Mar 11, 2017 2 min read

I would first of all like to say how fortunate this community is to have a great hometown newspaper at a time when many are closing. I appreciate the various viewpoints presented in your editorials, but I have a concern about your editorial of Feb. 16, “Time to let Sunoco proceed with pipeline.”

You mentioned the environmental groups attempting to “obstruct” the project. There is another group trying to “obstruct” this project. The Pennsylvania Medical Society has called for a moratorium on drilling new wells and this pipeline project will pave the way for more new drilling. As Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, pointed out in his letter to the editor in the Feb. 22 edition, this pipeline sends a clear signal that Pennsylvania is once again open for business.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society’s concerns are too numerous to mention here, but Dr. Walter Tsou, a former health commissioner of Philadelphia, pointed out that a similar resolution was rejected three years ago. But now, he notes, growning evidence has shown that the harmful effects of fracking outweigh any economic benefit.

Harrisburg obviously won’t act on this resolution from the Pennsylvania Medical Society, other than offering the usual rhetoric of wanting to keep Pennsylvanians healthy, and there is a very rigorous attempt by the industry to discredit this resolution.

In your editorial, you also noted that you want the citizens of this area to have clean air and water. In light of that statement, I would be very interested to know your opinion on the points made by the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Bill Shuster

Houston