Courtesy of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (click here)
As a homeowner and avid fisherman on the Laurel Hill Creek this article disturbed me. I hope that the county/state is paying attention to these matters. Most, if not a majority, of the visitors to the area are outdoors people (hunting, skiing, fishing) and this is an issue we all take to heart.
Laurel Hill Creek a river at risk
Advocacy group lists it as endangered
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Laurel Hill Creek, a picturesque trout stream that tumbles its way through the Laurel Highlands in Somerset County and into the Youghiogheny River with much less water than it once had, has been named one of America's 10 most endangered rivers.
The designation, announced today by American Rivers, a nationwide river advocacy organization, said the popular fishing, swimming and kayaking creek is at risk due to excessive and growing water withdrawals by the township and borough of Somerset, two state prisons, two ski resorts and too few safeguards.
"We nominated Laurel Hill Creek for the American Rivers listing because more than 1 million gallons a day that should be flowing downstream is already being pulled out," said Krissy Kasserman, who heads the Youghiogheny Riverkeeper organization with the Mountain Watershed Association.
The resulting low summer flow levels in recent years have caused water temperatures to rise in the cold water fishery and forced the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to cancel some trout stockings in the stream, located about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh.
And the problem is exacerbated, Ms. Kasserman said, by a water bottler that has proposed withdrawing an additional 108,000 gallons a day from Shaffer Run, a major tributary of Laurel Hill Creek.
Drilling companies also want to tap into the creek water for use in deep gas well drilling operations into Marcellus shale. Each of those deep wells uses between 1 million and 4 million gallons of water to fracture the shales and release the natural gas.
That deep shale formation, underlying about three-quarters of the state 5,000 to 8,000 feet below the surface, contains about 363 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, enough to supply all of the nation's natural gas needs for 14 years. It's set off a frenzy of drilling activity, including one well within the Laurel Hill Creek watershed and three just outside the watershed.
Ms. Kasserman said all four of the well drilling companies wanted to draw water from Laurel Hill Creek. After challenges by local environmental groups and questions from state agencies, all four revised their applications and will now withdraw water from the Casselman River, a much larger flow in a nearby watershed.
A 2008 state Department of Environmental Protection water study identified Laurel Hill Creek as eligible for designation as a Critical Water Planning Area, but the state has yet to act on that recommendation or establish minimum flow criteria that could protect the creek's existing uses.
"Sucking too much water out of Laurel Hill Creek will destroy the very lifeblood that sustains local communities and the areas's popular recreation and tourism," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. "Without the right safeguards, one of the Youghiogheny River's key streams will suffer irreparable harm."
Helen Humphreys, a DEP spokeswoman, said the department has begun analysis of 32 watersheds in the state, including Laurel Hill Creek, to determine their proper designations and protections.
"We are glad to see American Rivers shares our concern for the Laurel Hill watershed," Ms. Humphreys said. "We are moving quickly on the analysis and expect it to be completed this fall."
Other rivers on the 10 most endangered list are the Sacramento-San Joaquin River System in California; the Flint River in Georgia; the Lower Snake River in Idaho, Washington and Oregon; Mattawoman Creek in Maryland; North Fork of the Flathead River in Montana; Saluda River in South Carolina; Beaver Creek in Alaska; Pascagoula River in Mississippi, and the Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
American Rivers releases a new "most endangered" list each year based on recommendations from river groups, environmental organizations, outdoor clubs, local governments and sportsmen's groups.
This year's list features rivers and creeks threatened by damming, mining, sewage pollution, oil storage facilities, highways and oil and gas development.
"Laurel Hill Creek is a Pennsylvania treasure," Ms. Kasserman said. "We have a responsibility to our communities and to future generations to protect this creek and to manage our water wisely."
Advocacy group lists it as endangered
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Laurel Hill Creek, a picturesque trout stream that tumbles its way through the Laurel Highlands in Somerset County and into the Youghiogheny River with much less water than it once had, has been named one of America's 10 most endangered rivers.
The designation, announced today by American Rivers, a nationwide river advocacy organization, said the popular fishing, swimming and kayaking creek is at risk due to excessive and growing water withdrawals by the township and borough of Somerset, two state prisons, two ski resorts and too few safeguards.
"We nominated Laurel Hill Creek for the American Rivers listing because more than 1 million gallons a day that should be flowing downstream is already being pulled out," said Krissy Kasserman, who heads the Youghiogheny Riverkeeper organization with the Mountain Watershed Association.
The resulting low summer flow levels in recent years have caused water temperatures to rise in the cold water fishery and forced the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to cancel some trout stockings in the stream, located about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh.
And the problem is exacerbated, Ms. Kasserman said, by a water bottler that has proposed withdrawing an additional 108,000 gallons a day from Shaffer Run, a major tributary of Laurel Hill Creek.
Drilling companies also want to tap into the creek water for use in deep gas well drilling operations into Marcellus shale. Each of those deep wells uses between 1 million and 4 million gallons of water to fracture the shales and release the natural gas.
That deep shale formation, underlying about three-quarters of the state 5,000 to 8,000 feet below the surface, contains about 363 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, enough to supply all of the nation's natural gas needs for 14 years. It's set off a frenzy of drilling activity, including one well within the Laurel Hill Creek watershed and three just outside the watershed.
Ms. Kasserman said all four of the well drilling companies wanted to draw water from Laurel Hill Creek. After challenges by local environmental groups and questions from state agencies, all four revised their applications and will now withdraw water from the Casselman River, a much larger flow in a nearby watershed.
A 2008 state Department of Environmental Protection water study identified Laurel Hill Creek as eligible for designation as a Critical Water Planning Area, but the state has yet to act on that recommendation or establish minimum flow criteria that could protect the creek's existing uses.
"Sucking too much water out of Laurel Hill Creek will destroy the very lifeblood that sustains local communities and the areas's popular recreation and tourism," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. "Without the right safeguards, one of the Youghiogheny River's key streams will suffer irreparable harm."
Helen Humphreys, a DEP spokeswoman, said the department has begun analysis of 32 watersheds in the state, including Laurel Hill Creek, to determine their proper designations and protections.
"We are glad to see American Rivers shares our concern for the Laurel Hill watershed," Ms. Humphreys said. "We are moving quickly on the analysis and expect it to be completed this fall."
Other rivers on the 10 most endangered list are the Sacramento-San Joaquin River System in California; the Flint River in Georgia; the Lower Snake River in Idaho, Washington and Oregon; Mattawoman Creek in Maryland; North Fork of the Flathead River in Montana; Saluda River in South Carolina; Beaver Creek in Alaska; Pascagoula River in Mississippi, and the Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
American Rivers releases a new "most endangered" list each year based on recommendations from river groups, environmental organizations, outdoor clubs, local governments and sportsmen's groups.
This year's list features rivers and creeks threatened by damming, mining, sewage pollution, oil storage facilities, highways and oil and gas development.
"Laurel Hill Creek is a Pennsylvania treasure," Ms. Kasserman said. "We have a responsibility to our communities and to future generations to protect this creek and to manage our water wisely."
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