STAND WITH SCIENCE: Calling on Rich Fitzgerald

Making the connections -- 

fracking/pipelines/plastics 

and 

health/environment/climate/human rights 

an open letter to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald

Pennsylvania and adjacent states have long been a sacrifice zone for fossil energy extraction — oil, coal, and natural gas — and now we are being asked, with your backing, to sacrifice our health and environment for the production of plastics, as well.  Where will this end?  

You have stated that “We believe in science around here.”  However, while claiming to be climate-aware, you have done little to address the climate crisis, and you’ve been a longtime cheerleader for fracking and petrochemical development in our region.  The science is mounting to demonstrate how damaging these industries are to human health, local economies, and the climate.  With the industry spreading through our region, the time is right to change your stance.  

Now that the science is clear — details below — we ask that you issue a statement withdrawing your support for the fracking and petrochemical industries;  that you endorse the new PA bills HB1353/SB645, HB1354/SB644, and HB1355/HB646 to close the hazardous waste loophole;  and when relevant County legislation comes before you (like the ban on fracking in County parks now in Council), that you stand on the side of public health and a sustainable economy with your decision.  These are among the facts you can marshall to protect the citizens you have sworn to represent:

• The International Energy Agency has determined that in order to preserve a livable climate, there can be no further investment in fossil energy extraction.  The Shell ethane cracker will emit half as much CO₂ as the city of Pittsburgh, so just this one plant will undo our laudable climate goals.  And with thousands of new gas wells needed to provide ethane for the plant in the coming years, even more climate-disrupting carbon dioxide and methane will be emitted elsewhere —  meaning more heat waves, cold snaps, and big storms.  In addition to all the present and future impacts of climate change itself, most air pollution is directly linked to fossil fuels.  A recent study out of Harvard  found that 1 in 5 early deaths worldwide are due to ultrafine particle pollution from fossil fuel combustion.  That’s 8 million people a year — of which about 300,000 are people in the U.S. who die prematurely from fossil fuel pollution every year — half as many as we’ve lost to COVID over the past 14 months, but this is year after year after year!

• Shell’s plant in nearby Beaver County will also emit up to 500 tons of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) each year, and 30 tons of hazardous air pollutants, including known carcinogens like benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde.  About one in five Pennsylvanians die of cancer, and Allegheny County is already in the top 2% for cancer risk across the nation due to hazardous air pollutants.    Similarly, Beaver County residents, living even closer to the plant, are beginning to realize what they’re in for.  

• The cracker plant requires the construction of an ethane pipeline system crossing the Ohio River, many other sensitive areas including the headwaters of the Ambridge Reservoir (which serves 30,000 people in 11 municipalities), and regions prone to landslides that can lead to explosions.  And if Shell has cut corners during construction of the Falcon Pipeline, this danger is multiplied.  Other fracking and pipeline companies engaged in projects that feed these petrochemical plants have come under criminal investigation.  If the state Grand Jury Report is too full of legalese, check out the more intimate narrative in Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, by Eliza Griswold.  And the situation is not improving;  pipeline incidents are occurring just about every day.

• Fracking has been shown to contaminate residents’ bodies with endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can affect both birth outcomes and the male reproductive system.  Physicians for Social Responsibility’s report speaks out against natural gas, and in collaboration with Concerned Health Professionals of New York, they compile the annual Fracking Science Compendium,  now with more than 1700 peer-reviewed studies demonstrating these hazards.  And the evidence continues to accumulate;  a more recent study from Oklahoma confirms these health impacts.  Here in Pennsylvania, Act 13 setbacks have been shown to be drastically insufficient to protect public health.  

• Shell and its various subsidiaries have demonstrated disregard for the health of construction workers and the community during the coronavirus pandemic (for instance, transporting groups of workers in shuttle buses).  This is not surprising given Shell’s long record of troubled dealings around the world — suppressing science on climate change, leaving environmental messes (in the US, on our shores, off the UK coast, and beyond), participating in exploitative labor practices, fomenting human-rights abuses, and generally being a bad neighbor.   

• Again with little regard for the safety of workers or residents, radioactive material from fracking operations has been spread throughout the region.¹⁸

• What is this all for?  The plant will produce up to 1.6 million tons per year of polyethylene pellets called “nurdles” — much of which will become wasteful single-use plastics.  This will escalate the global plastics crisis — by 2050 there will likely be more plastic in the oceans than fish!  Long-lasting plastics break up into smaller pieces easily mistaken for food, and harm life all the way up the food chain.  Microplastics have been found in every Pennsylvania waterway tested in a recent survey,  in drinking water around the world, and even in our bodies.

• You and many others have pointed to jobs as the reason for our region to take on this burden.  However,  there will be more jobs in a renewables-based economy.  And despite huge subsidies at taxpayer expense,  economic benefits of the natural gas industry are transient and uneven because of the boom-bust character of resource extraction;  promised jobs haven’t materialized and indeed there’s a net decrease!   The whole industry is on shaky financial grounds,  and its future is uncertain. 

• Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the influx of out-of-state workers has also led to increased crime; out west it has exacerbated the MMIW crisis (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women), on top of the health hazards we know all too well.

At least four more ethane cracker plants are under consideration as the industry seeks to turn the tri-state region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio into a huge petrochemical hub.  The region where this industry has held sway for decades, in Louisiana, is known as “Cancer Alley”!  Is this what we want for the Ohio River Valley?  Is it what any leader wants for a legacy?  We are urging you to do all you can to help in the transition to clean renewable energy and away from single-use plastics.  

The undersigned individuals and community groups ask you, Mr. Fitzgerald, to detail your response to the intertwined pollution, climate, and plastics crises — and to publicly withdraw your support from the fracking and petrochemical development of our region.  

