A coalition of regional, state and local groups Tuesday called on Gov. Corbett to reverse a new policy that would delay warning homeowners of water pollution from oil and gas development.

Until now, regional Department of Environmental Protection offices had issued warnings, or “notices of contamination,”directly to the public based on the analysis of water samples by DEP geologists and water quality specialists.

Under the new policy, the public is not warned until after senior Department of Environmental Protection management in Harrisburg is notified.

“When water supplies are polluted, the public should be warned immediately so affected residents can take steps to protect themselves. They should not have to wait until after the news has passed through several layers of bureaucracy and political interference,” said Deborah Goldberg, managing attorney at the environmental law organization Earthjustice.

The coalition demanded the policy be reversed, in a letter sent via Federal Express Monday by Earthjustice on behalf of 13 groups: Berks Gas Truth, Clean Water Action, Damascus Citizens For Sustainability, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition of Luzerne County, PA, Lehigh Valley Gas Truth, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, Marcellus Outreach Butler, Mountain Watershed Association, PA Forest Coalition, Protecting Our Waters, Sierra Club - Pennsylvania Chapter, and Three Rivers Waterkeeper.

The Associated Press reported a DEP spokesperson as saying homeowners whose water may have been affected by drilling still get test results immediately.

"We provide homeowners with sample results as we get them and are in continuous communication throughout our investigations. We respond to every complaint we receive and, when warranted, conduct a full investigation," DEP spokesman Kevin Sunday said in an email.

Sunday said it makes sense for senior management to be involved with the separate issue of sending determination letters.

"We stand firmly behind our decision to apprise senior management of what these determination letters contain," he wrote in the email. "It is unreasonable to assert that DEP management should not be aware of these matters, and it would be bad management for them not to be."

“This change in procedure is unnecessary and, more than that, it’s a dangerous policy,” said Karen Feridun, Founder of Berks Gas Truth.  “Requiring approval from Harrisburg will needlessly delay providing Pennsylvanians with vital information about the safety of their water.  Considering that the chemicals used in fracking have been linked to nausea, lung irritation, skin rashes, vomiting, dizziness, and even cancer, citizens should not be forced to wait an additional minute while political decisions are made to notify the public about possible exposure to these chemicals.”

The new policy was announced in an internal departmental memorandum, without public notice or an opportunity to comment. 

“With this secretive change in policy, DEP has violated fundamental democratic values of transparency and public participation,” said Thomas Au, conservation chair of the Sierra Club - Pennsylvania chapter.  “Changing processes that have serious health implications, without public input goes directly against DEP’s stated mission to ‘work as partners with individuals…… to prevent pollution and restore our natural resources.’”

“The DEP geologists and water quality specialists who are uniquely qualified to make water contamination decisions cannot help but be chilled by the knowledge that their superiors will be second-guessing their scientific determinations,” said Maya van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.  “The message is clear that the fewer notifications sent to DEP headquarters, the better.  And with fewer notifications comes the likelihood that incidents affecting water quality may not be addressed.”

More than one million people still get their water from private sources and many public water supplies draw from rivers and streams in the Marcellus Shale region.

“Pennsylvania is being held up nationwide as a poster child for gas development gone wrong. And this new policy certainly won’t do anything to change its reputation,” said Steve Hvozdovich, Marcellus Shale Policy Associate for Clean Water Action. “It’s high time that state leaders stop granting favors to the oil and gas industry at the expense of public health.”

A copy of the letter is available online.

            NewsClips: 14 Enviro Groups Ask PA To Change Drill Water Policy

                                Groups Press DEP To Rescind Policy On Reporting Contamination

                                Groups Ask Corbett To Kill Policy On Reporting Pollution

10/29/2012