[♪♪] [Narrator] We are a city defined by our water.

But who is watching out for it?

- This is terrible.

[Ned] I think the police want to talk to us.

[Patrick] Treating the rivers like a toilet is obviously not viable for any sort of human or animal or water health.

[Narrator] Who are these advocates for cleaner water?

They're on the rivers, in the community, even in front of the cameras and prepared to go to court.

All because they have a passion for protecting and improving the water in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

- For generations, people have been used to these rivers being dirty, and I think people have just accepted it.

And it doesn't have to be that way, there's such promise.

[Ned] Being on the rivers is an amazing opportunity that a lot of other urban areas don't have.

You can float right down through a major urban area and it's a beautiful place.

[Narrator] From threats in the water... [Patrick] Nothing retaining all that.

[Ned] Yeah, that's what I'm getting.

[Narrator] ...to a statewide controversy brewing back on land.

- Lots of citizens have the right to force DEP to do something about it.

[Narrator] These two men have found themselves in a David-versus-Goliath-sized fight.

[Ned] The basis for this suit is that the Clean Water Act requires that people have a chance to protect themselves from threat of pollution.

In this case, that right was taken from them.

...pumping things into the ground.

- This watershed provides the drinking water for over a million people in this area, and so, the stakes are incredibly high.

[Narrator] Wearing hip-waders instead of capes, these crusaders aren't afraid to get their hands dirty or their feet wet.

It's all part of the fight to defend the water in our region's rivers.

[Patrick] I think that the region and the city are ready for the work that we want to do.

It's about giving people what they deserve, and that's clean water.

[♪♪] [Narrator] This is the story of two guys, a boat, and a cause.

The guys are Patrick Grenter and Ned Mulcahy.

This is the boat... and this is the cause: Cleaning up the rivers in our region.

- For generations, people have been used to these rivers being dirty, and I think people have just accepted it.

And it doesn't have to be that way, there's such promise.

[Narrator] Fulfilling that promise is the mission of Three Rivers Waterkeeper, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the water from polluters, and monitoring the response of government agencies.

Ned and Pat founded Three Rivers Waterkeeper in February 2010, but it's a local chapter of a global group called the Waterkeeper Alliance, officially founded in 1999, and it's grown to include more than 200 waterkeeper organizations on six continents.

Waterkeepers around the world all operate on the same basic premise: That everyone has the right to be on the water or by the water and not be at risk because of what's in the water.

[Ned] Rivers are for people to enjoy.

They're for kids to play in, for people to fish, not worry about PCBs and mercury, to enjoy.

And that's something that is lost in this country, it's lost in Pittsburgh, they're only a tool of industry.

[Narrator] But Ned and Pat aren't just clean water advocates.

They're also attorneys-- with degrees in environmental law.

Both men are eager to work with grassroots groups who have concerns about how industry affects the water in their communities and, they can explain federal laws that give citizens a power to prosecute environmental crimes.

[Patrick] And we want to help people take control of the quality of these waters in a way that many people aren't.

- People just sort of look at it and say, well, that's just the way it's supposed to be, or, I guess they'll be like, it doesn't look right to me, but I sure someone's looking after it.

[Narrator] But that's not always the case.

So, the waterkeepers are out on their boat four to five times a week, and on any given day, they have a variety of tasks on the to-do list.

- We want to be a voice for the water, from the water, and see the water and then relay that to the community.

- There's such widespread industrial activity here and then so many problems on the water that even if we go out looking for one thing, we always find something else too.

[Narrator] Today, they spy a pipe, still connected to something at the bottom of the river.

[Ned] It's quite rooted, and you can tell by the mud, it's been here for awhile.

[Narrator] Abandoned pipes can be a hazard, but active pipes pose plenty of threats, too.

Anything other than pure water coming from a pipe is considered discharge, so every single pipe needs a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection.

The point where that discharge goes into the water is called the outfall, and outfalls are visible all along the shoreline.

[Ned] Maybe what's coming out of that pipe doesn't smell great, kind of turns your stomach, but if it's within the permit, it's within the permit.

[Narrator] When the waterkeepers have concerns, they start by comparing permits for what's allowed to come out of the pipe with reports that monitor what's actually coming out of the pipe.

