Sep 5, 2020 2 min read

The scale and scope of oil and gas development throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania is something many of us are having to contend with, possibly nowhere more than in Washington County. This was very much on the minds of my fellow citizens during three virtual public hearings in late June hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Environmental Quality Board.

While the industry touts jobs, it pays lip service to the environmental impacts of this heavy industrial activity. A vast majority of the testifiers at the June hearings weren’t having it, speaking out forcefully on the need to move quickly on the Wolf administration’s draft rules to cut the methane emissions that are fouling our air and harming our climate. I was part of this group and one of many who spoke to the need to close a loophole in the rule that would exempt emissions from low-producing wells which account for more than half of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas methane pollution problem. This loophole must be closed if the rule is to have teeth.

Strong state rules are necessary to hold this industry accountable to Pennsylvania residents and our communities. We can no longer sit idly by while this industry continues to pollute – which is why we are standing up and making our voices heard.

Lois Bower-Bjornson

Scenery Hill