November/December 1984 RAIN Page 29 -·----------·--··---·---·----·----------···-------------------~ !Jr~- ·AWARE Untimited,lnc. clear the site in January 1983, over 1,000 people blocked the way. During the next three days, 187 people were arrested for civil disobedience in blocking the site. Within the next few days, the released arrestees and members and supporters of Del-AWARE Unlimited occupied the Bucks County Courthouse ahd refused to leave. $ince the local sheriffs wanted to avoid national news that would be caused by the arrest of Abbie Hoffrriau., one of the demonstrators, .they allowed us to stay in the courthouse. We maintained a constant presence for the next three months, even sleeping in the courthouse, and collected more than 30,000 petition signatures for a referendum. In March, a referendum was granted. In May, the voters voted, by a wide majority, to cancel the project, bu:t the county commissioners, who had pledged to abide by the vote, said it couldn't be done. Over the summer, another 110 people were arrested at the site. Some went to jail. Later that summer, people linked hands across the Delaware to demonstrate its low flow and made news as far away as Mexico City and Peking. • I In summer 1983, people linked hands across the Delaware to demonstrate its low fiow and maqe news as far away as Mexico City and Peking. In the November 1983 election, new commissioners were elected on a platform that included a pledge to Dump the Pump. They changed the makeup of the 1 water authority-the owner of the project-to a majority of antipump members. The Executive Director 'of Del-AWARE, Tracy Carluccio, took a job as executive secretary of the authority, to stop the pump from within the system. . Del-AWARE has continued to work with the commissioners and the authority, both of whom are being sued by the Philadelphia Electric Company to build the project. All parties in the suit rested their cases in August 1984, and both·promised to appeal. Meanwhile, rio pump construction has gone on at th_e site since JamiarY'1984 and the pump, which they said would be completed by now, is nothing more than a large hole in the ground. Del.-AWARE is now working to oppose a project on the New Jersey side of the river. It would be a 650acre reservoir, owned by seven utility companies. It would skim and impound the river's spring flows to serve as replacement water for the river water that utilities withdraw and evaporate, and it would destroy the habitats of 14 endangered or threatened species of plants and animals. In this fight, we are challenging the basin commission on the concepts on which if bases its allocations. Del-AWARE did win a legal battle this spring. We filed a suit before the appeals board of the state Department of Environrnental Resources asking the board to require national pollution permits to transfer Delaware River water into two Bucks County streams. The board upheld our contentions that the river is already too polluted to discharge into two pristine streams without treatment, and that the plan would cause excessive erosion to those streams. We won.I but the action cost us $90,000 and is being appealed by the electric company. We continue to work to pay off the river's debt in legal costs, to protect and preserve our river and watershed, .and to 'work for education, good water mai-1agement, and water conservation throughout the region. We'd like to hear from people involved in similar work to save any aspect o~ life on this planet. D D . -:. ..=~~.:;;.-;:~~~- ---~-"'"--~~-'---'- / ·;.· . --- ----- Ric~ Myers, preside11t of Del-AWARE, occupies the Delaware River during the.group's January 1983 demonstrations to stop co11structio11 of the Point Pleasant pu111pi11g statio11, which would te11wve 95 111illio11 gal/011s daily fro111 the river. ~ · ·-:,--- ··--- --·-··--------______J
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