If there's an alarming discrepancy, they'll take steps to see that environmental regulations are enforced.

[Patrick] Not many lawyers can say that they go to the office in the morning and wear a suit and get their work done and talk to people and then in the afternoon, they can go out on the river.

And they can actually use their law degree to try and solve problems.

[Narrator] Here's another troubling source of discharge in our region.

They're called CSOs, which stands for Combined Sewage Overflow.

Usually, waste-water is channeled into Alcosan, the region's water treatment plant.

When it rains, or there's a heavy snow melt, Alcosan can't handle the excess and it spills, untreated, into the rivers.

[Patrick] We've seen miles of raw sewage.

And treating the rivers like a toilet is obviously not viable for any sort of human or animal or water health.

[Narrator] With each new finding, they take photos and record the coordinates to create a catalog of what's normal, and what bears further observation, like this inflatable boom, here to catch residue in the discharge.

Ned takes pictures and plans to check to see if the permit here requires the boom.

If the permit does not require the boom, then its presence suggests there's some sort of pollutant problem.

At another site, they use sonar to monitor suspicious water temperatures.

Permits generally allow only a five-degree temperature change for wastewater discharge, so extreme differences send up a red flag, suggesting a company may be illegally dumping wastewater that's outside the limits of the permit.

And all along the river, the waterkeepers monitor industry, making sure material doesn't fall into the water as it's being offloaded, or run-off into the river after it rains.

- When they're doing things like this up close, you really have to keep a watch that they're doing it all slowly and neatly.

We have our name on the side of the boat, and making sure that everyone knows that we're there and we're checking in on them.

Without fail, at every site we visit, everyone will come to the edge, and we wave, and we get stares and a lot of attention and waves back, and I think that's just really indicative of the fact that there's nobody else doing this type of work.

[Narrator] They definitely catch the attention of workers when they stop to observe a site along the Ohio River, at Neville Island in Stowe Township.

This facility has no retaining wall so whatever's on the deck could just wash into the water when it rains.

- This is terrible.

[Narrator] As Ned and Pat mark the site's coordinates, another employee arrives and questions them from shore.

- Excuse me!

- Yeah?

- Can I help you?

- No.

You're getting dangerously close to my barge and we're getting ready to do a move off.

- Okay.

When you start moving, we'll move.

- Alright?

[Ned] Yeah.

- Thank you.

[Ned] Sure, no problem.

[Patrick] That would be the extent of most of our interactions.

They ask who we are.

[Ned] Hi.

Go away.

- ...make it clear that they don't like us being close to them.

That's about it, usually.

[Narrator] That's about it, usually, but not today.

About a half-hour later, the waterkeepers notice another boat approaching.

- We've got company, Patrick.

[Patrick] I think the police want to talk to us.

- [police] Good morning.

- [Ned and Patrick] 'Morning.

[police] We got a report of a suspicious boat that had Waterkeeper written on the side of it.

[Ned and Patrick laugh] - Who would have reported that, officer?

[police] Stowe Township police.

- Really?

Interesting.

We're an environmental nonprofit.

We take photos, water samples.

We have WQED out with us today, just filming.

[Patrick] It's no problem if people... we encourage it if there's suspicious activity, for that to be monitored and reported.

There's nothing wrong with the police coming and asking us what we're doing.

I think the more and more we're out, people will learn who we are and what we're doing, but it doesn't surprise me that the police were called.

[Narrator] The waterkeepers said they were more disturbed by something that happened when they observed US Steel's Clairton plant in early May.

By coincidence, the waterkeepers had a photographer on board with them, from one of the foundations that provides their grant money, and these pictures captured some of the incident.

According to Ned and Pat, they were a safe distance from the plant.

Still, security vehicles followed them along the perimeter of the facility, telling them by radio they didn't have permission to be on the water.

- And they were taking pictures of us and we waved, and we tried to radio them.

And then we heard them talking about us amongst each other, and then they dispatched the tugs, no barge, to unceremoniously pin us against shore.

So that's something that we're now taking steps to address, both with them and with the District Attorney.

[Narrator] We asked US Steel to comment on the incident, and the company said it does not permit photography of its site for security purposes.

