DRBC Again Delays Rules Covering Natural Gas Drilling

The Delaware River Basin Commission is again delaying the release of rules covering the drilling of natural gas within the watershed.

In a statement, the commission announced that the proposed regulations, which were to be unveiled in September and then were delayed until mid-October, now won't come for at least another month. The commission said the delay was to give staffers time to ensure that it minimizes bureaucratic overlap with other regulators.

"The commissioners are working with staff to continue refining the draft regulations to ensure protection of basin waters while minimizing regulatory duplication," the statement said. "The draft regulations will likely be published in November or December 2010, and will be accompanied by a public rulemaking process. This process will entail two public hearings and a written comment period."

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which opposes drilling, urged supporters to lobby against releasing the proposed regulations until a federal study is completed. "This federally funded comprehensive study must be done first and then the information learned be used to inform the regulations that the DRBC will adopt regarding gas development in the Delaware River Watershed," said Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum in a statement. "This is essential to [prevent] … pollution and degradation to the Delaware River and the water supply for more than 15 million people."

Siberian permafrost leaking methane

Methane is a greenhouse gas thirty times more potent than carbon dioxide.  Climate change is warming the arctic region and destabilizing the subsea Siberian permafrost that has held back massive methane deposits.

"The amount of methane currently coming out of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is comparable to the amount coming out of the entire world’s oceans. Subsea permafrost is losing its ability to be an impermeable cap."

See the Mother Jones post.

President Obama Proposes HOMESTAR: An Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program

President Obama has proposed the HOMESTAR Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program which is designed to incentivize homeowners  to make energy efficient investments in their homes through energy efficient improvements and installations, and to create more jobs in the "green" construction market. 

The HOMESTAR program, first and foremost, has been designed to help three groups at the same time.  It'll help homeowners improve their real property and use less energy.  It'll help construction workers find projects and employment.  It'll help manufacturers and vendors sell green products. 

In doing more research, we went right to the source to find out what kind of rebates the President has in store, to the press release from the Office of the White House Press Secretary.





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Massive iceberg separated from Antarctica

One massive iceberg has collided with the main body of Antarctica, dislodging a second massive iceberg.  See the story at ClimateProgress.

You can't live without clean water.

Regulatory controls over pollution in American waterways are slipping.  Follow the NYTimes series here, and read our quick recap below.

The court rulings causing these problems focused on language in the Clean Water Act that limited it to “the discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters” of the United States. For decades, “navigable waters” was broadly interpreted by regulators to include many large wetlands and streams that connected to major rivers.

But the two decisions suggested that waterways that are entirely within one state, creeks that sometimes go dry, and lakes unconnected to larger water systems may not be “navigable waters” and are therefore not covered by the act — even though pollution from such waterways can make its way into sources of drinking water.