FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 7, 2018

Seneca Nation Encouraged by JKLM Energy’s Decision to Abandon Plans
to Utilize Wastewater Treatment Facility on Allegheny River

CATTARAUGUS TERRITORY, IRVING, N.Y. – After months of vigorously opposing a proposed controversial wastewater treatment plant, the Seneca Nation is celebrating another victory in its fight to preserve the water conditions on the Allegheny River.

Yesterday, JKLM Energy, a significant oil and natural gas exploration and operation company, announced that it will no longer pursue water treatment at the facility being proposed by Epiphany Allegheny LLC (Epiphany) and the Coudersport Area Municipal Authority (CAMA) near the headwaters of the Allegheny River.

“JKLM’s decision to abandon its interest in utilizing the proposed Epiphany project is encouraging,” said Seneca Nation President Todd Gates. “I hope that Epiphany and CAMA follow suit and also walk away. As I’ve said before, protecting the Ohi:yo’ and its abundant resources is a critical issue for the Seneca Nation and for thousands of people who live along the river.”

The announcement by JKLM comes weeks after the Coudersport Borough Council voted 5-1 opposing the project, which calls for wastewater created by hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a practice not legal in New York State nor authorized on Seneca Nation lands, to be transported to the CAMA wastewater plant in Eulalia Township, where it would be treated and released into the Allegheny River system. The proposed treatment facility would discharge up to 42,000 gallons of treated fracking water into the river each day, although the plant can process between 20,000 – 80,000 gallons daily. Water used for fracking in Pennsylvania contains concentrated levels of radiation.

“The river is a living ecosystem and its waters are a life-giving and life-sustaining resource,” President Gates added. “It should not be a testing ground for technological and economic pursuits when the potential health and environmental impacts are so dire. We have zero tolerance for the introduction of contaminants into the river. Whether 65 miles away or six feet in front of us, the Seneca people will not stand to see the vitality of our natural resources threatened.”

The Allegheny River is a source of drinking water for millions of people, from the Southern Tier of New York down to Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) is currently reviewing the Water Quality Management Permit application by Epiphany. The agency has reported that it has received more than 3,000 comments regarding the application.

“As encouraged as we are, we don’t know what impact JKLM’s decision to walk away will ultimately have on the project,” President Gates said. “Our focus will forever remain on defending the Ohi:yo’ as we know it, so people can continue to enjoy its waters without fear for the actions of others for generations to come.”


Contact: Phil Pantano, Pantano & Associates, L.L.C., 716-601-4128, phil@pantanoPR.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 22, 2018

Seneca Nation Applauds Coudersport Borough Council Vote Opposing
Fracking Wastewater Treatment Facility on Allegheny River

ALLEGANY TERRITORY, SALAMANCA, N.Y. – On what is known as World Water Day, the Seneca Nation is applauding a recent vote by the Coudersport (PA) Borough Council as the Nation and others continue the fight to preserve the water conditions in the Allegheny River.

Last night, the Borough Council voted 5-1 opposing a proposed wastewater treatment plant that would allow for the transport, treatment and release of thousands of gallons of dangerous wastewater from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) into the Allegheny River. The proposed facility would be located in Eulalia Township, at the river’s headwaters.

“We were very happy to learn of this latest action, by yet another government defending the river from what we believe is a dangerous plan,” said Seneca Nation President Todd Gates. “The risk of contamination along the river, and the potential environmental and health risks it could impose, simply should not be tolerated.”

In addition to the Seneca Nation and the Coudersport Borough Council, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New York State DEC, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Cattaraugus County Legislature, the Salamanca City Council, New York State Senator Cathy Young, and other government organizations, as well as individual residents have raised concerns about the project.

The Coudersport vote took place on the same days that the Seneca Nation hosted a day-long meeting with a widespread group of elected officials, representatives from multiple governments, and environmental experts to discuss concerns over the dangers the project presents.

The proposed treatment facility would discharge up to 42,000 gallons of treated fracking water into the river each day, although the plant could process between 20,000 – 80,000 gallons daily. Water used for fracking in Pennsylvania contains high levels of radiation, due to its location in the Marcellus Shale region.

