#WVGIVESGREEN DAY
** TOMORROW IS THE DAY ~ JUNE 14 **
This is YOUR watershed! Greenbrier River Watershed has lots of ongoing projects and is excited to be a participant in the FIRST-EVER #WVGivesGreen Day.
Have you heard about #WVGivesGreen Day? It’s a collaborative effort of 11 conservation and environmental organizations across the state to raise awareness – and some funds – about the work we do to protect wildlife and fish, and the land and water they inhabit. We’re working with a diversity of conservation and environmental groups to raise funds and raise awareness about the important work happening across the state.
From statewide organizations to small, local watershed associations, we’re working together for a cleaner, healthier West Virginia.
Check out all the participating organizations HERE & look for the Greenbrier River Watershed Association and make your donation on June 14th! As always, you can donate any time HERE.
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Watershed project earns
Eagle Scout rank for local youth
Lewisburg resident Graham Clemons, member of Boy Scout Troop 70, was recently awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. His Eagle Scout project was the design, build, and installation of an informational kiosk and bench at the Anthony Creek trailhead, which provides access to the Big Draft Wilderness on Monongahela National Forest. In the top photo Matt Edwards of the Marlinton-White Sulphur Ranger District presents Graham with a certificate of appreciation for his work on the national forest.
The project included several trips to the site to take measurements and conduct site preparation, meetings with Forest Service staff to discuss project needs, procuring supplies and materials to build the kiosk, and leading his fellow scouts to install the new structure. The new kiosk provides visitors with general information about wilderness as well as a map of the area.
Congratulations, Graham!
Photos courtesy of La Donna Lokant and Jeanne Clemons.
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This May 15 aerial photo, provided by Coal River Mountain Watch, shows a Marfork Coal Company coal stockpile spill blackening the waterway, per the organization. |
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EPA and conservationists urge DEP to update its water quality assessment method
Water quality standards have long been compromised in the state of West Virginia, and the problem might be worse than state regulators indicate.
Feds say the state's DEP proposed list of impaired waters statewide could be missing streams undetected as overly polluted because of regulators' flawed assessment methodology. The Feds must approve the list under The Clean Water Act.
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Lewisburg water grant
Today, the WV Water Development Authority approved a $7.5 million grant for the City of Lewisburg! This allows the city to expand their water treatment plant and serve new/additional customers in the future. Without it, new businesses and residences would not be possible.
This vital project has been a long time in the works.
Many thanks to Mayor Beverly White, Manager Misty Hill, WDA Director Marie Prezioso, & Governor Justice for their good work.
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A Mountain Valley Pipeline path seen on Brush Mountain in Montgomery County.
The Roanoke Times, File February
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Mountain Valley Pipeline seeks new appellate court panel to hear legal challenges
Unhappy with the way it has been treated by a three-judge panel of an appellate court, Mountain Valley Pipeline is asking for a new slate of judges to hear the next round of its long-running legal battle with environmentalists.
In an unusual move, the company building a natural gas pipeline through Southwest Virginia filed a motion last month requesting the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to assign a new panel at random.
Mountain Valley is hoping for better luck than it had with a panel that presided over 12 earlier challenges of government approvals for it and the now-defunct Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Those three judges, it says, vacated or stayed all but two of the permits, effectively killing Atlantic Coast and threatening to do the same for Mountain Valley.
“The perception created by this Court’s deliberate formation of a special ‘pipeline panel’ – actually a ‘Mountain Valley panel’ – threatens public confidence in the Court’s legitimacy,” the motion reads.
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The park will re-seed the half-acre pad where the well currently stands. (Photo courtesy National Park Service) |
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Park service to plug and clean orphaned well near Gauley River
The National Park Service has received approximately $9.8 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to plug, remediate, and reclaim abandoned oil and gas well sites in national parks, including the Gauley River National Recreation Area.
