Tell Pennsylvania Governor Wolf That You Want a Cleaner Susquehanna River! The Environmental Integrity Project has teamed up with the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper to pressure Pennsylvania to clean up the Susquehanna River. We aim for everyone to once again enjoy swimming, fishing, kayaking, and other recreation in this special waterway that is the largest source of both fresh water and pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Please consider signing our petition that calls on Governor Tom Wolf to make the restoration of the Susquehanna his legacy. Specifically, we ask the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to create a final sewage consent decree for the Harrisburg region that achieves the following goals:
- Elimination of the deliberate piping of raw human waste into the Susquehanna River;
- More substantial upgrades to Harrisburg’s antiquated and leaky combined sewage and stormwater system than have been proposed so far;
- A firm deadline for an end to the current practice of sewage dumping in the state capital; and
- Opportunities for members of the public to voice their concerns.
The Environmental Integrity Project created this petition after issuing a report in August, “Sewage Overflows in Pennsylvania’s Capital.” The report found that the Harrisburg area released 1.4 billion gallons of sewage and stormwater into the Susquehanna River last year, and that E coli bacteria levels in the waterway are more than 10 times higher than is safe for swimming or water contact recreation. Read our press release. Extensive news coverage of the report prompted Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to request a meeting with Governor Wolf and EPA to discuss his concerns about Pennsylvania’s lack of progress in cleaning up the river and the downstream Chesapeake Bay. We are working to keep the issue alive. EIP and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper recently met with Governor Wolf’s top staff to press for a stronger final sewage consent decree for Harrisburg Capital Region Water. Next, we intend to bring a petition with signatures to a meeting with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Your signatures on this petition will give us the ammunition we need to persuade the state agency to fix the sewage problem in Harrisburg and stop the dumping of human waste into the Susquehanna River. Please act now and share with your networks! |
