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Moms Clean Air Force: Pennsylvanians Call On State Leaders For Protection From Fossil Fuel And Plastic Industry Expansion

On November 12, Moms Clean Air Force, Environmental Health Project, and Clean Air Council held a press conference at the Pennsylvania State Capitol calling on state leaders to safeguard Pennsylvanians from the impacts of a fossil fuel and plastic industry buildout.

The groups said existing facilities are already sickening people in local neighborhoods and heating the planet with their pollution. Any proposed expansion of facilities would lock Pennsylvanians into more plastic industry buildout, more fracked fossil fuel infrastructure, and more pollution.

At the end of the press conference, Moms Clean Air Force delivered 5,000+ signed petitions to Gov. Shapiro and the Department of Environmental Protection, urging them to protect Pennsylvanians from the expansion of five proposed facilities: Marcus Hook Industrial Complex in Delaware County, Revolution Gas Processing Plant in Washington County, Harmon Creek Gas Processing Plant in Washington County, ARCH 2 KeyState Natural Gas Synthesis Plant in Clinton County, and Nacero Marcellus Facility in Luzerne County.

"Every step of the petrochemical and plastics supply chain releases harmful pollutants - from extraction of fracked ethane gas used to make the building blocks of plastics to processing, production and transportation. This is not the legacy we want to leave for Pennsylvania’s children and future generations,” said Rachel Meyer, Ohio River Valley Field Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force. "Living near these facilities and supporting infrastructure puts our children at greater risk for negative health outcomes such as low birth weight, developmental issues, asthma, and cancer. Families need protection from the petrochemical industry’s harmful air pollution and planned expansion that impacts health, contributes to climate change, and perpetuates environmental injustices."

“Petrochemical plants, like those that make plastics from fossil fuels, put the health of residents living nearby in serious jeopardy,” said Alison L. Steele, executive director of the Environmental Health Project. “These plants release toxic substances that accumulate in bodies and ecosystems, and pose a significant threat to the climate. Our governor, our agencies, and our legislators must do more to protect public health from the harms posed by these outsized polluters.”

“As the demand for oil and gas decreases due to the availability of clean renewable energy, the oil and gas industry is looking to plastics and other petrochemicals to keep profits high,” said Echo Alford, Delaware County Advocacy Coordinator, Clean Air Council. “The fossil fuel industry is polluting our environment to supply the building blocks to manufacture even more single-use plastic, adding to the global plastics crisis. Communities need the strongest possible standards and health protections from petrochemical facilities and from the fossil fuel infrastructure that feeds them.”

“My area of Washington County rapidly went from farming to fracking over the past twenty years while the state ignored health impacts caused by the shale gas industry,” said Cat Lodge, local Washington County resident. “It is long overdue that the State considers health harms and cumulative impacts before gas permits are issued. There should not be any new or expanded gas facilities until health protections are properly adopted.”

State Senator Katie Muth (D-Montgomery) also offered her support, sharing the following statement: “The fossil fuel industry has long been looting and polluting our Commonwealth— and through the expansion of the petrochemical industry, carbon capture projects, and hydrogen hubs, the leaders in this Commonwealth continue to perpetuate the influence and ability of corporate polluters to make billions off of our natural resources.

“Pennsylvanians deserve better than to be beholden to the oil and gas industry — and I am so proud to stand alongside these environmental changemakers to call on our leaders to take climate change seriously and to begin to prioritize green, renewable energy sources.”

Click Here for a video of the press conference.

Click Here to sign the petition.

Visit the Moms Clean Air Force, Environmental Health Project, and Clean Air Council websites for more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved.

Resource Links:

-- What to Know About the Petrochemical Industry

-- Health Impacts of Shale Gas Development

-- The Environmental and Health Impacts of Plastics

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 9 to 15 - Failed Well Pluggings; Leaking Gas Storage Area Wells; More Abandoned Conventional, Shale Gas Wells [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - November 16 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 60 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In November 16 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Moms Clean Air Force: Pennsylvanians Call On State Leaders For Protection From Fossil Fuel And Plastic Industry Expansion [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Our Children’s Health Isn’t Partisan, Pennsylvania Needs Strong Pollution Protections From Fracking Now - By Rachel Sica Meyer, Beaver County Resident, Moms Clean Air Force [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Volunteer Laurie Barr Leads Hunt For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Pennsylvania - By Ad Crable [PaEN]