Latest news with #PADEP
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fishing regulations temporarily lifted for Somerset County lake
SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Effective immediately anglers can now fish without limits at several lakes across Pennsylvania for a limited time. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced that all seasons, sizes and creel limits have been lifted at three lakes, including one in Somerset County, due to upcoming projects. The dam and infrastructure rehabilitation projects are expected to last for over a year. Here are the lakes and project details: High Point Lake, Somerset County: Starting in spring of next year a complete drawdown of this 338-acre impoundment will begin. The $5.5 million project will include rehabilitation of the dam embankment and spillway to meet Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) dam safety standards. The project is expected to last approximately 1.5 years once it begins. Anglers can catch warm-water sportfish species including Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Bluegill, Black Crappie, Chain Pickerel, Yellow Perch, and catfish at this lake. Somerset school prepares meals for Bangladeshi refugees Harris Pond, Luzerne County: A complete drawdown of this 30-acre impoundment will begin in the fall of 2025. The $1.9 million project will include rehabilitation of the dam embankment and spillway to meet PA DEP dam safety standards. The project is expected to last roughly 1.5 years. The reservoir currently offers angling opportunities for warm-water sportfish species including Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Black Crappie, Chain Pickerel, Yellow Perch, and catfish. Rose Valley Lake, Lycoming County: A complete drawdown of this 389-acre impoundment will begin in the spring of 2026. The $5 million project will include rehabilitation of the dam embankment and spillway to meet PA DEP dam safety standards. The project is expected to last approximately 1.5 years. The reservoir currently offers angling opportunities for warm-water sportfish species including Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Bluegill, Black Crappie, Chain Pickerel, Yellow Perch, and catfish. 'We have lifted fishing regulations to reduce the number of fish in these lakes in advance of these upcoming projects,' David Nihart, Chief of the PFBC Division of Fisheries Management said. 'We encourage anglers to fish these waters and make good use of as many fish as they can prior to the lakes being drained.' The temporary regulations will be posted on signage around each lake. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bucks County jet fuel leak: Energy Transfer ordered to install water treatment systems to affected homes
The Brief Energy Transfer has been ordered to install point-of-entry treatment systems to residents of a Bucks County community impacted by a jet fuel leak in the company's 14-inch pipeline. The Pennsylvania DEP made the announcement Thursday afternoon. UPPER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. - It's been more than a month since residents in the Mount Eyre neighborhood were told a broken underground Sunoco pipeline was leaking jet fuel, possibly for more than a year. In the wake of the discovery, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, or PA DEP, ordered Energy Transfer, the company who operates the pipeline, to give residents located in the area of the leak and impacted by it, to install point-of-entry treatment systems to over 100 homes in the neighborhood. What we know On or around January 27, 2025, Lower Makefield Board of Supervisors say a fuel pipeline leak was reported involving a pipeline owned by Energy Transfer/Sunoco. Energy Transfer, who operates the 106-mile Sunoco pipeline, called the leak a "slow drip" in a 14-inch steel pipe built in 1958. On January 31st, the company announced the pipeline that starts in Aston, Delaware County and weaves through several suburban neighborhoods before ending up in Newark, New Jersey had been leaking. Residents in Upper Makefield Township met with officials from Energy Transfer, the PA DEP and the US Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and expressed outrage over what they called a crisis in the community, knowing jet fuel was leaking. What they're saying Resident Kristine Wojnovich told FOX 29 she first noticed a taste and smell of gas in their water in September 2023, but Sunoco told her tests showed no problem. Almost a year and a half later, Sunoco finally opened her well and found more than 12 feet of jet fuel on the top. "When they opened it, there was this smell, and I was honestly emotionally unprepared for this to happen," she said. She says Sunoco now comes twice a day because she still has fuel coming into her well. She and hundreds of others want to know the plan. PA DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley stated, "Clean, safe drinking water is one of the most important resources we have, whether that is from a public water supplier or a private water well. Pennsylvanians have a constitutional right to pure water and we will work to ensure that right is protected in Upper Makefield Township." Dig deeper DEP had already demanded Energy Transfer conduct water testing at the impacted homes. To date, with DEP oversight, a third-party has taken 447 samples of well water for petroleum contamination. Additionally, PA DEP is testing three nearby streams – Dyers Creek, Houghs Creek and a tributary not named. DEP is handling the hydrology testing. What's next Treatment systems have been installed at 42 homes, some of which showed petroleum products. Energy Transfer is now ordered to install at least 102 more treatment systems. Governor Josh Shapiro has sent a letter to PHMSA calling on leaders to hold Energy Transfer accountable. What you can do Residents with questions or concerns can obtain further information by contacting the resident hotline at 1-877-397-3383, by emailing uppermakefieldresponse@ or by visiting the website at
