The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), PPL Corporation and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) this week joined in partnership with the Furnace Run/Segloch Run Watershed Alliance to clean up the Furnace Run/Segloch Run confluence area.

The various partners highlighted the importance of community involvement in streamside cleanups. Four watershed and non-profit organizations, including the Watershed Alliance, recently received funding from PPL Corporation to conduct streamside cleanups through SRBC's Streamside Cleanup Training Academy and Assistance Program. Watershed Alliance volunteers also planted trees and shrubs donated by CBF for the alliance's stream reclamation efforts.

Paul Swartz, SBRC executive director said, "The Susquehanna River Basin is comprised of more than 32,000 miles of streams. Illegal dumping sites and poor floodplain management are primary sources and causes of litter in our streams. The Commission is pleased to support the many dedicated volunteers from grassroots organizations like the Furnace Run/Segloch Run Watershed Alliance who are really making a difference as they cleanup their streams."

SRBC and PPL first partnered in 1999 to start the streamside cleanup assistance program, to inform and educate the people who live upstream about how their litter impacts communities downstream, particularly during high-flow events. Since 1999, PPL has contributed $40,000 to the cleanup program. In the most recent round of funding from PPL, the following groups received mini-grants for their cleanups:

· Furnace Run/Segloch Run Watershed Alliance, Lancaster County

· Codorus Creek Improvement Partnership, York County

· Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Luzerne County

· Mahoning Creek Watershed Association, Montour County

"We encourage a corporate culture of environmental responsibility through our PPL Project Earth program," said Bob Barkanic, PPL's Manager of Environmental Management. "Our support for these streamside cleanup projects delivers a strong message that we care about the environment."

"Streamside cleanups are environmental, educational and community events," said John Levitski, PPL's Community Relations Director for the Lancaster Region. "These cleanups benefit the environment, educate the public about the dangers of littering and bring people together to work on a worthwhile project."

"When the land adjacent to a stream is restored into a forested buffer and maintained in this natural state, it reduces pollution, helps control floods, reduces stream bank erosion, improves fish habitat, and provides food and cover for wildlife," said CBF's Pennsylvania Executive Director, Matt Ehrhart. "CBF provides trees and shrubs to local watershed groups for buffer plantings in an effort to increase the capacity of local communities to restore and protect their nearby streams and rivers."

"The watershed group takes pride that this work not only removes trash, but discourages future dumping," said David Wise, President of Furnace Run/Segloch Run Watershed Alliance. "The buffer plantings also help keep sediment out of Segloch Run, one of just two 'exceptional value' waterways in Lancaster County."

11/12/2004