As your Three Rivers Waterkeeper, we seek to provide transparency about our positions on various issues or topics that we work with on a consistent basis. We advocate for the protection of people over profit, the transparency of industry and government agencies, and complex solutions for complex problems. Sharing our positions should inform our community, partners, and stakeholders about our organizational view on key issues.
Environmental Justice
Justice for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion must be central to our work in order to effectively fulfill our mission. We recognize the historic inequalities associated with the environmental conservation movement, outdoor recreation, and access to waterways. Low-income and marginalized communities are far too often excluded from the decision making process around the siting of these facilities. We need to put real dollars to work in restoring and remediating distressed areas to work towards justice and better health outcomes. Because of this, our fight for clean water is focused on those communities disproportionately impacted by water pollution while inviting all to join the clean water movement.
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is crucial in protecting the waterways in Southwestern Pennsylvania when it is fully enforced. The regulatory oversight and enforcement of environmental standards and taking action against polluters will ensure the protection of source water for generations to come. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection must enforce our Clean Water laws with strong community involvement in permitting facilities, notices and violations and fines, and stricter effluent discharge limits in permits. Three Rivers Waterkeeper will use the citizen suit provision in the Clean Water Act to hold polluters accountable when our regulators fail to do so.
Petrochemicals: Fracking to Plastics
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and the expansion of the petrochemical industry is detrimental to public health, the environment, and the protection of our climate. Fracking is a water-intensive process that involves using millions of gallons of source water– which, once used, are contaminated with toxic chemicals and cannot be returned to our watershed. Every process of fracking operations, from the construction of pipelines to the transportation of fracking waste, poses a risk to our environment and public health. We are opposed to the barging of fracking wastewater and the construction of injection wells that will put millions of gallons of hazardous wastewater back into the ground which has the potential to contaminate aquifers, rivers, and lakes with radioactive toxins, endangering communities’ drinking water supplies. We advocate for a just transition away from fossil fuel dependence toward renewable energy.
Petrochemicals are not just a fuel for energy, but they are used to make plastics. We advocate for a transition away from non-medical single use plastics as every stage of the lifecycle is detrimental to our environment - from water contamination from petrochemical extraction and the produced waste; the spills of pre-production plastic pellets (nurdles) in our waterways; the marine debris in our rivers and oceans; the microplastics in our own bodies and the false promise of clean recycling. We must advocate for solutions to our plastics problem.
Access to Clean Drinking Water
The protection of our source drinking water is our primary concern. All people should have access to clean and affordable drinking water from their tap. While we believe that clean water is a human right, and the cost of clean water should never be a barrier, we recognize the need to work with any utility company - private or public - to protect the drinking water. We advocate for transparency and the lowest rates possible to uphold clean drinking water standards. Nevertheless, we believe that all public funds from taxpayers should be directed only towards public utility operators.
Climate Change
Due to climate change, there have been abnormally strong and frequent heavy precipitation events across most of the United States. Excess precipitation increases stormwater issues that can directly affect the water supplies, inundate water treatment systems with contaminants and harmful microbes, and increase contaminated industrial stormwater discharges. This is a direct threat to Pittsburgh residents, who are facing an extreme risk of flooding over the next 30 years, meaning flooding is highly likely to impact day-to-day life within the community. We advocate for reduction of greenhouse gasses and the implementation of climate-resilient practices.
Combined Sewage Overflows
The sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is crucial to clean water. Public sewage systems must receive consistent investments and inspections. Aging infrastructure and pipes should be upgraded with low-interest grants now before they fail and potentially impair waterways. Wetland restoration, reduction of impervious surfaces, daylighting, and other green solutions should be funded to help absorb stormwater before it combines with sewer systems. Education campaigns must be undertaken to ensure septic systems are used properly where public sewage systems do not apply.
Transportation of Dangerous Materials
Spills are an unavoidable possibility at any point along the barging transportation chain. The process of loading and unloading thousands of gallons of toxic and dangerous materials across a network of transportation facilities - barge, rail, or road - generates multiple points of contamination that could quickly compound to hazardous levels even without a catastrophic derailment or accident. In our region, railways follow our major waterways and our mainstem rivers are transportation corridors of large shipping containers. We must advocate for stricter safety transportation regulations, increased funding in infrastructure, adequate regulatory oversight, and the ban of particularly dangerous materials.
