The Inquirer’s Sept. 7 editorial is a disservice to readers. It ignores existing law, cherry picks flawed data and advances an extremely dangerous ban that would cripple Pennsylvania’s economy. Your readers deserve better.
Pennsylvania has among the world’s strongest regulatory frameworks for natural gas development, from site preparation through well retirement, that our industry meets or exceeds daily. And despite the Inquirer’s statement to the contrary, this includes transparent disclosure of additives used in the hydraulic fracturing process via FracFocus.org – a publicly accessible database.
Further, the Inquirer willfully ignores key facts from the University of Pittsburgh health studies. The reports found no causation to any health risk, took no direct air or water quality measurements, and failed to consider other environmental influences. In fact, Pitt’s research actually shows a 50 percent decline of severe asthma cases between 2014 and 2020, as natural gas production in the region increased 200 percent.
Yet, the editorial conveniently overlooks this important fact, as well as the fact that the study found no association to premature births, leukemia, brain or bone cancers.
And what about other studies that focus on actual water or air testing, including Yale, Duke, Penn State, state government, and University of Cincinnati research?. They all conclude there is no systemic, widespread issues tied to natural gas.
Our industry is committed to developing natural gas safely, responsibly and in a manner protective of public health, the environment, and our communities. Communities, by the way, where our employees work and raise their families.
David Callahan, President, Marcellus Shale Coalition