Thank you, 

350 Pittsburgh -- Elise Yoder, Steering Committee

Allegheny CleanWays -- Myrna Newman, Executive Director

Allegheny County Clean Air Now (ACCAN) -- Angelo Taranto, secretary/treasurer

ATM & RiverCubes -- Bob Johnson, Founder

Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC) -- Marcia Lehman, Executive Board

Berks Gas Truth -- Karen Feridun, Founder

Better Path Coalition -- Karen Feridun, Co-Founder

Breathe Project -- Matthew Mehalik, Executive Director

Center for Coalfield Justice -- Veronica Coptis, Executive Director

Citizens to Protect Oakmont -- Edward J. Grystar

Clean Air Council -- Joseph Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel

Climate Reality Pittsburgh & Southwestern Pennsylvania -- Marcel Minutolo, PhD, Chair

Communities First Sewickley Valley -- Gail Murray

Concerned Health Professionals of New York -- Carmi Orenstein, MPH, Program Director

Concerned Ohio River Residents -- Ben Hunkler, Organizer

CREATE Lab -- Ana Hoffman, Director of Air Quality Engagement

Dickinson For Congress Committee -- Jerry Dickinson, Candidate for Congress

Dream of the Earth -- Karen Bernard, President

Environmental Health Project -- Alison L Steele, MBA, Executive Director

Extinction Rebellion Pittsburgh -- Shelly Smiley, Social Media coordinator

Fireman Creative -- Paul Fireman, President

Food & Water Watch -- Megan McDonough, Pennsylvania State Director

Fossil Free Pitt Coalition -- Abhishek Viswanathan, Organizer

FrackFreeMahoning -- Maria Montez

FracTracker Alliance -- Brook Lenker, Executive Director

FreshWater Accountability Project -- Leatra Harper, Managing Director

Friends For Environmental Justice -- Elaine Tanner, Program Director

Garfield Community Farm -- John Creasy, Executive Director

Granny Peace Brigade -- Gayle Morrow

Green Deeds LLC -- Lee Willard, Owner

Green Party of Allegheny County -- Kelly Kuzemchak, Chair

Green Party of Butler and Venango -- Michael Bagdes-Canning

Green Sanctuary Team at First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh -- Peg Schmidt, Co-Chair

Group Against Smog & Pollution (GASP) -- Rachel Filippini, Executive Director

Health Coach -- Raleigh Taylor, Owner

Heartwood -- Matt Peters, Administrative Coordinator

Henry Family Farm -- Dale Henry, Owner/Operator

Indivisible Grassroots Pittsburgh -- Debra Fyock, Co-Manager

Institute for Green Science (IGS) -- Terrence Collins, PhD, Director (Teresa Heinz Professor of Green Chemistry)

IPAK-EDU -- James Lyons-Weiler, PhD, Chancellor

Izaak Walton League of America - Allegheny County -- Mike Stout, President

KiRi - Energy Healing and Transformational Ceremony -- Kathy Evans-Palmisano, President

Lawrenceville Clean Air Now -- Emily Cleath, Co-Founder

Local Authority Western PA (LAWPA) -- Debra Borowiec, Co-ordinator

Marcellus Outreach Butler -- Michael Bagdes-Canning, Planning Group

NoPetroPA -- Mark Dixon, Co-Founder

Ohio Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival -- Mary Aguilera

Ohio River Guardians -- Mary Aguilera

Ohio Valley Environmental Resistance (OVER) -- Greg Kochanski, Steering Committee

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) -- Vivian Stockman, Co-Director

Open Up -- Tessa Karel, Board President

Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Water and Air -- Jenny Lisak, Co-Director

People Over Petrochemical Coalition (POPCo) -- Kelsey McNaul, Coordinating Team

Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania -- Tammy Murphy, Advocacy Director

Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America -- Prem Rajgopal, MS, Ecosocialist Chair

Pittsburgh Mennonite Church Sustainability Group -- Phoebe Sharp, Stewardship Advocate

Pittsburgh Vegan Society -- Sean Moundas, Co-Organizer

Pittsburghers Against Single-Use Plastic (PASUP) -- Dianne Peterson, Steering Committee

Plant-Based Pittsburgh -- Sally Lipsky, Founder/President

Project CoffeeHouse -- Barbara Jarmoska, President

Protect Elizabeth Township -- Jill Taylor, Business Manager

ProtectPT -- Lois Drumheller, Board Chair

Putting Down Roots -- Maren Cooke, PhD, Founder

Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living -- Claire Orner, VP Steward

Rail Pollution Protection Pittsburgh (RP3) -- Barbara Talerico and Glenn Olcerst, Esq., Co-Founders

Recycle This Pittsburgh -- Sabrina Culyba, Editor

Responsible Drilling Alliance (RDA) -- Robert Cross, President

Scenius LLC -- Ron Gaydos, Principal

Steiner Learning Design -- Mary Ann Steiner, Owner

Strollo Sound -- Christopher Strollo, Owner/Operator

Sustainable Monroeville -- Elisa Beck, Founder

The Earthling's Handbook -- Rebecca Stallings, Author and Site Editor

The Farmer's Wife -- Margaret Henry, Owner/Operator

The Thomas Merton Center -- Gabriel McMorland, Executife Director

Thou Art: The Grounding Lab Art Studio -- Margaret Baco, Creative Director

Three Rivers Waterkeeper -- Bryce Aaronson, Interim Executive Director

Thrive_At_Life: Working Solutions -- Peggy Ann Berry, CEO

Upper Burrell Citizens Against Marcellus Pollution -- Ron Slabe

Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens' Group -- January Milburn, President

Women for a Healthy Environment -- Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, Executive Director

and

Chris Abell

Diane Abell

Edith Abeyta

Tara Alexander, CPD

Ward Allebach, MS

Lori Altenderfer 

Diana Ames

Laurie Anderson

Jacqueline Apone

Mary Ruth Aull, RN, BSN

Val Bader

Kenneth Ball

Jennifer Bannan

Eva Barinas

Emily Barlow

Robert Baron

Terrie Baumgardner

Stanley Beck

John Beres, RN

Nancy Bernstein, MPH

Molly Berntsen

Fred Bickerton

John Blau

Julie Boetger 

Lois Bower-Bjornson 

Bailey Bowers

Barbara Wendeborn Brandom, MD (ret.)

