New PADEP Guide Regarding Water Supply Replacement and Mine Subsidence

New PADEP Guide Regarding Water Supply Replacement and Mine Subsidence - 



Under Act 54, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) recently published a new homeowner’s Guide titled: “Water Supply Replacement and Subsidence Damage Repair”. The Guide reviews the basics of Act 54 and water supply notification within a mining area, potential water supply and subsidence impacts, and PADEP’s role in resolving damages. A copy of the new guide can be downloaded at the following link:

http://www.bfenvironmental.com/education-wkshp.php
PA Guide to Water Supply Replacement Subsidence Damage Repair (Mining).

The document does not list the specific problems or specific water quality testing, but deals with issues related to water quality change, loss of capacity, and physical subsidence.   Our primary recommendations are as follows:

1. Obtain a copy of the PA Guide to Drinking Water Quality from the Keystone Clean Water Team.

2. Permit the agent or third party contractor to inspect your well and structure.  If you deny access, you may waive the assumed liability. 

3. You may want to have a separate Certified Water Quality Test and a Yield Test for Your Well.

4. At a minimum - For a mining Permit - Rock or Coal - we would recommend the following parameters:  pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, chloride, sulfate, alkalinity, acidity, iron, manganese, total hardness, total coliform, turbidity, color, surfactants, nitrate+nitrite, and odor.  (Additional testing may be needed based on site specific conditions and land-use- So seek the advice of an expert).

5. Maintain good records related to your well depth, pump setting, and original yield. 

6. Properly report your water usage planned usage.  The damages related to water quantity is a function of actual use and planned use and not an unlimited supply.  For example- If you well yielded 50 gpm and you only have a single family home, a decrease in the yield of the well to 10 gpm may not be considered a specific impact (unless it required expense to modify the system, lower the pump, or add storage.

7. The guidance document may not adequately address impacts to groundsource heating and cooling systems.  If these types of systems are used this information should be reported and documented.



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Oil and Gas Industry and Others - NEW OSHA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Announcement

SAFETY ALERT:
NEW OSHA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
TAKE EFFECT JANUARY 1 

On January 1, 2015, an updated Occupational Safety and Health Administration recordkeeping rule takes effect, expanding the list of severe injuries that employers must report to the agency. All employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, even those exempt from maintaining injury and illness records, are required to comply with OSHA's new severe injury and illness reporting requirements.

Under the revised rule, beginning January 1 all employers are required to notify OSHA of:

• All work-related fatalities within eight hours
• Work-related in-patient hospitalizations of one person within 24 hours
• Amputations or loss of an eye within 24 hours

Previously, OSHA required an employer to report only work-related fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees. Hospitalization of three or more employees due to a work-related injury was considered a catastrophe under the prior rule. Reporting of single hospitalizations, amputations or loss of an eye also was not required previously.

Such incidents can be reported by:

1. Calling the confidential number 800-321-6742.
2. Calling the closest OSHA area office during normal business hours.
3. Using a new online form that will soon be available at www.osha.gov/report_online.

The recordkeeping rule and a resource material are available at www.osha.gov/recordkeeping2014.  



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GeoCorps America program Putting Geoscientists to Work

EARTH: GeoCorps America - Putting Geoscientists to Work on Federal Lands (Press Release)

"Alexandria, Va. - The GeoCorps America program has been putting geoscientists to work on federal lands since 1997. From its inception as an undergraduate summer internship program through the U.S. National Park Service's Geoscientists-in-the-Parks program with just two positions, GeoCorps has now grown to encompass projects in more than 60 national parks, 15 national forests and 15 BLM lands. Today, with more than 1,500 applicants vying for about 150 positions annually, the program is larger than ever and still growing, and this year, it put its thousandth participant in a park.

"I'd definitely recommend GeoCorps America to people," Erica Clites, a former GeoCorps participant, told EARTH in our January feature "GeoCorps America:

Putting geoscientists to work on federal lands." "The positions are really well thought out. You get real work experience."

And that's exactly the point: The program doesn't just involve trail maintenance or cleaning out public latrines. It's real geoscience experience, everything from creating GIS maps and databases to protecting paleontological resources to researching the effects of climate change on a given region.

Read more about how young geoscientists are changing our parks and getting real-world experience in the January issue of EARTH magazine:

http://bit.ly/1Dp0PZo.

For more stories about the science of our planet, check out EARTH magazine online or subscribe at www.earthmagazine.org. The January issue, now available on the digital newsstand, features stories on the "100-year flood" fallacy, how groundwater chemistry changed prior to several earthquakes in Iceland, and new thoughts on how many dinosaurs were feathered, plus much, much more."

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The Rural Business, Small Business, professionals and non-profit organizations.  It is the hope of B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc. that the training courses will provide the rural business a cost effective means of developing education, training, and technology transfer without the cost of travelling. The evolution to senior management requires both a broad range of skills, including marketing, financial management and leadership, as well as great expertise within each area. The leader who has excelled while dealing with projects and design issues must now learn to deal with people issues and leadership challenges.   In addition to specific training programs on small business, business, and non-profit management, there are self-help training programs. 