Overall, bureaus within the U.S. departments of the interior and agriculture will address 277 high-priority wells that pose threats to human health and safety, the climate, wildlife, and natural resources, according to park service director Chuck Sams.
“Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enables us to tackle legacy pollution issues caused by past extraction activities in national parks,” Sams said.
“Closing and reclaiming abandoned oil and gas wells will alleviate these environmental hazards that jeopardize health and safety by contaminating groundwater, emitting noxious gases, and littering the landscape.”
In the Gauley River National Recreation Area, an orphaned well will be plugged with cement, capped, and the associated equipment will be taken away, according to Dave Bieri, District Supervisor of Interpretation for the park service in southern West Virginia.
Three feet of protruding pipe will be left standing at the site, and the access road will be reseeded with native grasses by spring 2023. This natural gas well, one of about 20 in the park, dates from the 1950s and has been inactive for around 20 years.
Some wells in the park remain active with mineral rights in private ownership while surface land is under federal ownership, Bieri said.
The National Park Service estimates that between 150 and 180 wells in parks throughout the country are abandoned or orphaned and will need to be plugged and reclaimed. The allocation is part of $250 million provided by the law to clean up orphaned wells and well sites on federal public lands, including national parks, national wildlife refuges, and national forests.
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Red Nose River Run Float for The ALS Association a Huge Success
We are incredibly happy to report that this fundraising float for fun on the beautiful Greenbrier River, that was held in honor of Chally Erb, Gary Arbaugh and all those living with ALS and also their caregivers surpassed thier goal of $10,000 and raised $13,400! All proceeds from this event benefit The ALS Association to provide patient services, programs, and fund research!
For more information, or to donate, please visit HERE
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June 26, 2022
12:00 - 5:00 PM
Summersville Lake
Join us and celebrate clean water as we mark the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act! We have an afternoon of activities for the whole family planned like kids activities with the WV Department of Environmental Protection, paddle board demonstrations with Active Southern West Virginia, a presentation on the snakes of West Virginia with Roy Moose, and a toast to clean water with birthday cake!
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Candy Darter & Hellbender Snorkeling Tour on the Greenbrier River
July 16, 2022
1:00 -3:00 PM
Monongahela National Forest - Greenbrier Ranger District Office,
7409 Staunton Parkersburg Turnpike, Bartow, WV 24920
𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗣 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥(𝗦): Chad Landress, USFS Forest Fisheries Biologist
𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗣 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 (𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲): Medium difficulty. NOTE: snorkeling and swimming is optional. Snorkeling gear and wet suits provided by USFS (but feel free to bring your own gear). Meet at 1PM at USFS office. Get geared up there and drive a few miles to the East Fork Greenbrier River to snorkel and view wildlife in the river. Prepare to get wet (river shoes, swimsuit, towel, change of clothes) and bring a snack and water. Kids are welcome if accompanied by an adult.
Thank you to the Mon National Forest for their support of our outings program.
NOTE: there are no guarantees that we will see candy darters or hellbenders…but this will be their habitat and we do hope to see them!
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Public Comment needed:
FERC Proposes Revisions to Filing and Reporting Requirements for Interstate Natural Gas Company Rate Schedules and Tariffs
May 19, 2022
Docket No. RM21-18-000
Item G-1
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) seeking comment on potential changes to how Natural Gas Act (NGA) section 4 rate case filings submitted by interstate natural gas pipelines are filed. An NGA section 4 rate case filing is submitted by a pipeline when it seeks the Commission's approval to change its rates. The proposed rule seeks to make such filings more accessible, comprehensive and consistent.
FERC’s NOPR would ensure that all parties in a general NGA section 4 rate case have immediate access to all information needed by FERC staff and the public to conduct rate reviews and analyses of pipelines’ rate case filings.
