Letters to the Editor - Blogswarm!!!

Seems quite a few folks have been writing to their state (PA) representatives about HB 2304. That's good. Many of them have responded. That's good, too.

Next, we need a flood of "letters to the editor" to local newspapers throughout the commonwealth of PA. Let's put our legislators in a position where they have to respond in a more public setting. Trust me, the squirm factor will increase tenfold, and this legislation will be exposed for what it really is...yet another violation of public trust as - one by one - our "leaders" succumb to the vice$ of BIG OIL.

For the record, here's the response I received to my initial inquiry:

Dear Mr. Williams:

This bill would require any proposed regulations adopted by the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to be approved by a majority vote of the General Assembly before becoming effective.

There are numerous examples of the EQB enacting significant regulations which I believe are policy decisions that should be decided by the General Assembly.

Sincerely,

Representative Robert W Godshall
PA House of Representatives
53rd Legislative District 

And my reply:

Dear Mr. Godshall:

Thank you for your timely response.

For some reason, the DEP's role in this was not mentioned, even though it is prominently referenced in the proposed legislation. If the DEP & EQB are not qualified to make high-level environmental policy decisions in Pennsylvania, their members should be replaced. Additionally, I would like to know how and why the 2010 General Assembly would be a better alternative?

I believe this bill is, in whole or in part, directly related to the exploitation of the Marcellus Shale formation currently underway in our northern and western counties. In my view, this proposed bill does not benefit or protect the citizens of our commonwealth or its natural resources in any way, which should be the driving force behind any new legislation.

As a constituent, I am respectfully requesting that you drop your support of this bill.

Regards,

Don Williams

 
'Nuff said. Weekend Weminiscing will return tomorrow morning.

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PA HB 2304 - Gutting our current environmental laws??

I thank one of my sources for bringing this new piece of legislation to my attention.

Read it here.

Needless to say, at 2:57 in the morning I am not at my sharpest. However, I cannot see how this legislation serves any purpose but to significantly delay or prevent new laws protecting our environment from being enacted and, if I'm reading and understanding its intent correctly, possibly gutting some of our keystone environmental laws.

I don't need to be on top of my game to guess who ( or WHAT ) is behind this legislation. Is this what our tax dollars are paying for, or are we being outbid by the lobbyists from BIG OIL?

The phone lines are gonna be burning up today.

Imagine...

It seems that PA Senator Mary Jo White has revealed her true colors once again. Instead of fully supporting and - perish the thought - strengthening the new/proposed TDS standards to protect our commonwealth's waters, she has just the opposite in mind. 

Fom her letter:

"However, after reviewing many of the comments submitted, including from affected permit holders and potential applicants, I do have serious concerns regarding the specific standards established for total dissolved solids, chlorides and sulfates by the Department."

Translation: My friends and contributors from BIG OIL are more important than our citizens. I mean, why do they think they deserve to have their waters protected?

Anyway, you can read the entire letter here. Draw your own conclusions.

Here's a snippet about the letter from an e-mail I received last night: 

"This last week Senator Mary Jo White, powerful chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, addressed a letter to John Hanger, Secretary of DEP and chair of the Environmental Quality Board. Senator White’s district is in the heartland of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry. In her letter, she advocates for the industry's position on the proposed new rules on TDS’s. I suspect this letter is cover for the EQB to roll back the proposed TDS regulations as hinted by DEP Water Secretary John Hines at Lycoming College.

Total dissolved solids (TDS) are primarily a brine of concentrated complex salts from mine drainage, manufacturing processes, and gas industry waste water. Current practice is to treat elements of gas waste water and discharge it into rivers still laden with TDS. The proposed new rules, which would greatly reduce TDS discharges, are already having an effect on the industry as they move to recycle their waste water and seeks advanced methods of treating it.

Coming after a long public comment process, Senator White's letter appears to be a delaying tactic and desires giving special access to industry interest. Nor is it exactly factual. Compare what she says with the scientific justification for the new rules DEP put out last summer under Secretary Hanger’s name."

As stated in a previous post, I believe Senator White is no friend of Pennsylvania's environment.  I guess I should change my graphic to include a heelprint?

"Imagine what you could accomplish if you knew you would not fail." - Anon.