Environmental Justice
Justice for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion must be central to our work in order to effectively fulfill our mission. We recognize the historic inequalities associated with the environmental conservation movement, outdoor recreation, and access to waterways. Low-income and marginalized communities are far too often excluded from the decision making process around the siting of these facilities. We need to put real dollars to work in restoring and remediating distressed areas to work towards justice and better health outcomes. Because of this, our fight for clean water is focused on those communities disproportionately impacted by water pollution while inviting all to join the clean water movement.
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is crucial in protecting the waterways in Southwestern Pennsylvania when it is fully enforced. The regulatory oversight and enforcement of environmental standards and taking action against polluters will ensure the protection of source water for generations to come. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection must enforce our Clean Water laws with strong community involvement in permitting facilities, notices and violations and fines, and stricter effluent discharge limits in permits. Three Rivers Waterkeeper will use the citizen suit provision in the Clean Water Act to hold polluters accountable when our regulators fail to do so.
Petrochemicals: Fracking to Plastics
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and the expansion of the petrochemical industry is detrimental to public health, the environment, and the protection of our climate. Fracking is a water-intensive process that involves using millions of gallons of source water– which, once used, are contaminated with toxic chemicals and cannot be returned to our watershed. Every process of fracking operations, from the construction of pipelines to the transportation of fracking waste, poses a risk to our environment and public health. We are opposed to the barging of fracking wastewater and the construction of injection wells that will put millions of gallons of hazardous wastewater back into the ground which has the potential to contaminate aquifers, rivers, and lakes with radioactive toxins, endangering communities’ drinking water supplies. We advocate for a just transition away from fossil fuel dependence toward renewable energy.
Petrochemicals are not just a fuel for energy, but they are used to make plastics. We advocate for a transition away from non-medical single use plastics as every stage of the lifecycle is detrimental to our environment - from water contamination from petrochemical extraction and the produced waste; the spills of pre-production plastic pellets (nurdles) in our waterways; the marine debris in our rivers and oceans; the microplastics in our own bodies and the false promise of clean recycling. We must advocate for solutions to our plastics problem.
Access to Clean Drinking Water
The protection of our source drinking water is our primary concern. All people should have access to clean and affordable drinking water from their tap. While we believe that clean water is a human right, and the cost of clean water should never be a barrier, we recognize the need to work with any utility company - private or public - to protect the drinking water. We advocate for transparency and the lowest rates possible to uphold clean drinking water standards. Nevertheless, we believe that all public funds from taxpayers should be directed only towards public utility operators.
Climate Change
Due to climate change, there have been abnormally strong and frequent heavy precipitation events across most of the United States. Excess precipitation increases stormwater issues that can directly affect the water supplies, inundate water treatment systems with contaminants and harmful microbes, and increase contaminated industrial stormwater discharges. This is a direct threat to Pittsburgh residents, who are facing an extreme risk of flooding over the next 30 years, meaning flooding is highly likely to impact day-to-day life within the community. We advocate for reduction of greenhouse gasses and the implementation of climate-resilient practices.
Combined Sewage Overflows
The sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is crucial to clean water. Public sewage systems must receive consistent investments and inspections. Aging infrastructure and pipes should be upgraded with low-interest grants now before they fail and potentially impair waterways. Wetland restoration, reduction of impervious surfaces, daylighting, and other green solutions should be funded to help absorb stormwater before it combines with sewer systems. Education campaigns must be undertaken to ensure septic systems are used properly where public sewage systems do not apply.
Transportation of Dangerous Materials
Spills are an unavoidable possibility at any point along the barging transportation chain. The process of loading and unloading thousands of gallons of toxic and dangerous materials across a network of transportation facilities - barge, rail, or road - generates multiple points of contamination that could quickly compound to hazardous levels even without a catastrophic derailment or accident. In our region, railways follow our major waterways and our mainstem rivers are transportation corridors of large shipping containers. We must advocate for stricter safety transportation regulations, increased funding in infrastructure, adequate regulatory oversight, and the ban of particularly dangerous materials.
