Kimberly Paynter / WHYY
The crew on the Drillboat Apache brings in lines tied to explosives used to break up rocks at the bottom of the Delaware River near Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. It’s one of the final stages of a controversial project to deepen the river’s shipping channel.
StateImpact Pennsylvania, Newsworks.org, WHYY and NJ Spotlight are collaborating on a series of stories about the Delaware River Watershed.
The watershed stretches from upstate New York through Pennsylvania and New Jersey, emptying out in the Delaware Bay. It supplies water to more than 15 million people, or about 5% of the nation’s population. Its natural lands both protect clean water and provide a habitat of regional and hemispheric importance.
The story of the river includes stories of its people and wildlife that depend on it for survival; the threats to continued sources of clean water; and the river as an economic engine.
The project is funded by The William Penn Foundation. Below are contributions from StateImpact Pennsylvania.
The cross-state natural gas liquids pipeline Mariner East 2 was supposed to begin operation by the end of September. Now, the company has come up with a workaround after acknowledging another lengthy delay in its pipeline project.
By
Jon Hurdle 
By
Scott Blanchard 
In the latest episode of “energy, explained,” the new podcast from StateImpact Pennsylvania, Megan Holleran tells her family’s story — complete with an unexpected twist — to StateImpact’s Susan Phillips.
By
Susan Phillips and Scott Blanchard 
Both suits requested that the Navy provide funding for medical monitoring of the families’ health condition as a result of the toxic exposure. They also sought a large-scale health study to determine whether PFAS contamination caused unusual levels of illness in the community — and to what extent.
Contamination has been found at sites including Montgomery, Bucks and Franklin counties. Pennsylvania doesn’t have health limits on the chemicals, and a Wolf administration spokesman said the governor wants the state to establish such limits.
Thirteen U.S. airports have runways that could be underwater by mid-century. Airports are working on ways to protect electrical equipment and infrastructure.
By
Susan Phillips 
The Delaware River Basin Commission said it thinks the company might want to start clearing trees before its project gets all necessary approvals. In part, the commission is worried about problems that could occur if the pipeline never gets built.
Companies are allowed to protect trade secrets, and the health risks of unidentified chemicals are unknown. Advocates push for disclosure, saying the public needs to know about the chemicals in order to help protect drinking water.
