... Before joining the Susquehanna River, the Lackawanna River flows 60 miles through Susquehanna, Wayne, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. Large pieces of plastic (bottles, bags, etc) break down into smaller pieces call microplastics. A draft strategy for reducing an increased load of pollution from behind the dam is open for public comment until Dec. 21. The Virginia legislature is considering HB2173/SB1164, a bill that would weaken environmental oversight and permitting of chemical plants that melt down plastic waste to turn it into fuel, or often more plastic. More than 2.6 million pounds of toxic chemicals were dumped into the Susquehanna River in 2007, making it one of the 20 rivers in the country most inundated by industrial releases. Results of Susquehanna University’s smallmouth study were presented at 14th Annual Susquehanna River Symposium and the 2020 technical meeting of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Fisheries Society by Timothy Parks (class of 2020) and Niles. In Congress, he'll work to improve stream buffers to protect the Susquehanna River from pollution. That means the population of Harrisburg, which is three quarters African American or Latino, can not swim at their only public beach. Visualize a watershed as a basin, or bowl, collecting rain, streams, pollution, people, and other life forms. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 17, 2020. Bacteria levels downstream of Harrisburg averaged nearly three times higher than they were upstream of the city’s 58 combined stormwater and sewage outfalls. Trump impeached after Capitol riot in historic second charge. A study in 2019 found microplastic in the stomachs of 89 smallmouth bass sampled from the mainstem of the Susquehanna River. More than 2.6 million pounds of toxic chemicals were dumped into the Susquehanna River in ... July 18, 2020 @ 3:35 am. The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association has developed a new app-based program for anglers to share images of the fish they catch. by Bay Journal November 3, 2020 The Susquehanna River flows through the Conowingo Dam, 10 miles upstream from the Bay. ... Pennsylvania is giving a total of more than $6 million to eight counties to help the state meet its pollution reduction commitment to the Chesapeake Bay. “At a time of increased concerns about public health, Pennsylvania really needs to start getting serious about controlling its stormwater pollution, because our water monitoring shows it is creating a health hazard even down the street from the State Capitol Complex – which is a disgrace,” said Ted Evgeniadis, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper. The Susquehanna River flows through the Conowingo Dam, 10 miles upstream from the Bay. The Lackawanna River Watershed is 350-square miles hitting parts of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Susquehanna counties in northeast Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, Pa – Water quality monitoring by the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper this summer found unsafe E. coli bacteria levels along the Harrisburg waterfront on a third of the testing days, with worse fecal contamination downstream of the city’s stormwater and sewage outfalls. New Report Reveals Pennsylvania’s Backtracking on Commitments to Control Stormwater Pollution, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 17, 2020, Media contacts:  Ted Evgeniadis, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, (609) 571-5278 or lowsusriver@hotmail.com, Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, (443) 510-2574 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org. In Harrisburg, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper has been monitoring bacteria levels just downstream from the city’s combined stormwater and sewage outfalls as part of an effort to convince Pennsylvania to stop the state capital’s routine release of contaminated wastewater into the Bay’s biggest tributary every time it rains. Monitoring for E coli bacteria at three locations on Harrisburg’s riverfront – including just down from outfalls near the Governor’s Mansion and State Office Complex – between June 5 and July 31, 2020, exceeded standards for safe swimming or water contact recreation in 20 of 60 samples (33 percent), according to sampling by the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper analyzed by ALS Environmental of Middletown, Pa. In 2014, they were found in 59 of 60 water samples taken from the Patapsco, Magothy, Rhode and Corsica rivers. (Chris Gardner/AP Photo) ... Hogan said in a letter to his attorney general that Pennsylvania is “repeatedly falling short” of goals to curb pollution flowing down the Susquehanna River into the bay. When it rains, trash is washed from our streets and neighborhoods  — mostly plastic — and into our local streams and rivers, or it is washed into storm drains and carried to our streams and rivers. Stories and film have … Read more, Waterkeepers Chesapeake invites you to a virtual screening and panel discussion on the new film THE STORY OF PLASTIC During this unprecedented pandemic, it’s critical to ensure the voices of activists and marginalized communities are heard to stand up to big oil and businesses perpetuating the plastic crisis. