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Conventional/Shale Oil & Gas Industry Association Acknowledges 1.4 Million People ‘Are Impacted By General Oil & Gas Operations’ In Pennsylvania

In an April 7, 2025 letter to the Environmental Quality Board, the PA Independent Oil and Gas Association acknowledged that “1.4 million Pennsylvanians are impacted by general oil and gas operations” in the state.

PIOGA represents conventional oil and gas operations and some independent shale gas drillers.

The letter expressed opposition to a rulemaking petition before the Environmental Quality Board proposing to increase setback distances from unconventional shale gas wells. Read more here.

The letter says-- “Initially, we note that the Petition for Rulemaking filed by the Clean Air Council is based largely on disputed opinions and conclusions, studies from outside of Pennsylvania, exaggerated innuendo, and speculative legal opinions.

“For example, the petition attempts to draw the reader to conclude that over 1.4 million Pennsylvanians, “one in ten” as the petition states ad nauseam, are negatively impacted by unconventional oil and gas operations.

“Such a statement could not be further from the truth, as 1.4 million Pennsylvanians are impacted by general oil and gas operations (not unconventional oil and gas wells) according to The Oil and Gas Threat Map, the resource used by the Clean Air Council for its frightening exaggeration.” (emphasis added)

PIOGA argues “The setbacks proposed by the Clean Air Council in its petition would render practically the entirety of the Commonwealth ineligible for unconventional oil and gas operations.

“Drawing the proper line between the citizens’ property rights and the mandates of Article I, Section 27 should remain left to the legislature as the policy making branch of Pennsylvania government.”

And finally, PIOGA says-- “Moreover, the petition fails in any way to evaluate the health and safety implications that such draconian setbacks will have on the Commonwealth’s citizens due to a reliable energy source being completely decimated.

“Estimates show that the Commonwealth will face an 80,000 megawatt deficit within the next fifteen years, which will cause the most disadvantaged areas of the Commonwealth to suffer even more.

“Finally, the petition neglects to consider the thousands of legally binding contracts and leases that exist, of which the proposed regulations would irreparably and illegally negate the legal rights of thousands of the Commonwealth’s citizens.”

Attached to the letter are individual statements of PIOGA members opposing the petition.

Click Here for a copy of the letter.

Resource Links - Setbacks:

-- Environmental Health Project Releases New White Paper: PA's Shale Gas - What We Can Do Now To Better Protect Public Health [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: Lois Bower-Bjornson Shares Her First-Hand Experiences With Shale Gas Health, Environmental Impacts In Washington County [PaEN]

-- 7 Years Ago, People From Over 70 Households Gave First-Hand Accounts Of How The PA Shale Gas Industry Impacted Their Health, Lives And Communities To A State Grand Jury Describing The ‘Sometimes Harsh Reality’ Of These Operations [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’ [August 2023]

-- 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 [August 2023]

-- State Dept. Of Health Invites Citizens To File Environmental Health Complaints Related To Natural Gas Development; Health Will Also Review Environmental Test Results [September 2023]

-- State Dept. Of Health Pushing For Changes To Reduce Adverse Health Impacts From Natural Gas Development [November 2023]

-- Part I - Environmental Impacts: State Dept. Of Health, Penn State Medical Webinars On Caring For Persons Living & Working In Communities With Oil & Natural Gas Extraction [January 2025]

-- Part II - Health Impacts: State Dept. Of Health, Penn State Medical Webinars On Caring For Persons Living & Working In Communities With Oil & Natural Gas Extraction [March 2025]