At the time of this report, US Steel did not respond to specific questions about the tug boats that allegedly pinned the waterkeepers to the shore.

A representative from the US Coast Guard told us he is investigating the report with both parties.

He did not comment on the incident, specifically, but he did confirm that the waterways are public.

He also told us companies have the right to question someone if they have security concerns, but they do not have the authority to take actions.

- People aren't used to having other boats examining their facilities, and any boats trying to see exactly what's going on, on the rivers.

[Narrator] Because so much is going on, on the rivers, one of the most important goals for the waterkeepers right now is to gain community support and encourage citizen supervision.

To gain that crucial community support, the waterkeepers have many more tasks to take care of once they're back on dry land.

- Good evening, my name is Ned Mulcahy, I'm an attorney with Three Rivers Waterkeeper, which is an advocacy group based out of Pittsburgh.

And the Visual Assessment Project had us come in to tell you all about some of the legal ramifications, background of how all this activity is allowed.

We hear that question a lot.

How can they do that, how can this happen.

[Narrator] On this evening, Ned and Patrick have traveled to Somerset to speak to citizens concerned about wastewater from the state's highly controversial Marcellus Shale drilling process.

[Ned] They do file this with the DEP and it is public, so at any point, you can get this record to find out where they're supposed to be taking water from.

That means you have to actually go to the DEP office, or, ask us to go to the DEP office for you, which we can do.

[Narrator] It's all part of the Marcellus Citizen Stewardship project, an initiative spearheaded by the Mountain Watershed Association, and the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities at the University of Pittsburgh.

[Patrick] Marcellus Shale industry has hit Pennsylvania so quickly and with such huge impact there's really nothing in Harrisburg or in people's local lives that hasn't been affected by it in these communities.

[Narrator] Marcellus Shale is one of our country's most promising natural gas resources, and Pennsylvania offers a rich supply of it.

But the gas is trapped under rock formations deep beneath the earth's surface, and it's released through a process called hydraulic fracturing or fracking.

Fracking requires vast amounts of water, which is mixed with sand and chemicals, some of them toxic.

Some of that water gushes back out of the wellhead, it's called produced water, and in most states, drillers are required to send it back down deep shafts so it can't pollute surface water.

But Pennsylvania is one of the few gas-producing states that allows the wastewater to be disposed of in its rivers, and in a one-year period alone, at least 3.6 million barrels of it were discharged into the region's waterways.

Clean water advocates are concerned about how high levels of salt and dissolved solids might affect the water quality.

Citizens who live nearby are concerned about how it might affect their drinking water, and their health.

[Ned] There are only a handful authorized, DEP permitted sites authorized to take Marcellus Shale waste water.

[Narrator] The people at this seminar are receiving what's called Visual Assessment Training, to help them recognize potential threats to the water in their community.

- This is all that's contained in a permit, in the Water Management Plan.

The driller has to identify all of the sources of water that they're going to use, as you've heard, fracking takes millions of gallons of water.

Before they start drilling, they're supposed to tell the DEP where all this water is coming from.

[Narrator] Because they are environmental lawyers, the Waterkeepers can teach citizens how to take action if they suspect a permit violation, using all the legal channels and rights due to them through the Federal Clean Water Act and through Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law.

[Ned] Those are things the DEP needs to know about because they can't be everywhere at all times.

And knowing the permit guidelines, the recording, the numbers, when you take that kind of information to the DEP, we've found they're very receptive to someone who's done some of the background work and can tell you definitively, I know this is wrong, and here's exactly why.

Here's the permit number, and here's what's wrong.

- People we hear time and time again, are frustrated about how they feel everything's out of their hands.

And what we're really working to do is to help people understand the Oil and Gas Act, to help people understand the Clean Streams Law, and understand how they can use those to monitor this industry in their day-to-day lives.

Attending a training like this is a way for someone to understand how they can follow what's going on in their communities in terms of natural gas extraction, and then, how they can locate that, assess it, monitor it, and then try and report activities that they think are problematic or potentially harmful in their watersheds.

[Narrator] Today, that battle against 'potentially harmful activities' has taken the Waterkeepers to the Municipal Water Authority in McKeesport.

The gas drilling industry does not dispose of its own wastewater.

