​Riverkeeper note: This column is written by Riverkeeper John Zaktansky in reference to the Encina project proposed along the Susquehanna River's North Branch between Northumberland and Danville.

Many years ago, my wife and I lived in a neat remote cottage-like rental home in the woods. For an outdoors lover, you couldn't ask for a better location. The home was attached to a second home, which was rented by a very nice older lady for the first six months or so.

Unfortunately, her health deteriorated, and she moved into a nursing home. Our landlord rented the home to someone new -- a heavy smoker. The constant aroma of cigarette smoke wafting through the walls triggered a variety of health issues for my wife. We spoke with the landlord (who allegedly had a strict no-smoking policy), but she wound up siding with the new tenant and we ultimately had to move.  

This scenario, for some reason, has popped into my mind quite often while researching the proposed Encina plastics plant.

As a fun way to promote the Susquehanna River as we look forward to spring, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association is encouraging everyone to create short (15-20 second maximum) videos about what they love most about the Susquehanna River and/or its tributaries.

​The Lycoming College Clean Water Institute and Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be hosting an important public information meeting on the results presented in a draft Water Quality Standards Review and Stream Evaluation Report on the Lycoming Creek watershed conducted by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The review and report contained recommendations by the DEP staff that Lycoming Creek and most of its watershed streams qualify for protection as Exceptional Value waters under state regulations.

The meeting is scheduled for March 1, 2023 at 7 p.m. in room G09 of the Heim Science Building on the Lycoming College campus. The public can park in the lot at the southeast corner of Mulberry Street and Washington Boulevard, enter through the Lynn Science Building, and take the elevator down to the ground floor.

Based on the success from last year's event of the same name, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association is hosting its second annual Quiz & Cuisine event at the Montour Preserve educational center on Friday, April 21, 2023, from 6-8:30 p.m.

The event, designed as a way to mark the Earth Day weekend, will feature a trivia night competitions using questions pulled from numerous interesting facts and stats related to the Susquehanna River. 

​​A 2013 sample taken from a walleye fish in the Susquehanna River near Sunbury contained 29,959 parts per trillion (ppt) of combined PFAS – one of the highest concentrations of this emerging contaminant otherwise known as “forever chemicals” in Pennsylvania per a recently released worldwide study featured via an interactive online map.
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The study, a combined analysis of more than 100 recent peer-reviewed studies, detected more than 120 unique PFAS compounds in more than 330 wildlife species across the world – not just the legacy forever chemicals PFOA and PFOS.

​Nearly a year ago, in April, a Houston, Texas, company announced plans to invest more than $1 billion into a plastics processing plant along the banks of the Susquehanna River near Northumberland.

Encina plans to process approximately 450,000 tons of plastic waste at the facility – those plastics being shipped in from New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and other nearby metropolitan hubs to the banks of our river. The goal is to process the plastic waste in the presence of very high heat and a proprietary catalyst to produce chemicals that can be used to make new plastic items.

Current high school juniors and seniors with interest in potentially pursuing environmental education opportunities after graduation are encouraged to apply for the inaugural Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper EELS (Environmental Education Leadership for Students) program.

"Thanks to a growing number of new partnerships, we have additional opportunities to share important environmental education with children and families in various smaller community venues across the watershed," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "By engaging the next generation of potential educators and helping them build confidence and providing the tools they need to be successful, we are in a much better position to meet the needs of the community and raise critical awareness about our natural resources."

​A study from Dr. Brian Mangan and his students at the King's College has found a concerning trend of mercury levels in crayfish and hellgrammite samples collected in the Susquehanna River.

“We found mercury in samples at every site we collected at, but the really interesting thing was that there is a significant increasing trend in mercury as you work from lower in the river to the north,” said Mangan. “Our lowest it was about 20 miles north of Harrisburg and we sampled at different locations upriver to almost the New York border.”

According to Mangan, the concentrations of mercury double from the lowest sampling site (Halifax) to the site where samples were collected farthest north (Wysox).

The Sentinels of the Susquehanna: Volume 2 paperback book is now available in person or online, featuring a wide variety of important river topics via locally written articles, columns and investigative reports.

All stories in this volume come specifically from 2022, including a wide range of issues from how excessive road salt is impacting salinity in our waterways, to the history of a Superfund site in Williamsport to emerging contaminants like PFAS and pharmaceuticals in our waterways.

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association is participating in the 2023 Early Bird Sports Expo running Thursday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds.

Riverkeeper John Zaktansky will be in attendance throughout the event to talk with people about the work the association does across the 11,000-square-mile Middle Susquehanna watershed (including all land that eventually drains into the North and West branches of the Susquehanna River). 

The show runs 3-8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29. The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper booth will offer the following activities and opportunities: