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You have spoken! Will the DRBC and PennDOT listen?

| 23 Mar 2022 | 01:45
    Skinners Falls Bridge over the Delaware (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation: penndot.pa.gov)
    Skinners Falls Bridge over the Delaware (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation: penndot.pa.gov)

To the Editor:

Many people have submitted comments to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) regarding the importance of keeping toxic frack waste out of the Delaware River Basin.

Many have also submitted comments to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) in favor of the restoration of the landmark Skinners Falls Bridge.

Thanks to all who commented! Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS) will continue to follow these comment processes to make sure that your voices are heard and your comments taken into consideration. We look forward to a totally frack free basin and a restored Skinners Falls Bridge.

What’s next?

The DRBC received 2,388 comment submissions through their on-line system and also comments from 73 speakers over five public hearings. Note that each submission can include multiple comments. Thanks, your comments make all the difference! We expect to get a full ban: no drilling (done!), no waste import and no water export for fracking.

DRBC staff is in the process of reviewing the comments and will develop a comment response document, which may lead to changes in the draft rules on fracking. This process could go through more than one cycle.

DCS will continue to monitor this process. We will also work to apply political pressure on the four basin-state governors and the feds, to achieve a full ban on fracking in the basin.

On the Skinners Falls Bridge project, PennDOT will now go through a response process, similar to what the DRBC is doing.

DCS believes that PennDOT’s original comment process, using an online survey only, was flawed and resulted in a flawed Purpose and Need document. We will be taking legal action to force PennDOT to respond to all comments and to provide support for their conclusions. We are making Right to Know requests so we can monitor PennDOT’s process.

As a point of reference, the historic Washington Crossing Bridge, built in 1904, was restored in 1994 by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and is still in active use today. This bridge crosses the Delaware River, connecting New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A pedestrian walkway was added to the bridge in 1926.

The landmarked Skinners Falls Bridge can and should be restored.

Damascus Citizens for Sustainability

Narrowsburg, N.Y.

Milanville, Pa.