The NOPR would revise and update the Commission’s policies and would require natural gas pipelines to submit all supporting statements, schedules and workpapers in a “native format,” (e.g. Excel) with all links and formulas intact. Currently, pipelines filing NGA section 4 rate cases are required to submit spreadsheets in native format for Statements I, J, and a portion of H, including intact formulas; for other statements, schedules and workpapers, native format is preferred but not required.
Comments on the NOPR are due within 30 days after the NOPR’s date of publication in The Federal Register. All comments should cite Docket No. RM21-18-000 and may be submitted either electronically, using the eFiling link on FERC’s website at www.ferc.gov, or via U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to FERC, Office of the Secretary, 888 First Street, NE; Washington, DC 20426. Submission of filings other than by USPS should be delivered to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
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WVDEP requesting public comment on statewide water quality report
CHARLESTON, WV – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) has developed the Draft 2018/2020/2022 West Virginia Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, which includes a 303(d) list of impaired stream and lake assessment units, and is requesting input from the public. An impaired water is a water body that fails to meet state water quality standards and cannot support one or more of its designated uses, such as public drinking water supply, aquatic life propagation and maintenance, or contact recreation.
The report fulfills requirements of sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the federal Clean Water Act to provide a list of impaired waters and an overall assessment of West Virginia's waters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The term "waters" refers to lakes, wetlands, and streams.
To allow public participation in the 303(d) listing process, public comments are being accepted until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1.
Attn: Mindy S. Neil
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Water and Waste Management
601 57th Street, S.E.
Charleston, WV 25304
WVU is Researching Roadside Springs and They Need Your Help
Do you, or someone you know, use a roadside spring for water? A roadside spring is a spring commonly along a road that is used by the public for filling water containers. Dr. Dorothy Vesper, a professor of geology at West Virginia University, is hoping to learn more about roadside springs in West Virginia. To jumpstart this project, she is asking folks to share their knowledge of spring locations around the state. If you know of a spring and would like to share that information, please fill out this form.
The form offers the option to enter your contact information, or remain anonymous. Ultimately, Dr. Vesper hopes to determine the water quality of roadside springs around the state, and share that information with the public. If you know the location of a spring, we encourage you to fill out the form. If not, we encourage you to send this along to friends or family who may be able to help. Thanks for contributing to this important project!
FERC Monthly Virtual Open Meeting
June 16, 2022 @ 10:00 AM
Virtual Open Meeting
Commission meeting held in Commission Meeting Room (Room 2C) at FERC Headquarters, 888 First St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426
A free live webcast is available for this meeting from 10:00 am - 11:00 am. All webcasts are archived for 3 months. Full info HERE
Volunteer
Make your time count by volunteering with your favorite non-profit to do any number of things from helping with river cleanups, to monitoring rivers and creeks, to making phone calls or licking envelopes. You make a difference.
Follow these pages
WV Rivers ~ WV Rivers is the statewide voice for water-based recreation and clean, drinkable, swim-able, and fishable rivers and streams-from the headwaters to wherever water flows in West Virginia.
WV Environmental Council ~ Facilitate communication and cooperation among citizens in promoting environmental protection in West Virginia, to assist in organizing grass roots groups, to facilitate interaction among established environmental organizations, and to correspond with all appropriate local, state, and federal agencies involved in the management of West Virginia's environment.
Wild Virginia ~ Along with our partners, alliances, and citizens like you, we press on in the fight against fracked gas pipelines in our region. The Mountain Valley Pipeline poses a great risk to our forests and surrounding communities. We are also working to improve habitat connectivity for wildlife throughout Virginia and to ensure that all of our waterways are fully protected in accordance with the law.
Stop the Money Pipeline ~ If we can stop the flow of money, we can stop the flow of oil. In early 2020, thirty-two organizations came together to form the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition. We stand on the shoulders of years of movement work pressuring financial institutions to act on climate.
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FIND AREA RIVER GAUGES AND FLOW CHARTS @
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If you appreciate the work we are doing, please consider a donation today. |
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WV Flood Tool
LINK TO STATEWIDE STREAM GAUGES
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