It trucks it out and pays sewage facilities like this one, who accept it, treat it, and then dump it into the river.

Patrick is here with his camera, documenting these trucks as they drop off wastewater.

But he's not alone.

Videographers from two local TV stations are at the scene, and so are some print journalists.

They're all here because Three Rivers Waterkeeper has called a press conference to make a major announcement.

- We have been aware of it, and we have decided... [Narrator] They are joining forces with another Pittsburgh non-profit group called Clean Water Action, and together, they've served legal notice of their intent to sue two sewage plants that accept and dump drilling wastewater.

This McKeesport facility is one of the targets of the lawsuit.

The other facility named in the suit is the Franklin Township Sewer Authority, located in Greene County.

[Patrick] This is the first logical step in the way that we address what we see as a major threat and problem with the rivers, that is, the disposal of Marcellus Shale wastewater.

The fact that the initial suit was against the McKeesport facility and the Franklin facility is only indicative of the fact that we know they've been accepting significant amounts of wastewater and we have data available that clearly shows that this wastewater is having an impact on the conditions in the water.

[Narrator] Before the press conference even begins, a few more people arrive on the scene: Police.

- It wouldn't be a trip with three of its Waterkeepers if the police weren't unexpectedly notified.

[Narrator] Three squad cars, four officers, and a brief conference on the sidewalk, and then, most of them leave.

One squad car stays behind for the duration of the press event.

- People are not used to attention, and they're used to putting whatever they want into the river without people looking over their shoulder.

And if people do look over their shoulder, the immediate reaction is, we need help, what is going on here, this must be something wrong.

When in fact, it's just, we are exercising our right and our duty as people who are concerned about the conditions of the river.

[Ned] We're joining Clean Water Action in this case because we believe citizens have the right to clean rivers, safe drinking water, and rivers that are available for recreation and enjoyment.

The basis for this suit is that the Clean Water Act requires that people have a chance to protect themselves from threat of pollution.

It is a public health issue.

In this case, that right was taken from them.

[Narrator] Filing notice of an intent to sue is the first step in what's referred to as a Citizen Suit under the Clean Water Act.

A citizen suit allows any citizen to sue for enforcement of the Clean Water Act when government agencies fail to address violations.

[Patrick] So, where we go from here is entirely in the hands of the facilities and the government.

We filed notice of our intent to sue, and if no action is taken to either stop the acceptance and discharge of this wastewater, or no corrective action is mandated appropriately from the government, we'll proceed with our case.

[Narrator] The two sewage facilities have 60 days to change their actions and if they don't, the Waterkeepers will file their lawsuit in Federal District Court in Western Pennsylvania.

[Patrick] This is no doubt a huge step for us.

We have a number of different cases in the pipeline, so to speak, in the process of investigation and preparation but this is the first case that we're actually filing and been an official party to.

- We have a problem in Pennsylvania that we are allowing all of the waste water from the gas drilling industry in our state, to be discharged into our rivers and streams, in some cases, without legal permits, and without sufficient treatment.

[Narrator] Like all lawsuits, this case includes complex claims and counter-responses.

The Clean Water Act says facilities must obtain permits if the discharge goes directly to surface water.

The sewage facilities named in this lawsuit never obtained permits to discharge the Marcellus Shale wastewater, and the Waterkeepers say that violates the law.

Both facilities denied our request for specific comment about this legal action.

But in previous statements to the press, the facilities said they do not need permits because the State Department of Environmental Protection issued a special consent order giving them permission to treat and discharge drilling wastewater.

The lawsuit asserts that these consent orders are illegal... that they are private deals negotiated without the public's input, violating another provision in the Clean Water Act that says the public has the right to participate in the process.

- There was no public input, there was no chance for people to stand up and have a voice to question whether this was a good idea, whether this was in compliance with the law, and whether this was going to cause threats to them, down the road.

[Narrator] Long-term, the Waterkeepers and Clean Water Action would like to see the government enforce permitting and regulations at all of the water treatment facilities accepting drilling wastewater in Pennsylvania.

They say part of the solution requires updating facilities so they can meet new water treatment standards set in August of 2010.

The new standards say wastewater can only be discharged after it's been treated to the degree that the water body's quality does not fall below federal drinking water standards.