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Radon in Pennsylvania Homes -DEP Finds Record-High Radon Level in Lehigh County Home

DEP Finds Record-High Radon Level in Lehigh County Home 

Press Release - 

12/2014

"HARRISBURG -- The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has identified a home in the Center Valley area of Lehigh County with the highest home radon level ever measured in Pennsylvania. DEP encourages all area residents to have their homes tested for radon. This is especially important now that homes are winterized, limiting the amount of fresh air that will be entering those structures.

The concentration measured was 3,715 picocuries per liter (pCi/L).  Additionally, several other homes in the area have had measured concentrations over 1,000 pCi/L. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that that any dwelling or structure with a radon concentration of more than 4 pCi/L be remediated to lower the radon concentration. In this circumstance, DEP recommended the occupants vacate the home until the measured radon concentration is verified and remediated to a level less than 4 pCi/L.

“Radon can be a serious health risk to people when they are exposed to high levels of it over a long period of time,” DEP Acting Secretary Dana Aunkst said.  “While recent results in this area are among the highest ever measured, it’s important to know that the risk is easily remediated.” 

Area residents are encouraged to attend an informational meeting that will be held from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Upper Saucon Township Municipal Building, 5500 Camp Meeting Rd., Center Valley. This meeting will provide an opportunity for residents to speak with radon professionals from DEP and EPA to learn more about this risk and how to mitigate it. Residents will receive lists of area companies that are currently certified by DEP to perform radon testing, mitigation and laboratory analysis. Residents will also be able to view a sample mitigation system.

Elevated radon levels in homes in this area were initially observed in September. In response, DEP sent letters to more than 500 Center Valley area residents and included a coupon for a free test kit to encourage the residents to test their homes. The residents of the home with this highest measured radon concentration responded to that letter by testing their home. In addition, DEP is working with several other residents to conduct follow-up testing, as well as taking soil and rock samples in the area that will undergo additional testing.

Pennsylvania law prohibits DEP from publicly disclosing the address of private residential test results.

DEP has also contacted the local school district to ensure that radon testing has or will occur in area schools.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that occurs naturally through the breakdown of uranium in soil and rocks. It can enter a home through cracks in the foundation or other openings. According to EPA, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in

Pennsylvania and causes about 20,000 lung-cancer deaths in the U.S. every year.

Testing for radon is the only way to know if a home, school, workplace or other structure has elevated concentrations of radon. Most test kits can be purchased at hardware or home improvement stores at an average cost of $15 to $25 per test.  The cost of a mitigation system typically ranges around $1000.

While elevated radon concentrations in homes may be more common in certain regions of the state, the potential exists for any home in
Pennsylvania to have high radon levels. Elevated radon levels have been detected in all 67 counties. About 40 percent of homes in the state have the potential for radon levels above EPA’s action level.

For more information about radon, including information on interpreting test results and finding a Pennsylvania-certified radon contractor, visit www.dep.state.pa.us, keyword: Radon, or call 800-23-RADON."

Comment
1. For the past 20+ years, we and PA has been recommending indoor Radon testing.
2. You should have your air and water tested and radon testing in water should be part of a baseline assessment.
3. Looking for more information - Visit The Water Research Center - http://www.water-research.net/index.php/radon

Press Release from American Geosciences Institute - Methane Seeps Hundreds off Coast of USA

Contact: Megan Sever (msever@earthmagazine.org)

For Immediate Release

"EARTH: Hundreds of Methane Seeps Discovered Along the U.S. East Coast

Alexandria, Va. - Methane is often found naturally leaking from the seafloor, particularly in petroleum basins like the Gulf of Mexico or along tectonically active continental margins like the U.S. West Coast, but such plumes were not expected along passive margins, like the East Coast of North America. Now, however, the discovery of hundreds of methane seeps on the seafloor along the U.S. East Coast suggests that such reservoirs may be more common along passive margins than previously thought. The release of such methane globally may have a significant influence on climate, scientists say.

Read more about the new technologies that allowed researchers to find these seeps and what they may mean for water temperatures and climate in the December issue of EARTH magazine: http://bit.ly/1xpkfJV.

For more stories about the science of our planet, check out EARTH magazine online or subscribe at www.earthmagazine.org. The December issue, now available on the digital newsstand, features stories about what's happening to all the plastic trash in the oceans, why ammonites died out but nautilids survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, and a retrospective on the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami a decade after it killed more than 230,000 people, plus much, much more.

Be sure not to miss our holiday gift guide!

                                     ###

Keep up to date with the latest happenings in Earth, energy and environment news with EARTH magazine online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, EARTH is your source for the science behind the headlines.

###

The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 50 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment." 

Announcement 

New Courses Hydraulic Fracturing, Natural Gas Development, Shale Gas and Environmental Concerns

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Copy of press release we received - added two links so the reader had the background information.