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and EPA in 2015 signed a weak partial consent decree with Capital Region Water to address the problem of combined sewage and stormwater overflows into the Susquehanna River. Unfortunately, 91% of plastics are not recycled. ... making them uniquely susceptible to accumulation of pollution and nutrients transported from their watersheds. September 3, 2020 Lancaster, PA – The Center for Watershed Protection, a national leader in stormwater management and watershed planning, has announced a new program director in Pennsylvania to get clean water projects in the ground. Hogan made the request in a Wednesday letter. A 2017 study in the Potomac River around Washington, DC, found microplastics accumulating in underwater grasses. The average E coli reading (610) was almost 2.5 times higher than safe levels (235 CFU/100 ml of water.). Meanwhile, a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released today reveals that Pennsylvania has gone backwards in its commitments to control stormwater pollution in the Susquehanna and downstream Chesapeake Bay. Central Pa. counties get $6M to help reduce pollution headed to the Chesapeake Bay The grants will go to Adams, Bedford, Centre, Cumberland, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York counties. Note: A press conference will be held beside the Susquehanna River at 11 am on August 17 in Riverfront Park at State and Front streets, with visuals of the State Capitol dome and river. The Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River is a major source of pollution flowing into the Chesapeake. From 2017–18, the U.S. Geological Survey found microplastics in two streams in Virginia, two in DC and the Susquehanna River. Stories and film have a unique ability … Read more, Chesapeake Bay Program Plastic Pollution Action Team, Break Free from Plastic Act of 2020 (HB5845). About 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s, half of which was produced in the last 15 years. During this unprecedented pandemic, it’s critical to ensure the voices of activists and marginalized communities are heard to stand up to big oil and businesses perpetuating the plastic crisis. Town Hall: Global Pandemic Impacts on Local Oyster Industry & Fisheries, New Report Documents Retreat by PA and MD in Efforts to Control Stormwater Pollution in Chesapeake Bay. New Report Reveals Pennsylvania’s Backtracking on Commitments to Control Stormwater Pollution. Maryland’s most recent Bay cleanup plan (called its “Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan”) will allow about 1.5 million pounds (or 17 percent more) more nitrogen from stormwater runoff into the estuary from the state by the cleanup deadline, compared to the state’s 2012 plan, which used 2009 as a starting point. Runoff can then carry those pollutants into streams, which, in Lancaster County, flow into the Susquehanna River that empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Instead, they are incinerated or end up in landfills or the environment. August 17, 2020. The Environmental Integrity Project report reveals that Pennsylvania’s most recent bay cleanup plan would do far less than promised by the state back in 2012 to control stormwater pollution, only replacing 202 acres of parking lots and other “impervious surfaces” with rain-absorbing greenspaces by 2025 instead of the 2,300 acres proposed earlier by the state. January 16, 2020. A draft strategy for reducing an increased load of pollution from behind the dam is open for public comment until Dec. 21. Credit: Dave Harp / Bay Journal Media Oct 10, 2020. The upper portion of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in northern ... 3, 2020 @ 3:03 pm. Steve Droter/Chesapeake Bay Program hide caption Charts and a map showing the bacteria sampling results in 2020 and 2019 are below: Summer 2019 Bacteria Monitoring in Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project. He also asks Frosh to sue […] They were complaining about an agreement that the dam’s owners, the Exelon Corporation, recently signed with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s Administration. At City Island Beach Park, 4 of 20 tests (or 20 percent) had levels of E. coli bacteria above state standards for swimming or water contact recreation. The Lackawanna River Conservation Association will receive a $10,000 Leadership Grant to help fund a slate of year-long 2020 River of the Year activities. Harrisburg Water Monitoring Shows Unsafe Levels of Bacteria in 33% of Tests in Susquehanna River this Summer. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has directed Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) to sue Maryland’s neighbor in federal court. Take Action to Stop Chemical Conversion Plants in Virginia! About five miles south of Lancaster County’s southern border, the Conowingo Dam stretches across a portion of the lower Susquehanna River in Maryland, standing for more than 90 years as The chemical and plastics industries have branded this “Advanced Recycling”, but the truth is that this bill would give these polluting industries a … Read more, On Thursday, January 21, 2021, 7:00pm – 8:30pm Waterkeepers Chesapeake and Potomac Riverkeeper Network are co-hosting a virtual film screening and panel discussion on the new documentary, The Story of Plastic. Saturday, October 24, 2020 Phil Yacuboski, WBAL-TV 11 ... much of it from upstream in the Susquehanna River. Capital Region Water released 902 million gallons of stormwater mixed with sewage into the Bay’s biggest tributary in 2019, and 1.4 billion gallons in 2018. UPDATE Woman rescued from Susquehanna River by police, bystander, sheriff personnel. Plastic is the top litter found in our local waterways. Although Harrisburg Capital Region Water has claimed that the effluent from the city’s outfalls is unlikely to impact bacteria levels in the river, the Riverkeeper’s monitoring found that E coliconcentrations downstream from the city’s outfalls, as measured at the Route 83 bridge in Harrisburg, averaged almost three times higher than they were upstream from the city, at the Susquehanna Boat Ramp across from Front Street Diner. By Elizabeth Hardison Saying that Pennsylvania has repeatedly failed to uphold its commitments to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, Gov. “Pennsylvania needs to invest more in not only Harrisburg’s water quality, but in clean water for everyone downstream.”, Abel Russ, Senior Attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project and co-author of the report, said: “It is inexcusable that Maryland and Pennsylvania are backtracking on their commitments to control urban stormwater pollution at a time when climate change and increasing rainfall are having such a huge impact on the Chesapeake Bay. Pennsylvania’s 2019 Bay cleanup plan will allow almost 7 million pounds (or 87 percent) more nitrogen pollution – the Bay’s biggest killer – from urban and suburban stormwater runoff in the state by the cleanup deadline of 2025, compared to the state’s plan back in 2012, according to the report by the Environmental Integrity Project, “Stormwater Backup in the Chesapeake Region.”