The Allegheny River is a source of drinking water for millions of people, from the Southern Tier of New York down to Pittsburgh.

“The headwaters of the Allegheny River are some of the purest I have tested. They need to be protected,” Dr. John Stolz, director of the Center for Environmental Research and Education at Duquesne University said at the Seneca Nation’s meeting. “We have learned from other brine treatment facilities operating in the Allegheny basin that their discharges have degraded the water quality.”

The PA Department of Environmental Protection, which is reviewing the project, has reported that it has received more than 3,000 comments regarding the project.

“The health of the river, and the health of those who will come after us, is not negotiable,” President Gates added. “We hope that the members of the Coudersport Area Municipal Authority and the Pennsylvania DEP do the right thing and let our beautiful waters continue to flow free of fracking contamination.”


Contact: Phil Pantano, Pantano & Associates, L.L.C., 716-601-4128, phil@pantanoPR.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, January 26, 2018

ALLEGANY TERRITORY, SALAMANCA, N.Y. – The Seneca Nation is calling upon the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) to reject permit applications for a destructive water quality management and discharge plan at the headwaters of the Allegheny River that would have severe impacts on the Nation’s Allegany Territory, located 65 miles downstream from the project.

In a letter to PA DEP officials, Seneca Nation President Todd Gates called for the denial of the proposed plan by Epiphany Allegheny, LLC (Epiphany) and the Coudersport Area Municipal Authority (CAMA) that would allow for the transport, treatment and release of thousands of gallons of dangerous wastewater from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) into the Allegheny River.

“Allowing this plan to move forward would permit poisonous contaminants to travel downstream into New York State and onto the sovereign ancestral lands of the Seneca Nation, which sit upon the Ohi:yo (Allegheny River),” President Gates said. “The Seneca people have a deep spiritual connection with the land and we depend on our natural resources, including native plants, trees, wildlife, fish and water. These resources are critical components of our culture. We will zealously defend and protect what remains of our territories and our natural resources, which would be further threatened by this dangerous plan.”

The current plan by Epiphany calls for wastewater created by fracking, a practice not legal in New York State nor authorized on Seneca Nation lands, to be transported to the CAMA wastewater plant in Eulalia Township, where it would be treated and released into the Allegheny River system. The proposed treatment facility would discharge up to 42,000 gallons of treated fracking water, with insufficient removal of radioactivity, into the river each day, although the plant can process between 20,000 – 80,000 gallons daily. Water used for fracking in Pennsylvania contains high levels of radiation.

In his letter, President Gates contends that during extreme high water events, which are a regular occurrence in the region, contaminated sediment from the facility will be transported and deposited downstream, ultimately accumulating in the Allegheny Reservoir, which sits on Seneca Nation territory. The reservoir was created by the construction of the Kinzua Dam in the 1960s, when 10,000 acres of Seneca land was condemned by the United States government and approximately 600 residents were removed from their homes.

Further, President Gates explained, the proposed treatment facility would be located in a 100-year floodplain. In the event of a flood or spill, thousands of gallons of untreated hazardous and radioactive material stored on-site would be released directly into the Allegheny River.

“Allowing pollutants to be released into the river and transported downstream would create imminent health risks for thousands of residents of Pennsylvania, New York and the Seneca Nation,” he said.

President Gates said the Seneca Nation, a sovereign government located downstream from the project site, was not consulted on the proposed changes that would allow the treatment of the hazardous wastewater from fracking. The Nation is calling upon the State of New York, communities between Eulalia Township and the Nation’s Allegany Territory, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of the Interior, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, to stand together to halt the proposed activity.

“There is no proven technology that allows for the complete treatment of wastewater from fracking, particularly in the Marcellus shale region,” he said. “Allowing this project to move forward would be a reckless assault on Mother Earth, the resources of the Ohi:yo, the health of thousands downstream, and future generations.”


Contact: Phil Pantano, Pantano & Associates, L.L.C., 716-601-4128, phil@pantanoPR.com


COUDERSPORT AREA MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY (CAMA) PLANT DISCHARGES INTO UPPER ALLEGANY WATERSHED