Marcia Brissett

Margaret Bupp

Seth Bush

Patrick Campbell, M.Div

Paul Carlson

Mae Catino

Connie Cavara

Ryan Chadwick 

Darren Cheng

Jennifer Clark

Frayda Cohen

Alex Cole

Nicholas Coles, PhD (Associate Professor)

Ellen Conrad

Carla Cooke, MALD

Bruce Cooper

Maureen Copeland

Sally Coulson

Holly Cox

Joyce Crock

Zelda Curtiss, JD

Stentor Danielson, PhD (Associate Professor)

Dan Davis

Mo Dawley

Roger Day, ScD (Professor Emeritus)

Lucyna de Barbaro

Darlene Dech

Ann E. Deely

Maura Deely, BS (Environmental Science)

John Deeney, PhD (Professor Emeritus)

Emily De Ferrari

Patricia DeMarco, PhD (Forest Hills Borough Council VP)

John Detisch

Julie DiCenzo

Jill Diskin

Neil McPherson Donahue, PhD (Lord Chair and University Professor)

Alice Doolittle

Larysa Dyrszka MD

Sheridan Edmondson, MS

Andrew O. Ellis

Eleanor Emmons-Apt

Robert Errett

John Fallon

Nita Fandray (Post-Gazette reader)

Ruth Fauman-Fichman

Christopher Fazio

Marge Fekete

Julie Ferringer

Michele Fetting

Gaye Fifer

Kate Fissell

Sarah E Flanders

Sandra Fox

Ayres Freitas

Margaret Fried Whelan

Shannon Frishkorn

Martha Funderburgh, MPH

Sharon Furlong

Catherine Gammon

Ashley Gehlke, CRNP

Peter E. Gilmore

Albert Giovanazzi

Dinnie Goldring

Carol Gonzalez

Henry Gonzalez

Michael Goodhart, PhD

Ellie Gordon

Hamish Gordon, PhD (Assistant Research Professor)

Tatiana Grosu

Barbara Grover, PhD

Cecelia Hard

Frances Harkins

Greta Harmon

Jane Harter

Volker Hartkopf, PhD, M.Arch (professor emeritus)

Patricia Hawkins

Laurie Heller, PhD

Laura Henderson

William A. Hendricks

Marci Henzi

Faith Hersey 

Sarah Hertweck

Colin Hill

Harry Hochheiser, PhD (Associate Professor)

Tom Hoffman

Sharon Hoffman

Josh Homa

Rhea Homa

Matt Hornfeck

Alan Horowitz, PhD

Rob Hosken

Kathryn Hunninen

Jno L Hunt

Travis Hunter

Ginny Iadicicco

Lisa Ireland

Todd Ireland

Laura Jacko

Erica Jackson

Jeff Jaeger

Lydia Jahl

Natalie Jellison

Coty Jen, PhD (Assistant Professor)

Virginia Johnson 

Janis Johnson 

Jocelyn Johnston

Ilyas Khan

Brennan Kaye

Timothy Patrrick Kelly

Cynthia Kirsch 

Walt Kochirka

Dee Kochirka 

David Kolonay 

Sonia Kowal

William Kownacki

Fred Kraybill

Kathleen Krebs

Maria Kretschmann

Marie Kruszewski 

Jenny Kuhn

Claudette Kulkarni, PhD

Marie Kundrat

Adrien Lagasse

Eric lagasse

Françoise Lagasse

Jennifer Lakin 

Eric Lantzman

Nancy Lapp

Susan Largent

Deborah Larson

Diane Lassman

Corey Layman

Javin Lee-Lobel

Miriam Lindauer

Barbara Litt, MS

Vivian Loftness, FAIA, LEED AP, CPHC (Paul Mellon Chair and University Professor)

Tim Lucas

Heather lyle

Deirdre Lynch

Elizabeth Lynch

Ian MacLellan

Megan L MacLellan

Andreas Maihoefer

Mary Beth Mannarino, PhD (Professor Emeritus)

Guillaume Marcais

Katherine Max

Sheila May-Stein

Nicole McCaffrey 

Jason F McCullough

Gale McGloin

Danielle McGuire

Kelsey McNaul

Kelly McQueston

Todd Medema

Rachel Meyer

Kenneth Alan Miller

Leandra Mira

Rachel Mole, MSE

Sandra Monteverde 

Joanne Mulé

John Nagle, PhD (Professor Emeritus)

Rachel Nawrocki

Rachael Renzy Neffshade

Matthew Nemeth

Linda Neumann

Richard Neumann

Gail Neustadt, MA

Kathleen Newman, PhD (Associate Professor)

Robert Nishikawa

Marianne Novy

Mary Obringer

Mel Packer

Dana Palmisano

Tim Pearce, PhD

Dianne Peeling

Marta Pelusi

Elizabeth F. Perkins

Anaïs Peterson

Dottie Peterson

Cindy Phelps

Kari Pohl RN, BSN

Randi Jeannine Pokladnik

Helen Podgainy Bitaxis, MD

Bonnie Prady

Andrew Puglionesi

Ryan Pusch, MDiv

Martha Raak, MA

Douglas Rabuzzi

Jessie Ramey

Jack Read

Jack Rearick 

Barbara Recker, RN, MSN, MPH

Perry Recker, M.Phil

Timothy Reick

Thomas E. Reilly, Esq.