. Fisherman on the Susquehanna River. A study in 2019 found microplastic in the stomachs of 89 smallmouth bass sampled from the mainstem of the Susquehanna River. It supplies half the freshwater flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. The state’s 2019 plan would create 203,265 acres of stormwater control ponds, wetlands and other projects by 2025, instead of the 1.5 million acres of stormwater control promised by the state back in 2012, according to the Environmental Integrity Project report. Microplastics are loosely defined as plastic particles ranging from a microscopic 1 nanometer to 5 millimeters—about the length of a short grain of rice. But the Susquehanna River cuts through both states before pouring into the bay in Maryland. The Mighty Susquehanna Is Ailing. In 2020, it is still believed that rising water temperatures caused in part by climate change, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals like herbicides, cosmetics, detergents, and hormones from animal and human waste are stressing the smallmouths and weakening their immune systems. A 2017 study in the Potomac River around Washington, DC, found microplastics accumulating in underwater grasses. Slowly and steadily, water quality is improving in the Susquehanna River watershed, but there is still work to be done. These states must step up, start planning for the precipitation flooding we area already experiencing because of global warming, and invest in the kinds of stormwater control projects and greenspaces that will provide a range of benefits to both the Chesapeake Bay and urban communities.”. The Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper and Environmental Integrity Project are urging the state to require and help pay for more substantial pollution control projects in Harrisburg, including through grants from Pennsylvania, which owns many buildings and about 40 percent of the land in the state capital. “Because Harrisburg is not a wealthy city, and Pennsylvania owns large parts of the state capital, the state government has an additional obligation to pay for solving this water pollution problem in its own back yard,” said Evgeniadis. Then it travels to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. August 21, 2020. Mike Reuther ... Our Susquehanna River is by far the largest of those, providing roughly 50 percent of the total freshwater flow to the Bay. Stormwater Backup in the Chesapeake Region. The Susquehanna River, which originates in New York and runs through the heart of central Pennsylvania, provides 50 percent of the fresh water … The Susquehanna's large drainage basin, or watershed, means the pollution that flows into Pennsylvania rivers and streams ultimately finds its way to the Chesapeake Bay. You’ll receive a streaming link for the film 2 weeks before the panel discussion. We have a global plastic pollution crisis. Okay, we understand. Register for this event today and receive a login link! The state of Maryland is kicking off an exploration of the sediment impacted behind Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River and how that clay, silt … It supplies half the freshwater flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. In June 2020, the Chesapeake Bay Program launched a Plastic Pollution Action Team, which is working on establishing a full ecological risk assessment of microplastics in the Bay watershed. But unlike the consent decrees for other cities, the Harrisburg agreement – which is currently being renegotiated into a final form by DEP, EPA and Capital Region Water — does not require Harrisburg to ever stop piping human waste into the river, perform bacteria monitoring, or build underground tanks to hold overflow during storms. A ZOOM call for reporters will also be held at 1 pm that date via this link. That was a slightly lower percentage than last summer, but the beach remains closed because of high bacteria levels. E.coli levels in the river in June and July averaged more than 2.5 times higher than safe levels for swimming or water contact recreation. A water quality report issued by the Pennsylvania Department of … How does it get there? Pennsylvania is not on track in lowering nitrogen pollution, which comes from manure and fertilizers that flow off farms. In 2014, they were found in 59 of 60 water samples taken from the Patapsco, Magothy, Rhode and Corsica rivers. Plastic pollution is a problem both in the Susquehanna River and downstream in the Chesapeake Bay, explains Jodi Sulpizio, natural resources … The plans will outline measures counties can take to reduce pollution levels in the Susquehanna River by 2025, the deadline established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The Story of Plastic Panel Discussion with Potomac Riverkeeper Network, The Story of Plastic Panel Discussion with Waterkeepers, The Story of Plastic Film Screening & Virtual Discussion. But here’s something you may find interesting, and it has to do with the Susquehanna River in 2020. In North Central Maryland, near the base of the Conowingo hydroelectric dam on the Susquehanna River, a small group of protesters rallied on Friday. Mainstem of the Susquehanna River from pollution susquehanna river pollution 2020 it travels to the Bay. Percentage than last Summer, but the beach remains closed because of high Bacteria levels Chemical Conversion Plants Virginia. 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