Four graduates of Susquehanna University are using their professional skills to protect the health of the river they came to know as students. During Homecoming Alumni Weekend in October, the four environmental experts were featured in a program sponsored by the Arlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society titled The State of the Susquehanna River.

Terry Bossert '68, an environmental law attorney and former chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), discussed the legal history of environmental law in the state. Michael Smith '79, district mining manager for DEP's Moshannon District Office, talked about the effects of acid mine drainage into the river. Fred Lubnow '88, director of aquatic programs for Princeton Hydro, examined the types of pollution affecting the river, and Anthony Buda '98, a postdoctoral research scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, looked at the abundance of the water supply.

Although relatively wild and undeveloped, the Susquehanna River has suffered a long history of environmental negligence and lax environmental law that made exceptions for industries such as mining, Bossert said. This changed in the mid-20th century with a landmark decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

"It basically established the principle that you could not earn some right to continue to pollute. The police power of the state extended to even past activity that was causing present pollution," Bossert explained.

Despite more stringent environmental laws, the effects of past mining practices can still be found today. "Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the single biggest source of impairment for the Susquehanna River," Smith said.

AMD has resulted in more than 1,000 miles of dead stream, and cleaning up just one branch of the river — the West Branch — will cost $400 million, he said.

The impact, both economically and environmentally, is magnified by the fact that the Susquehanna is the single largest source of freshwater for the Chesapeake Bay. So what harms the river ultimately harms the bay.

In addition to AMD, another problem plaguing both bodies of water is nutrient loading of nitrogen and phosphorus, the result of nonpoint source pollution such as agricultural runoff and storm water drainage. "Nonpoint source pollution is a very diffused form of pollution that is very difficult to control," Lubnow explained.

To reduce the amount of nutrients flowing into the river, Lubnow promotes a "think regionally, act locally" approach. In other words, by cleaning up the waterway in our backyards, we can positively impact water quality on a larger scale.

In addition to attending to the quality of the water, it is also important to attend to water quantity issues. "We often think 'How can I get water to run my faucet? How can I get water to water the lawn?' But we often forget about the needs for protecting aquatic life," Buda said.

When water levels are low, the river cannot properly support the fish, insects and plants living in it. "There are certain times of the year, especially in those drier months when we have very low flows, that we could be using 30 to 40 percent of the actual river flow for our particular uses," Buda said.

Taken as a whole, the opinions of these alumni experts suggest that the future vitality of the university's namesake is dependent upon a combination of remediation, improved land use practices and conservation.

Participants in the Arlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society program titled The State of The Susquehanna River included, left to right: Allan D. Sobel, director of the center; Terry Bossert '68; Anthony Buda '98; Michael Smith '79; Jack Holt, professor of biology; and Fred Lubnow '88.