormwater ordinance. This is a good place to start in developing your own.
To see how BWA has been building green infrastructure locally, click here.
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April 2017
Listening Tour coming this way
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection is hosting an Environmental Justice Listening Tour, with the closest "focus area" stop on May 11 in Allentown. The public is strongly urged to attend. For information, read more here.
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March 2017
Monroe County Conservation District: the builder's friend
Local agency gives up partial enforcement duties, shifts focus
Monroe County Conservation District has decided to give up part of its local ability to enforce the environmental rules with a change to its nearly 20-year standard of delegation with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
... READ MORE FROM THE POCONO RECORD
