Monday, September 13, 2010

Department Of Environmental Protection Unlawfully permitting Water Withdrawal

July 26, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Department of Environmental Protection Unlawfully Permitting Water
Withdrawals For Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling in Western Pennsylvania
Only riparian owners can make use of water in streams and rivers

Natural gas companies have descended on Pennsylvania's forests and
farmlands to drill into the Marcellus Shale. Each Marcellus Shale gas
well requires millions of gallons of water for the drilling process.
That water is taken from Pennsylvania's streams and rivers under the
alleged authority of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP). The DEP, however, does not have the authority to
permit water withdrawals in Pennsylvania.

In central and eastern Pennsylvania, water withdrawals are managed by
the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and Delaware River Basin
Commission.
Congress created the two commissions as federal-interstate compacts with
the authority to permit water withdrawals within their respective
basins.