—Lancaster Farming. Saturday, February 10, 1973
20
140 Attend Soil
A pair of Franklin and Mar
shall College students urged the
Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Resources to take
more vigorous action to prevent
soil erosion, which last year
dumped a million tons of precious
topsoil into the Conestoga River
alone.
From a study of siltation in the
Conestoga watershed last year,
F& M students R. Craig Kochel
and Robert A. Dorsey, concluded
that the county can expect to lose
approximately BVi> inches of
topsoil every 1,000 years.
Their testimony was a
highlight of a 2%-hour public
hearing conducted by the state
Environmental Quality Board in
Hensel Hall to determine water
quality standards for streams in
Lancaster and portions of Berks,
Chester, Lebanon and Dauphin
counties.
Terming soil erosion a “grave
situation,” Kochel said the soil
runoff, not including losses
created by Tropical Storm Agnes
last June, ran to a staggering
730,000 tons in 1972.
While siltation standards are
not proposed in the state’s
criteria, Kochel said sediment
directly affects the quality of
streams and urged DER for
stricter enforcement of soil
erosion laws
His remarks were echoed by
spokesmen for conservation and
sportsmen’s groups - notably by
the Pennsylvania Fish Com
mission, the Lancaster County
Conservation District, Federated
Sportsmen of Lancaster County
and the Lancaster League of
Women Voters
Dr Maurice Goddard, DER
secretary and chairman of the
hearing attended by 140 persons,
noted that the new erosion control
law, which goes into force July 1,
will help alleviate the stream
sediment situation
But he said his department is
not currently equipped with
either the money or manpower to
EE ME TODAY!
P. L ROHRER & 6R0., (NO.
SMOKETOWN
immediately enforce all
provisions of the new law.
Goddard said the major focus
will be concentrated on ear
thmoving activities. Farmers
will have until 1977 to implement
a conservation plan for their
farms to stop soil erosion.
Kochel also told the hearing
that sewer construction teams
along the banks of the Conestoga
were creating excessive siltation
of the river by stripping virtually
all vegetation from its banks.
Little restoration work is being
done, he said.
Much of Wednesday night’s
testimony called for inclusion of
various watershed areas to be
designated as conservation
zones.
Airport issued earlier Wed
nesday recommended only the
Hammer Creek watershed from
Speedwell Forge Lake to its
source in Lebanon County be
labeled a conservation area.
David W. Daniels, a biologist
for the Pennsylvania Fish
Commission, requested that
Creek Basin and the Fishing
Creek basins be added to the
conservation zone classi
fications
It is probable that waste
discharge facilities already
existing in the conservation areas
will have to be upgraded to
satisfy the rigid standards, and
that no new waste discharge
sources will be permitted
Hugh Hetzer of the Chester
Water Authontz, also requested
that water quality standards for
the east and west branches of the
Octoraro Creek be equalized, and
the west branch from Puseyville
to Black Rock become a con
servation area.
He also sought to have boating
and fishing banned from the
Octoraro Reservoir, not because
the authority doesn’t filter
drinking water drawn from it, but
because of expense and super
vision.
Mrs John Beihele of the
Phone Lane. 397-3539
Meeting
League of Women Voters, said
she was disappointed the Fishing
Creek area was not designated a
conservation area.
Robert K. Mowrer, of the
Federated Sportsmen, sought to
include 11 other basins as con
servation designations, including
the west branch of the Octoraro
and Fishing Creek. The others
are Reynolds Run, McCreary
Run, Tucquan Creek, Trout Run,
Middle Creek, Segloch Run, Rock
Run, Donegal Creek tributaries
and Shearers Creek.
HIT PRESENTATION
The main criticism of the DER
standards was its presentation,
which many persons said was too
technical for the average citizen
to understand.
Only one person asked for a
lowering of standards. That was
C E. Taylor, manager of the ore
division of Bethlehem Mines
Corp.
He sought to have the amount
of dissolved solids permitted in
the upper reaches of the
Conestoga substantially raised.
Taylor noted that in correcting
air pollution at its Grace Mine,
the firm is using a “scrubber”
unit which removes pollutants by
a water process. This is even
tually discharged into the river at
higher than recommended levels.
A resident, Terry Brown, op
posed Taylor’s testimony con
tending any lowering of dissolved
solid standard would be
detrimental to the river’s aquatic
life and the water supply.
An overflowing runk line,
spilling untreated material from
a city sewerage in the Little
Conestoga Creek line near the
Maple Grove pumping station
also came under fire from
several residents.
Mayor Thomas J. Monaghan
replied saying if surrounding
townships had cooperated earlier
in expanding sewage lines and
treatment plants, many of the
water pollution problems
wouldn’t be so acute today.
He said only federal approval is
Muffin batter must be pam
pered. Extension foods and
nutrition specialists at The
Pennsylvania State University
point out that most failures with
muffins are caused by over
mixing Overbeaten batter will
cause peaks, tunnels and
toughness in the muffins because
the gluten in the flour is over
developed. The perfect muffin
batter should be lumpy.
INTERSTATE MILK
PRODUCERS COOPERATIVE
ANNOUNCES REGULAR DINNER AND BUSINESS
MEETING OF MEMBERS IN ALL LOCALS
OF DISTRICT No. 7.
HOSTETTERS DINING HALL,
MOUNT JOY, PA.
FEBRUARY 22, 1973 at noon.
Entertainment by The Miller Family.
MR. LESTER C JONES,
Medford, NJ.
President of Interstate.
holding up the replacement of the
overtaxed trunk line that
residents are complaining about.
Twenty-five and a half miles of
streams in the lower
Susquehanna River basin are
now polluted or soon will be
unless waste treatment stan
dards are toughened the report
by the state Bureau of Water
Quality Management said.
The waters affected include
parts of Conoy Creek near
Elizabethtown, Mill Creek near
New Holland, Conestoga Creek
near the city, Lititz Run, Cocalico
Creek near Ephrata and Chickies
and Little Chickies creeks near
Manheim and Mount Joy in
Lancaster County, and Valley
Creek near Atglen, and Tweed
Creek near Oxford, in Chester
County.
Most have been hurt by
municipal and industrial sewage
discharges nearby, the report
notes.
The report takes in a total of 133
streams, ponds and rivulets in all
of Lancaster County along with
small chunks of Berks, Chester,
Lebanon and Dauphin counties.
Between now and April 15 the
state will be refining existing
regulations and creating new
ones. The DEE must send its
water quality criteria] to the
federal government for approval
by then. When government ap
proves the standards, the state
will then be empowered to make
those discharging wastes into
streams comply with the
regulations, if they haven’t
already.
About 30 specific local in
dustries, municipalities and
individuals stand to be affected
by any change in the regulations,
including Elizabethtown,
Manheim, Mount Joy, Lititz,
Ephrata, New Holland and Terre
Hill boroughs, as well as Lan
caster City, according to the
report.
Besides focusing on stream
clean-up, the state report also
recommends an increase in the
number of county creeks to be set
aside for cold-water fishing, trout
stocking and conservation.
Restrictions on waste discharge
are harsher in these areas than in
the rest of local water sheds
designated for general uses like
water supply, recreation, warm
water fishing and power
generation.