Barbara J. Reilly

Timothy Resciniti

Jo Resciniti

Abby Resnick

Eva Resnick-Day

Ray Roberts

Nancy Robinson 

Kara Roggenkamp

Emily Rollins

Nazmul Rony

Jen Roof

Ann Rosenthal

Jennifer J. Ross

Elizabeth Rotz

Edie Rudolph

Kathy Ruffing

Edith Ruiz

Molly Rush

Mary Rush

Cheyenne S

Pouné Saberi

Tamara Sacks

Abby Samuels

Neal Samuels

Symone Saul

Paul W Scanlon

Hilary Schenker

Barton Schoenfeld

Elizabeth Schongar

Caitlin Schroering, PhD

Greg Schubert

Janet Seltman

Audrey Marie Semel, MPH

Douglas Shields

Sydney Shoff

Dana Siler

Elise Silvestri

Daniel Sleator, PhD (Professor)

Debra Smit

Brenda Lynn Smith

Shannon Smith

Brittany Spinelli

Robert P Sroufe

Suzanne Staggenborg

Judith Starr

Barbara Steinberg

John F Stolz

Janet Strahosky

Rebecca Studer, PhD

Ryan Sullivan, PhD (Associate Professor)

Cecile Sun, PhD (Professor)

Jennie Sweet-Cushman

Naomi Swerdlow

Merrily Swoboda, PhD

Tiffany Taulton

Molly Tighe

Stephanie Ulmer

Peri Unligil

Alexander VanLaningham

Tonyeh Verkitus

Nick Viggiano

Victoria A Vose

Joan Wagman

Garret Wasserman, MS

Suzanne E Watters

Kenneth Joseph Weir

Loretta Weir

Evalynn Welling

Leslie Wessner

Kathie Westman

Christine Weyant

Jason Alan White-Wiedow

Linda Willhide

M. Kathleen Winter, PhD, MPH, RN

Dawn Winters, PhD

Justin Wojtkowski

Peter Wray

Edward Wrenn, M.D.

Mitchell Zotter

References: 

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/01/21/senator-ted-cruz-paris-climate-accord-pittsburgh/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/fossil-fuel-air-pollution-responsible-for-1-in-5-deaths-worldwide/

https://www.momscleanairforce.org/ethane-cracker-plants/

https://www.ehn.org/cancer-in-pittsburgh-pollution-hampers-prevention-progress-2628074364.html

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2013/11/21/Report-Allegheny-County-in-top-2-percent-in-U-S-for-cancer-risk-from-air-pollution/stories/201311210326

https://www.heinz.org/UserFiles/Library/PRETA_HAPS.pdf

https://breatheproject.org/patrolling-our-air/

https://www.desmog.com/2018/09/12/pipeline-exploded-pennsylvania-part-sprint-build-fracking-reliant-petrochemical-corridor/

https://www.ehn.org/here-are-the-25-zones-along-the-proposed-shell-falcon-pipeline-at-risk-of-explosions-due-to-landslides-2604629860.html  

https://www.fractracker.org/2021/04/2021-pipeline-incidents-update-safety-record-not-improving/

https://www.fractracker.org/2021/03/shells-falcon-pipeline-under-investigation-for-serious-public-safety-threats/

https://triblive.com/local/regional/im-just-so-angry-residents-welcome-grand-jury-report-slamming-pa-oversight-of-fracking-industry/

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/press-releases/43rd-statewide-grand-jury-finds-pennsylvania-failed-to-protect-citizens-during-fracking-boom/

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374103118

https://www.ehn.org/fractured-series-on-fracking-pollution-2650624600.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972035765X

https://www.ehn.org/health-impacts-of-fracking-2634432607.html

https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2020/fracking-chemical-may-interfere-with-male-sex-hormone-receptor

https://www.psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/too-dirty-too-dangerous.pdf

https://concernedhealthny.org

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988321001286

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/ungsetbacks/

https://www.foei.org/news/these-eight-scandals-prove-shells-long-history-of-contempt-for-people-and-planet

https://www.fairplanet.org/dossier/eco-crimes-shell-and-the-niger-delta/

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/toxic-oil-found-half-million-dollar-california-homes/story?id=10647662

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/north-sea-oil-rigs-concrete-legs-oil-sediment-shell-decommissioning-a7567956.html

https://www.ecowatch.com/shell-oil-spill-dumps-nearly-90-000-gallons-of-crude-into-gulf-1891130324.html

http://priceofoil.org/2020/10/08/stretching-back-a-decade-shell-is-once-again-brought-to-court-over-landmark-pollution-case/

https://en.milieudefensie.nl/news/after-12-years-the-oil-pollution-lawsuit-against-shell-in-nigeria-is-almost-over

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/29/961997652/shell-ordered-to-compensate-nigerian-farmers-affected-by-oil-spills

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56041189

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/

https://time.com/4186250/ocean-plastic-fish/

https://pennenvironment.org/news/pae/new-report-microplastics-found-100-percent-tested-pennsylvania-waterways

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/microplastics-in-drinking-water/en/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/08/18/microplastics-found-in-human-organs-for-the-first-time

https://11bup83sxdss1xze1i3lpol4-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/The-Economic-Climate-Fiscal-Power-and-Demographic-Impact-of-a-National-Fee-and-Dividend-Carbon-Tax-5.25.18.pdf

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pennsylvanias-fossil-fuel-industry-received-37-billion-in-tax-breaks-in-2019-says-report/Content?oid=18993877

http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/publications/

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/report-shows-natural-gas-fracking-didnt-produce-promised-jobs-to-pa-and-appalachia/Content?oid=18902088

https://newrepublic.com/article/161937/fossil-fuel-companies-job-killers

https://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-financial-risks-loom-for-shells-pennsylvania-petrochemical-complex/

https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2014/12/fracking_brought_spikes_in_vio.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X21000214  

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/04/navajo-nation-fracking

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/plastics-appalachia-next-cancer-alley-fracking-public-health-ethane 

Job opportunities at Rodale Institute (various locations)

The Rodale Institute currently has many job openings, all over the US (including PA) in various aspects of farm production, research, and communications.  

https://rodaleinstitute.org/employment/

 

Making the connections -- fracking/pipelines/plastics and health/environment/climate/human rights.

[This is an open letter to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald;  please click here to sign on as an individual or organization -- whether or not you are in Allegheny County.]

Pennsylvania and adjacent states have long been a sacrifice zone for fossil energy extraction — oil, coal, and natural gas — and now we are being asked, with your backing, to sacrifice our health and environment for the production of plastics, as well.  Where will this end?  

