Mar 14, 2023 3 min read

Appalachia First is just greenwashing

Jeff Kotula’s recent op-ed on CNX Resources’ Appalachia First plan is faulty.

Although Washington County leads the state’s 67 counties in natural gas production, it hardly seems to bring economic prosperity. A recent report by the Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) shows that many counties where drilling takes place, including Washington County, lost both population and jobs from 2008 to 2019. ORVI also reported that most of the wealth that was promised with natural gas development remains within the companies. Most natural gas companies in Pennsylvania are based out of state.

Kathy Hipple, a Bard College professor of finance and former analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis stated in the report, “Simply put, the natural gas industry has not delivered the promised benefits for producers, investors – or local communities.”

School districts in the county with lots of drilling and infrastructure such as Fort Cherry and Burgettstown are suffering. Good teachers and programs are being cut for lack of funding. In the city of Washington, the county’s seat, roads are a mess and businesses struggle. Also, Washington County has become home for one of the highest opioid overdose death rates in the country. Poor health is a strain on economic prosperity.

In 2021, the Observer-Reporter{/em} reported that CNX entered a plea of no contest for misreporting its pigging operation’s air pollution for several years. Pig launchers and receivers are located along gas pipelines. They are used to prevent buildup of natural gas condensates in the pipelines. However, they can release volatile organic product vapors, including carcinogens, into the air. In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found that families near Fort Cherry junior and senior high schools had benzene exposure from nearby pigging operations. Also, it was reported that there is an uptick in rare childhood cancers such as Ewing sarcoma in children living near shale gas sites. The low-cost fuel Kotula praises may be paid for with our health or the health of our children.

Kotula claims that CNX Resources has a visionary plan to move the region toward mass use of natural gas while it transitions away from what? Coal? CNX, formerly named CONSOL Energy Inc., is also formerly CONSOL Mining Company – a coal company.

CNX is not forging a new energy, environmental and economic solution. It is trading one fossil fuel for another, while continuing to pollute us for their profit.

Don’t be fooled. Appalachia First is nothing more than CNX greenwashing its practices.

Cathy Lodge

Bulger