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Republican Herald Editorial: Health Depends On Regulation Of Oil & Gas Development

This editorial first appeared in the Republican Herald on August 22, 2023--

Enthusiastic gas-drilling advocates in the state Legislature long have fallen over themselves in their hast to get out of the industry’s way.

Their zeal, for most of two decades, included a prohibition on using public money to conduct any studies on the industry’s public health impact.

Gov. Tom Wolf finally commissioned a $2.5 million study in 2019 by public health researchers from the University of Pittsburgh.

Their recently released results demonstrate why the pro-industry lawmakers resisted such analyses.

It is extremely difficult to tie any particular disease in an individual or a group to any particular environmental factor, even when many people in close proximity suffer the same ill health effects.

This study was not designed to do that.

Rather, it examined the incidence of certain diseases within certain distances of active gas wells, and compared them with incidence of the same diseases where drilling is not an issue.

It found that people of all ages living near wells in heavily drilled areas of Western Pennsylvania experienced higher rates of severe asthma than those elsewhere, and that children in those areas were more likely to develop a form of lymphoma that otherwise is rare among children.

The Pennsylvania study follows others of drilling fields elsewhere in the United States that found higher rates of asthma, some cancers, low birth weights and more among people who live close to drilling operations.

Edward Keyter, a retired pediatrician and a member of the study’s advisory board, told the Associated Press that the asthma finding is a “bombshell.”

And he asked a question that should be directed at lawmakers wearing their pro-drilling blinders: “Why is anyone surprised about that?”

Since the drilling boom began in Pennsylvania between 2005 and 2010, the state government has played a game of catch-up, long hindered by lawmakers who refused to conduct studies relative to public health.

With information from the new study in hand, the Shapiro administration and lawmakers should ensure the strongest possible regulations are in place to protect public health from the inevitable impact of heavy industry on a massive scale.

NewsClips - Health Studies:

-- TribLive: Environmental Advocates Weight In On State Dept. Of Health, Pitt Study Of Natural Gas Development Health Impacts

-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: PA Residents Call For Action After Pitt Study Links Natural Gas Development To Asthma, Childhood Lymphoma

-- Post-Gazette Letter: We Now Know How Bad Natural Gas Development Is For Children - By Dr. Edward Ketyer, Physicians For Social Responsibility PA

-- Inquirer - Will Bunch: Does Anyone Care About The Study Linking PA Natural Gas Development To Cancer In Kids?

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Health Depends On Regulation Of Oil & Gas Development [PaEN]

-- TribLive Editorial: Studies Of Natural Gas Development Point To Health Costs

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Give Teeth To Environmental Justice Policy

Related Articles - Health Studies:

-- University Of Pittsburgh School Of Public Health Studies Find Shale Gas Wells Can Make Asthma Worse; Children Have An Increased Chance Of Developing Lymphoma Cancer; Slightly Lower Birth Weights [PaEN]

-- State Dept. Of Health Apologizes For Not Listening To Communities Suffering Health Impacts From Shale Gas Development; New Health Study Results ‘Just The Tip Of The Iceberg’ [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Who Pays For Natural Gas Development’s Harm? Pennsylvania Should Acknowledge The Clear Fact That Fracking Has Hurt People, Specifically Children [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - August 19 to 25 - More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Gas Frack-Out; More Leaking Wastewater Tanks; Equitrans Cleanup Continues [PaEN]

-- DEP Finds 2 More Petro Erie, Inc. Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Tanks With A Pipe Leading To A Discharge Area In A Ditch In Sugarcreek Boro, Venango County [PaEN]

-- Petro Erie, Inc. Appeals DEP’s July Field Order To Clean Up Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill Contaminating Village Of Reno’s Water Supply In Venango County; 2nd Appeal May Be Coming [PaEN]

-- Equitrans Determined Leak Of Over 1.1 Billion Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas From Cambria County Storage Facility Was Caused By Corrosion In Conventional Gas Well Casing [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - August 26 [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission To Vote Sept. 14 On Budget, Climate Change Resolution, Water Withdrawal Requests, Including 8 Shale Gas Drilling Operations - 1 In Exceptional Value Loyalsock Creek [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 25 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga Counties [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 62 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In August 26 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week - Natural Gas:

-- Observer-Reporter: State, County Elected Leaders Take Proactive Steps To Ban Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Wells

-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: DEP Cites Petro Erie With 5 Additional Violations [For More Leaking Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Tanks In Sugarcreek Boro, Venango County, Near Contaminated Reno Water Supply] [PDF of article]

-- The Derrick: No Word Yet On When Do Not Consume Water Advisory Will Be Lifted For The Village Of Reno Water Supply Contaminated By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater In Venango County [PDF of article]

-- The Derrick - Letter To Editor: Disappointed In Lack Of Involvement In Sen. Hutchinson, Rep. James To Resolve Village Of Reno Water Contamination Issue In Venango County [Polluted By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill] [PDF of Article]

-- TribLive: DEP Examining ‘Pinhole Leak’ In A Penneco Natural Gas Gathering Line Behind Homes That Exploded In Plum Boro, Allegheny County [PUC, DEP Have No Statutory Authority To Regulate Safety Of Gathering Pipelines]

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: LNG Natural Gas Export Facility Proposed In Chester Draws Pushback: ‘We Suffer For Everybody Else’s Comfort’

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: ‘We Suffer For Everybody’s Else’s Comfort’ Critics Of LNG Natural Gas Export Hub Say

-- WHYY: Chester Residents Unite Against Philly LNG Natural Gas Task Force Proposal: ‘We Will Not Allow This Environmental Genocide’

-- PA Capital-Star: Advocates Vow To Fight LNG Natural Gas Export Facility In Delaware County’s Poorest community

-- Inquirer: LNG Natural Gas Plant Could Bring Millions To Bankrupt Chester, Leaders, Residents Say No Thanks

-- Broad & Liberty Guest Essay: Federal Permitting Reform Critical In Making Pennsylvania Leading Player In Exporting Liquid Natural Gas - By Jon Anzur, PA Chamber of Business & Industry

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Business Advocates: Lack Of PA Permitting Reform Is Costing Jobs

-- City & State PA: Business Leaders, Lawmakers Hope For Bipartisan Action On Permitting Reform

-- The Center Square: Permitting Reformers Say Make State Permits More Like Pizzas