When I lived in NYC I never gave any real thought to rain. It happened, I took an umbrella to work, and that was it. It wasn’t until I moved out to the country that I found out all complexities rain can bring to life – drainage ditches, runoff, water contamination, floods, you name it!

Jane in Easton PA focuses on this and other issues in her FERC submission.

Jane in Easton – FERC Generated PDF

Jane in Easton – FERC Generated PDF Alterate Site

I oppose the proposed Penn East pipeline specifically in the area of mile markers 71.5 to 72.5 due to first hand knowledge of runoff. In the area of mile marker 71.5 and the entire 400-foot area to be considered, the runoff has been so extensive as to cause a ditch along the road, which has to have stones added occasionally. Otherwise, there would be a very deep drop off immediately adjacent to the road. The removal of hundreds or thousands of trees just west of that area will most definitely add to this problem.

According to americanforests.org, a 5% increase in tree cover can offer a 2% decrease in runoff. It can only presumed that a 100% decrease in trees will drastically increase the runoff. Additionally, 1 tree is able to absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide and supply oxygen for 2 people, according to that same site. We need to keep every single tree that we possible can in order to absorb the pollution that we already have since the increase in pollution will be exacerbating the climate change.

It is then proposed to cross preserved farmland and through Fry’s Run, which is a High Quality Cold Water Fishery and Migratory Fishery. A Lancaster County farmer indicated in an article on Lancaster Online that his crops growth is stunted over the pipeline compared to an area 10 feet away from the right of way, and this is 24 years after that particular pipeline was installed. This preserved farmland will be subjected to that lose of productivity.