You have stated that “We believe in science around here.”  However, while claiming to be climate-aware, you have done little to address the climate crisis, and you’ve been a longtime cheerleader for fracking and petrochemical development in our region.  The science is mounting to demonstrate how damaging these industries are to human health, local economies, and the climate.  With the industry spreading through our region, the time is right to change your stance.  

Now that the science is clear — details below — we ask that you issue a statement withdrawing your support for the fracking and petrochemical industries;  that you endorse the new PA bills HB1353/SB645, HB1354/SB644, and HB1355/HB646 to close the hazardous waste loophole;  and when relevant County legislation comes before you (like the ban on fracking in County parks now in Council), that you stand on the side of public health and a sustainable economy with your decision.  These are among the facts you can marshall to protect the citizens you have sworn to represent:

• The International Energy Agency has determined that in order to preserve a livable climate, there can be no further investment in fossil energy extraction.  The Shell ethane cracker will emit half as much CO₂ as the city of Pittsburgh, so just this one plant will undo our laudable climate goals.  And with thousands of new gas wells needed to provide ethane for the plant in the coming years, even more climate-disrupting carbon dioxide and methane will be emitted elsewhere —  meaning more heat waves, cold snaps, and big storms.  In addition to all the present and future impacts of climate change itself, most air pollution is directly linked to fossil fuels.  A recent study out of Harvard  found that 1 in 5 early deaths worldwide are due to ultrafine particle pollution from fossil fuel combustion.  That’s 8 million people a year — of which about 300,000 are people in the U.S. who die prematurely from fossil fuel pollution every year — half as many as we’ve lost to COVID over the past 14 months, but this is year after year after year!

• Shell’s plant in nearby Beaver County will also emit up to 500 tons of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) each year, and 30 tons of hazardous air pollutants, including known carcinogens like benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde.  About one in five Pennsylvanians die of cancer, and Allegheny County is already in the top 2% for cancer risk across the nation due to hazardous air pollutants.    Similarly, Beaver County residents, living even closer to the plant, are beginning to realize what they’re in for.  

• The cracker plant requires the construction of an ethane pipeline system crossing the Ohio River, many other sensitive areas including the headwaters of the Ambridge Reservoir (which serves 30,000 people in 11 municipalities), and regions prone to landslides that can lead to explosions.  And if Shell has cut corners during construction of the Falcon Pipeline, this danger is multiplied.  Other fracking and pipeline companies engaged in projects that feed these petrochemical plants have come under criminal investigation.  If the state Grand Jury Report is too full of legalese, check out the more intimate narrative in Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, by Eliza Griswold.  And the situation is not improving;  pipeline incidents are occurring just about every day.

• Fracking has been shown to contaminate residents’ bodies with endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can affect both birth outcomes and the male reproductive system.  Physicians for Social Responsibility’s report speaks out against natural gas, and in collaboration with Concerned Health Professionals of New York, they compile the annual Fracking Science Compendium,  now with more than 1700 peer-reviewed studies demonstrating these hazards.  And the evidence continues to accumulate;  a more recent study from Oklahoma confirms these health impacts.  Here in Pennsylvania, Act 13 setbacks have been shown to be drastically insufficient to protect public health.  

• Shell and its various subsidiaries have demonstrated disregard for the health of construction workers and the community during the coronavirus pandemic (for instance, transporting groups of workers in shuttle buses).  This is not surprising given Shell’s long record of troubled dealings around the world — suppressing science on climate change, leaving environmental messes (in the US, on our shores, off the UK coast, and beyond), participating in exploitative labor practices, fomenting human-rights abuses, and generally being a bad neighbor.   

• Again with little regard for the safety of workers or residents, radioactive material from fracking operations has been spread throughout the region.¹⁸

• What is this all for?  The plant will produce up to 1.6 million tons per year of polyethylene pellets called “nurdles” — much of which will become wasteful single-use plastics.  This will escalate the global plastics crisis — by 2050 there will likely be more plastic in the oceans than fish!  Long-lasting plastics break up into smaller pieces easily mistaken for food, and harm life all the way up the food chain.  Microplastics have been found in every Pennsylvania waterway tested in a recent survey,  in drinking water around the world, and even in our bodies.

• You and many others have pointed to jobs as the reason for our region to take on this burden.  However,  there will be more jobs in a renewables-based economy.  And despite huge subsidies at taxpayer expense,  economic benefits of the natural gas industry are transient and uneven because of the boom-bust character of resource extraction;  promised jobs haven’t materialized and indeed there’s a net decrease!   The whole industry is on shaky financial grounds,  and its future is uncertain. 

• Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the influx of out-of-state workers has also led to increased crime; out west it has exacerbated the MMIW crisis (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women), on top of the health hazards we know all too well.

At least four more ethane cracker plants are under consideration as the industry seeks to turn the tri-state region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio into a huge petrochemical hub.  The region where this industry has held sway for decades, in Louisiana, is known as “Cancer Alley”!  Is this what we want for the Ohio River Valley?  Is it what any leader wants for a legacy?  We are urging you to do all you can to help in the transition to clean renewable energy and away from single-use plastics.  

The undersigned individuals and community groups ask you, Mr. Fitzgerald, to detail your response to the intertwined pollution, climate, and plastics crises — and to publicly withdraw your support from the fracking and petrochemical development of our region.  

(Signatures are shown on the presentation page.)

[click here to sign on as an individual or organization.]