Clean water advocates say that's not happening.

- I think the rules are good and we supported them.

And we were glad to see that they were enacted.

The problem is that we need facilities in this state that can actually treat the waste water to the standard in that rule, and that doesn't exist yet.

To us, the fundamental problem is that the gas industry moved into this state, and it created a huge amount of waste, without having any plan in place for what to do with it.

It's the gas industry that should be taking responsibility for this waste, and building the facilities that ensure water could be properly treated before it's put into our rivers.

[Narrator] The legal action is between clean water advocates and the sewage treatment facilities that discharge the water, but what does the gas drilling industry have to say about all this?

The Marcellus Shale Coalition is an organization focused on the responsible development of natural gas from Marcellus Shale Drilling.

They had no comment on the legal action but in terms of managing wastewater, president and executive director Kathryn Klaber did say, "The Marcellus Shale Coalition remains committed to limiting "surface discharge through increased reuse and recycling of flowback water."

After the press conference, Ned takes photographers out on the Monongahela River to see where the wastewater is discharged, more than 100,000 gallons of it a day at this facility alone.

- We are in the right here.

They are clearly discharging without a permit.

We have the law on our side and we think that it's clear that remedial actions need to be taken immediately.

I think the best possible outcome would be an immediate cessation of the acceptance of this wastewater, so they immediately stop accepting and discharging this wastewater.

And the DEP would force them to go through a permitting process that would be appropriate for this type of facility.

[Narrator] The Waterkeepers want to be clear that this lawsuit is not about money.

They are only seeking an injunction to force the sewage facilities to stop accepting drilling wastewater.

They are not asking for any kind of monetary penalty.

- It's about giving people what they deserve, and that's clean water.

[Narrator] On April 19th, 2011, there was a new development out of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, but it's not enough to change the status of their legal action.

The DEP acknowledged the harmful impact of drilling wastewater on state waterways, and asked area sewage facilities to voluntarily stop accepting and dumping the wastewater.

However, because it's only a voluntary request, and the sewage facilities are under no legal obligation to follow it, litigation will continue until there's an order in place that carries legal weight.

And so, the Waterkeepers will continue to fight for that clean water, with a workload and a wishlist as endless as the river itself.

They'll sift through permits and paperwork... continue to catalogue photos... and meet with community members as often as they can, all while leading a legal battle that benefits more than a million Pittsburghers every time they turn on their tap water.

- Being on the rivers is an amazing opportunity that a lot of other urban areas don't have.

You can float right down through a major urban area and it's a beautiful place.

Nothing lived in the rivers in the '70s.

Nothing.

Maybe algae.

- And there's no arguing that things are a lot better than they used to be, but you still don't want to eat fish out of this river more than once a month.

And even that, I wouldn't do.

We need widespread support from people who want to see their rivers cleaner, and people who are already on the river and then can say, hey, I think you should go check out something up the Allegheny, it didn't smell right.

Or something on the Ohio that's really nasty, you need to see what's going on, or, where are all the fish?

[Narrator] The mission of Three Rivers Waterkeeper is to be the voice of the water, from the water, but they want Pittsburghers to join them in that effort.

They're asking you to contact them if you notice any of these danger signs, which could indicate a violation: 1.

Any sheen or oily substance on the water's surface.

2.

Muddy water, running into a stream or river, especially if it's near a construction site.

3.

Water that smells petroleum, chemicals, or solvents.

4.

And any dirt, stone, rocks or materials dumped down the bank into a waterway.

[Ned] When you see something, you have someone to call.

You don't have to be a caped crusader, by inclusion, you could just be going about your daily business, but be aware of some of the things that we see.

[Narrator] The Waterkeepers also want you to know they aren't just interested in hearing the negatives.

They realize many individual companies do comply with the laws, and work to preserve the rivers, and they're eager to hear praise for those companies, too.

Most of all, they want the people of Pittsburgh to become invested in the rivers that define the city.

[Patrick] I think that the region and the city are ready for the work that we want to do.

I wouldn't trade this position for anything.

- Yeah, it would be great to grow, and be more than just two guys, a boat, and a cause.

But it's a noble start.

[♪♪]