Berks Gas Truth: Thousands Tell House They Don't Want Road Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater

On May 4, 78 organizations, institutions, and businesses and more than 3,150 concerned citizens called on state representatives to vote no on a bill that would roll back rules on conventional drillers, many that have been in place for decades. 

The letter and petition organized by Berks Gas Truth was sent in anticipation of consideration of the bill by the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on May 4.  Read more here.

Although the bill is full of bad provisions, the group focused on the same issue it focused on in the last session when a similar bill, Senate Bill 790, was making its way through the legislature. 

Last year’s bill would have reinstated the practice of road spreading of toxic, radioactive drilling waste on unpaved roads. This year’s bill, and its Senate counterpart, Senate Bill 534, would allow the waste to be spread on paved roads, as well.

Last year, the group presented a letter to the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee the morning of its consideration of Senate Bill 790. The Committee amended the bill to remove the road spreading provision. 

Today’s letter updates and appends that letter to express that much attention has been given to the contents of drilling waste since last year and concerns for potential impacts to water and air quality, human health, and safety have only increased.

“The people spoke clearly last year and the Committee, and ultimately Governor Wolf who vetoed the bill he rightly considered to be a bad bill even without the road spreading provision, heard them. This time, the House is moving this bill very quickly. With only a short time to circulate the letter and petition, we exceeded the number of signatures we’d gathered last time. Let’s face  it, ‘I’d like toxic, radioactive waste to be spread on the roads where I live,’ said no one ever,” said Karen Feridun, Founder of Berks Gas Truth.

Click Here for a copy of the letter.  Click Here for a copy of the petition.

Related Articles:

-- Environmental Defense Fund, PA Environmental Council Say Conventional Drilling Bill Would Result In Dramatic Reductions To Environmental Protection Standards 

-- House Committee Meets May 4 On Bill To Roll Back Environmental Protections From Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling, Legalize Road Dumping Of Drilling Wastewater

[Posted: May 4, 2021]  PA Environment Digest