References: 

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/01/21/senator-ted-cruz-paris-climate-accord-pittsburgh/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/fossil-fuel-air-pollution-responsible-for-1-in-5-deaths-worldwide/

https://www.momscleanairforce.org/ethane-cracker-plants/

https://www.ehn.org/cancer-in-pittsburgh-pollution-hampers-prevention-progress-2628074364.html

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2013/11/21/Report-Allegheny-County-in-top-2-percent-in-U-S-for-cancer-risk-from-air-pollution/stories/201311210326

https://www.heinz.org/UserFiles/Library/PRETA_HAPS.pdf

https://breatheproject.org/patrolling-our-air/

https://www.desmog.com/2018/09/12/pipeline-exploded-pennsylvania-part-sprint-build-fracking-reliant-petrochemical-corridor/

https://www.ehn.org/here-are-the-25-zones-along-the-proposed-shell-falcon-pipeline-at-risk-of-explosions-due-to-landslides-2604629860.html  

https://www.fractracker.org/2021/04/2021-pipeline-incidents-update-safety-record-not-improving/

https://www.fractracker.org/2021/03/shells-falcon-pipeline-under-investigation-for-serious-public-safety-threats/

https://triblive.com/local/regional/im-just-so-angry-residents-welcome-grand-jury-report-slamming-pa-oversight-of-fracking-industry/

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/press-releases/43rd-statewide-grand-jury-finds-pennsylvania-failed-to-protect-citizens-during-fracking-boom/

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374103118

https://www.ehn.org/fractured-series-on-fracking-pollution-2650624600.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972035765X

https://www.ehn.org/health-impacts-of-fracking-2634432607.html

https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2020/fracking-chemical-may-interfere-with-male-sex-hormone-receptor

https://www.psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/too-dirty-too-dangerous.pdf

https://concernedhealthny.org

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988321001286

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/ungsetbacks/

https://www.foei.org/news/these-eight-scandals-prove-shells-long-history-of-contempt-for-people-and-planet

https://www.fairplanet.org/dossier/eco-crimes-shell-and-the-niger-delta/

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/toxic-oil-found-half-million-dollar-california-homes/story?id=10647662

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/north-sea-oil-rigs-concrete-legs-oil-sediment-shell-decommissioning-a7567956.html

https://www.ecowatch.com/shell-oil-spill-dumps-nearly-90-000-gallons-of-crude-into-gulf-1891130324.html

http://priceofoil.org/2020/10/08/stretching-back-a-decade-shell-is-once-again-brought-to-court-over-landmark-pollution-case/

https://en.milieudefensie.nl/news/after-12-years-the-oil-pollution-lawsuit-against-shell-in-nigeria-is-almost-over

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/29/961997652/shell-ordered-to-compensate-nigerian-farmers-affected-by-oil-spills

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56041189

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/

https://time.com/4186250/ocean-plastic-fish/

https://pennenvironment.org/news/pae/new-report-microplastics-found-100-percent-tested-pennsylvania-waterways

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/microplastics-in-drinking-water/en/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/08/18/microplastics-found-in-human-organs-for-the-first-time

https://11bup83sxdss1xze1i3lpol4-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/The-Economic-Climate-Fiscal-Power-and-Demographic-Impact-of-a-National-Fee-and-Dividend-Carbon-Tax-5.25.18.pdf

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pennsylvanias-fossil-fuel-industry-received-37-billion-in-tax-breaks-in-2019-says-report/Content?oid=18993877

http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/publications/

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/report-shows-natural-gas-fracking-didnt-produce-promised-jobs-to-pa-and-appalachia/Content?oid=18902088

https://newrepublic.com/article/161937/fossil-fuel-companies-job-killers

https://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-financial-risks-loom-for-shells-pennsylvania-petrochemical-complex/

https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2014/12/fracking_brought_spikes_in_vio.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X21000214  

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/04/navajo-nation-fracking

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/plastics-appalachia-next-cancer-alley-fracking-public-health-ethane

[click here to sign on as an individual or organization.]

Poultry resources

From Deb Heleba, at SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education):

...Earlier this week, I received a request from a farmer for SARE-funded small-scale poultry resources and I thought you might appreciate them too.

·         Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture: https://www.sare.org/resources/profitable-poultry/. Our national SARE bulletin that features farmer experiences plus the latest research in a guide to raising chickens and turkeys using pens, movable fencing and pastures. 2012.

·         21st Century Pastured Poultry: https://northeast.sare.org/resources/21st-century-pastured-poultry/. Farmer Nickhi Carangelo of Letterbox Farm Collective designed this guide as a comprehensive resource for farmers seeking to develop, expand or improve a pastured poultry enterprise. 2019.

·         Pastured Poultry Nutrition and Forages: https://www.sare.org/resources/pastured-poultry-nutrition-and-forages/. This publication was prepared by NCAT with SARE funding to explore the important role that forages play in pasture poultry production for either meat or egg production. 2013.

·         Remedies for Health Problems of the Organic Laying Flock: https://cdn.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/20171204134731/909063remedies-for-health-problems-of-the-organic-laying-flock.pdf. Farmer Karma Glos of Kingbird Farm published this guide as part of a Farmer Grant (organic farmers should work with their organic certification organization and/or veterinarian on organic health management practices). 2002.

·         Niche Poultry Enterprises in New England: A guide for farmers and farm service providers:https://northeast.sare.org/resources/niche-poultry-enterprises-in-new-england/. This guide is the result of work with poultry producers around New England to document their biggest challenges, best practices, and their advice for new poultry farmers. 2014.

·         Mobile Poultry Processing Resources. A set of resources was developed as part of a Research and Education grant, “Outreach, training, and education for small-scale poultry producers using MPPUs in Massachusetts”:

o   Building an On-Farm Poultry Processing Facility: https://www.sare.org/resources/building-an-on-farm-poultry-processing-facility/. Drawing on their own experiences and those of other poultry processing projects around the country, Sam Anderson* and Jennifer Hashley of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project put together this comprehensive guide to planning and constructing a mobile poultry processing unit (MPPU) or stationary facility for on-farm poultry processing. 2012.

o   Handbook for Small-Scale Poultry Producer-Processors:https://northeast.sare.org/resources/handbook-for-small-scale-poultry-producer-processors/. Jennifer Hashley and Judith Gillan produced this overview of Massachusetts regulations regarding the slaughter of poultry and how that applies to use of a Mobile Poultry Processing Unit. 2012.

o   Mobile Poultry Processing Unit Farm and Food Safety Management Guide:https://www.sare.org/resources/mobile-poultry-processing-unit-farm-and-food-safety-management-guide/. Jennifer Hashley and Judith Gillan also prepared this guide for small-scale poultry producers and processors using a Massachusetts-inspected mobile poultry processing unit or stationary on-farm facility. 2012.

 

Debra Heleba [she/her]

Communications Specialist

Northeast SARE | University of Vermont

140 Kennedy Drive, Suite 202 | South Burlington, VT 05403

www.northeastsare.org | 802.651.8335 x 552

 

Report of the Elections Task Force

 ELECTION SYSTEM PROBLEMS 

NOVEMBER 3, 2020 GENERAL ELECTION, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA

MANAGEMENT ISSUES TO ADDRESS

The Elections Task Force

January 24, 2021

While we respect the work of conducting the November election, we cannot declare an election a success simply because poll workers and voters overcame barriers put in their way. We should celebrate the perseverance of poll workers and voters with indignation at conditions that made perseverance necessary and with determination to redesign the systems that create these barriers.

These systems problems cost the County and the taxpayer. More than 29,000 incorrect ballots were sent to voters. Correcting this took money, time, and resources as did addressing problems created by poor poll worker training and inadequate staffing. This report covers management system problems and recommends improvements. Many of these systems problems are chronic. While the County is responsible for some and the State for others, all must be addressed.

The question is how to get the County to address these system problems in a transparent process that engages the public and incorporates feedback?

The full text of the report can be found here.

A Reference Guide for New Zoomers

In order to continue our long tradition of community gatherings while practicing social distancing to help protect our community from the worst effects of the novel coronavirus, Sustainability Salons are being held via teleconference using the Zoom platform.  One silver lining to this pandemic situation is that we’re having participants who usually can’t attend in person because of distance or physical limitations (e.g., allergies).  Here are some tips that may help you navigate the process.

You’ll be able to connect from your computer, tablet, or smartphone (of course the larger the screen, the better your experience!).  If you have a problem getting connected, read the tips below and try again, or look on the  Zoom web site for answers — there’s a pretty comprehensive Help section (click on Support in the upper right).  

Some of you have used Zoom before, others have not.  If you haven’t, you’ll need to install Zoom on your computer, but it should be pretty easy (you may need your own password, for your system to allow the software installation; this doesn’t go anywhere else) — you’ll click on the link I give you in this email, and it’ll bring up a registration form, and then Zoom will send you another email with a signon link.  Click that a little while before the meeting is scheduled to start, and it’ll prompt you for each step (the link opens a web page, and from there it asks to download and run the application, or just open it if you already have it).  The whole process is pretty simple and automated, so you should find yourself with a Zoom window in the middle of your screen.  As with most windows, you can click on the boxy symbol to expand it to full-screen, as you prefer.  It may look plain at first, but it will soon have a number of little boxes with names and perhaps images of people.  And if you move the cursor a bit, a row of buttons will appear along the bottom of the window.  

Mute:  With so many participants, it won't be practical to have everyone talking.  You’ll start out muted (shown in the lower left of the Zoom window, as a picture of a microphone with a line through it), and likely remain muted for most of the time.  If you need to say something to everyone, there's a "Raise Hand" option in the Participant window, but please wait for a host to ask you to un-mute, then click that microphone icon — and then be sure to mute again afterward, or things will get pretty noisy.  

Chat:  There is, however, a chat facility — so if you have questions for a speaker or comments in between, you can type it in and we’ll figure out when best to present it.  We'll have one or more co-hosts moderating the chat window, keeping stack, prioritizing questions, and conveying them to the speaker (or whoever).  To see and use the Chat window, click on the Chat icon on the bottom of your Zoom window — it looks like a little word-bubble.  

Video:  I set it up so that everyone can use video, but you don’t need to — you can toggle on and off with a button (a video camera icon) on the bottom left of your Zoom window.  If your video is on, folks may see a little thumbnail of your image.  If it’s off, just a black rectangle with your name. With this many people either the thumbnails will be really tiny, or they won’t all be shown — we’ll probably have multiple screens worth.  It also may affect sound or video quality due to bandwidth limitations — again, I don’t know with this many people, so at some point we may just say “Hey everyone, turn your video off!”  Our priority is to provide a good view of the speakers and their slides, and perhaps occasionally someone else participating in the discussion.  

Sound:  You can listen to everything on your computer/tablet/phone speaker, or with headphones or earbuds, whatever is most comfortable for you.  If you need to speak, those devices probably have microphones as well, but if not, at the time you sign on you’ll have the opportunity to test it and the option to use a phone for sound instead — you’ll be able to see the presenters and their slides on the screen, and hear and speak through a phone call (it’ll give you a number to call.  You’ll need to have your phone on for the whole time, though, so be sure it’s plugged in and you don’t have limited minutes!).  You’ll probably want to put the phone on Speaker mode and set it beside you, or use earphones;  it’d be a long time to hold it to your ear!  

It is also possible to use a smartphone or tablet for the whole thing, if that’s more convenient for you.  The interface will be a little different — there’s less space on the screen, of course, and a somewhat different sign-on procedure.

In theory you could have several people at one location, but note that a laptop microphone might not be adequate for each of you to be heard by others if you're not close together right in front of the computer.  (If so, you can also use a phone for sound instead as just mentioned). 

It is even possible just to dial in on a regular phone, and you’ll be able to hear and be heard — but again, please mute your phone — with eighty people on the line with random background noises, it would get pretty hard to hear!  (we can also mute you, if you’re on a phone without that function).

Sign-on:  You should have a Zoom Invitation in your email.  As noted above, just click on the meeting link therein and it’ll take you to the registration page — provide your name and email, and you’ll receive the meeting link (and phone numbers in case you want to just dial in — but again, you’ll have a richer experience if you can use a computer, tablet, or even smartphone.  There will be multiple phone numbers because many people use Zoom to have meetings distributed around faraway places).   One last note — if something goes wrong, you can just go back to your confirmation email and click the link to start over. 

If you are using a phone, my test this morning showed that there are a couple of possible hitches, easy to circumvent once you know about them (so I’m telling you now to save you the frustration I had a couple of hours ago!):  If you have autocorrect, predictive text and/or automatic capitalization on your smartphone, it’s very hard to get past the CAPTCHA step (obscured text you have to type in manually to prove you’re a human being).  In my test, I kept failing because the phone tried to re-spell the nonsense word as a real word!  On my iPhone, I went into Settings, then to General, then to Keyboard, and scrolled down to un-set those options.  Then it worked fine!  I don’t know the Android equivalent, but it’s probably similar. 

Alarming plan to gut the DEP: sign-on letter

Below is the text of a letter by attorneys at the Environmental Integrity Project, protesting a proposal to gut the regulatory powers of the PA DEP.  You can sign onto this letter here.  Please do!  DEADLINE TO ADD YOUR NAME:  Sept 22 at noon!

September 23, 2019 

Subject: Citizen Opposition to House Bills 1106 and 1107 

To the Honorable Thomas W. Wolf, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Honorable Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and Honorable Members of the Pennsylvania Senate: 

How much faster does the petro-chemical buildout in Pennsylvania need to be? 

The General Assembly of Pennsylvania is poised to vote on a package of bills known as Energize PA. These bills are intended to pour fuel on the already growing wildfire of oil and gas expansion in the state. Two of these bills – HB 1106 and HB 1107, will be voted on this week. If passed, the General Assembly will be doing just what industry wants . . . turning the Commonwealth into a Welcome Wagon for all things oil and gas, at the reckless expense of public health, the environment, and quality of life. 

Hidden in these sweeping proposals, under the guise of economic growth and expansion, are measures that will do more than just line the pockets of oil and gas executives. HB 1106 and HB 1107 also seek to gut the permitting authority of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and transfer it to a newly created and politically appointed 5-person Permitting Commission whose sole task will be to rubber stamp all environmental permit applications. Strong and enforceable permits, with robust provisions for public participation, are what protect people against the health and environmental impacts of all kinds of industrial activities that threaten air and water quality, not just oil and gas. These bills take all of those protections away. 

This cannot be allowed to proceed, but if it does, Pennsylvania will forfeit its authority to implement any federal environmental program until the state seeks approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of these substantial changes. These bills gut a significant portion of DEP’s authority and such a move would require EPA approval. This is because federal laws such as the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act are administered in states through a process where EPA approves (“authorizes”) a state to implement the federal program. If Pennsylvania does submit requests for revisions to its federal authorizations, this process provides for public comment and judicial review of EPA’s final decision-making. And until necessary revision requests are submitted and approved, a process that could prove lengthy, EPA will likely take over permitting, enforcement, and all other responsibilities in 2 

Pennsylvania regarding the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and more. 

This is reckless lawmaking, but not surprising. Together, these bills represent the culmination of a long-game playbook written by the oil and gas industry that has now been plopped into the lap of malleable state legislators. And here’s how it goes. 

Step 1: Starve DEP by slashing funding by 24 percent between fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2019 despite the exponential growth of shale gas production – from less than half a billion cubic feet per day in 2008 to more than 18.7 billion cubic feet per day as of June 2019. 

Staffing levels have decreased 23 percent since 2006. The Oil and Gas Program suffered some of the deepest cuts. As of early 2018, this program ran a $600,000 a month deficit, and staff was reduced from 226 to 190 employees compared to 2006, with a 43 percent staff reduction in the Southwest District Office, and 15 percent in the Northwest District Office, both of which assume a sizable portion of the Department’s oil and gas permitting. In 2018, despite these paralyzing cutbacks, DEP managed to issue 2,149 oil and gas permits even though only 917 wells were drilled. So is a faster permit track really needed? 

Step 2: After decimating the agency, complain about the permit “backlog” as the budget-starved DEP struggles to keep up with the avalanche of permit applications from companies who run over local communities in their rush to sink even more gas wells, install tank farms and compressors, build gas processors and petrochemical plants, and pummel the roads and highways with continuous, polluting truck traffic. 

Step 3: Purport to solve the “problem” created by the budget and staff cuts by taking permitting authority away from DEP and give it to a new political commission charged with ensuring that all shale gas projects (and any other activity that requires an environmental permit) never again have to sit down with regulators and work through real environmental problems. Permits will be approved in 30 days or they will be deemed approved – no matter how complex, no matter how technologically complicated the pollution control equipment, no matter how much threat the activity poses to the health of nearby communities. This is all so the shale gas industry, an industry that’s expanded by a factor of 37 since 2008, can overrun the state (in the name of progress) even faster than it has in oil patch states like Texas and Louisiana. 

Thanks to budget cuts, industry lobbyists, and their amen corner in the state legislature, the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania is already driving a hundred miles an hour, exposing communities to more air and water pollution and increasing the risk of deadly accidents. Now the legislature wants to double a speed limit that is already too dangerous. 

“Expediting” permitting in Pennsylvania is a solution in search of a problem in a state where gas production has increased by a factor of 37 since 2008, much faster than any other state. And the permit “backlog” is a “problem” the state legislature created by hacking away at the budget for environmental protection year after year. And again, because it does bear repeating, permits already are being approved by DEP permit staff at a rate more than three times faster than shale gas projects can be built. 

DEP needs to be supported, not dismantled. In addition to the 2,149 oil and gas permits issued in 2018, DEP also discovered 4,060 oil and gas violations, and collected $4,140,382 in fines and penalties. The Department is not perfect, but there are good people within DEP trying to do the right thing with one hand tied behind their backs due to impediments created by the same legislature that is proposing these reckless bills. 

These bills must be defeated and funding and appropriate staffing levels must be restored to DEP. If these bills are passed, Governor Wolf must veto them. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Lisa Hallowell, Senior Attorney 

The Environmental Integrity Project 

Philadelphia, PA 19106 

202-294-3282 

Lhallowell@environmentalintegrity.org 

Lisa Graves Marcucci, 

Coordinator Community Outreach 

The Environmental Integrity Project 

Pittsburgh, PA 15236 

412-897-0569 

lgmarcucci@environmentalintegrity.org 

Additional signatories..