PA Environment Digest Blog: Environmental, Health Groups Submit Petition To Environmental Quality Board For More Protective Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells For Schools, Daycares, Hospitals, Buildings, Drinking Water Wells, Surface Water

On October 22, the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project filed a 358-page rulemaking petition with the Environmental Quality Board asking it to increase minimum setback distances from fracking wells.

Setbacks, also referred to as protective buffers and no-drill zones in the context of fracking, are mandatory distances that fracking wells must abide by to keep them separated from homes, schools, hospitals, drinking water wells, and surface water.

Pennsylvania’s current fracking well location requirements—which include a waivable 500-foot setback distance from buildings and a 1,000-foot setback distance from water supply extraction points—are woefully insufficient to protect public health and the environment from the numerous dangers of fracking, according to the petition..

Clean Air Council, Environmental Integrity Project, and a coalition of environmental and public health organizations - called Protective Buffers PA - are calling for the following research-informed setbacks from any new unconventional shale gas well:

-- 3,281 feet from any building;

-- 3,281 feet from any drinking water well;

-- 5,280 feet from any building serving vulnerable populations (e.g., schools, daycare centers, hospitals); and

-- 750 feet from any surface water of the Commonwealth.

“The gas industry has dangerously encroached on our daily lives over the last twenty years.” said Alex Bomstein, Clean Air Council Executive Director. “Now, nearly 1.5 million Pennsylvanians live within a half mile of fracking. The harm that fracking inflicts on communities is unacceptable and no one deserves to live with fracking in their backyard.”

“The research is clear that too many Pennsylvanians have suffered a decline in their health, quality of life, and property values as a result of oil and gas companies fracking too close to buildings, wells, and waters,” said Lisa Hallowell, Senior Attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project. “Pennsylvania agencies have a constitutional duty to heed the overwhelming evidence and require minimum setbacks to protect the Commonwealth’s residents and natural resources from further peril.”

“20 years of fracking in Pennsylvania has spawned 20 years of research showing convincingly that living and working near fracking increases the risk of developing health problems,” said Ned Ketyer, MD, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania. “And the closer you are to fracking the higher the risk. Increasing buffers from the present to at least 2500 feet from homes and 5000 feet from schools, hospitals, and other public buildings is a small but necessary step to protect the health of Pennsylvanians living near fracking.”

“Living a little over 500 feet from Range Resources Augustine well pad has, for the past 4 years, caused many issues for my family of five,” said Michele Stonewark, Cecil Township, Washington County. “We’ve suffered health issues including headaches, nausea, and bloody noses, sleepless nights due to noise and vibrations and increased stress and anxiety that compounds all of the other issues. There are days we can not go outside due to awful diesel and chemical smells and my children are forced to stay indoors. All the while, the landowners of the pad, are the furthest away from the threat we live with every day. The importance of setbacks is an issue that I will fight with all of my being, not just for my family's health but for the health of all families in this Commonwealth.”

“We have 12 well pads and one compressor station planned for our residential community and thousands of residents have already been harmed,” said Gillian Graber, impacted resident and Executive Director of Protect PT, Westmoreland County. “After a decade of working to protect my community, I am tired of waiting for our government agencies, Governor Shapiro, and our legislators to act in the best interest for Pennsylvanians. That is why we need to force the issue with this rulemaking petition to protect us from a toxic industry whose sole motivation is to make money as quickly and cheaply as possible.”

When Governor Shapiro was Attorney General, the primary recommendation of the 43rd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury’s report on fracking was to enact a 2,500 foot no-drill zone between fracking and homes, as well as a 5,000 foot no-drill zone for schools and hospitals. [Read more here.]

In the fall of 2023, Governor Shapiro instructed the Department of Environmental Protection to implement some of the Grand Jury recommendations for better protecting Pennsylvania residents from oil and gas operations, but this notably did not include setbacks.

Instead of asking the DEP to develop greater setbacks for the oil and gas industry, he announced a partnership with CNX - a gas company with a history of environmental violations - that included a promise to adhere to voluntary, unenforceable setbacks from homes and schools at distances well below those recommended by the Grand Jury, according to the groups. [Read more here.]

Fracking contaminates groundwater (used for public and private drinking water supplies) and also pollutes surface water, impacting headwater streams and other ecosystems. Furthermore, spills often occur in watersheds linked to drinking water sources, according to the groups.

Dozens of peer-reviewed scientific studies show that a person’s proximity to fracking wells is associated with severe human health risks and a wide range of ailments, including increased cancer rates, increased hospitalization rates, and higher rates of respiratory, neurological, dermatological, and muscular symptoms.

Vulnerable populations are particularly susceptible—numerous studies have shown that proximity to fracking wells harms health for infants and children.

In addition to these studies, first-hand accounts of residents living near Pennsylvania fracking wells demonstrate the profound harms of living in close proximity to fracking, the groups said.

The petitioners argue in detail-- “Establishing setback requirements as outlined in this Petition would constitute a valid exercise of the EQB’s authority granted by the Oil and Gas Act, the Air Pollution Control Act, and the Clean Streams Law, discussed in this in turn.

“Indeed, failing to act on this Petition would violate many statutory obligations imposed on the Board to abate pollution in the state and limit public exposure to environmental harms.”

“The EQB is also obligated by the ERA [Environmental Rights Amendment to the state constitution] to advance the Commonwealth’s duties as trustee of Pennsylvania’s public natural resources— a constitutional mandate with which all statutory directives must comport—further necessitating action on this Petition.”

Click Here for a copy of the rulemaking petition.

What Happens Next?

DEP must now evaluate the petition to determine if it meets the requirements for the Environmental Quality Board to take action on the issues it raises.

DEP must notify the petitioner within 30 days of a petition’s receipt if it meets the requirements, although it has taken much longer for other petitions.

Among the specific requirements is a determination of whether the EQB has the statutory authority to take the action requested by the petitioners.

An unfavorable determination by DEP on the issue of statutory authority ends the process before the EQB is given an opportunity to vote.

If DEP makes a favorable determination, the petitioners are to be given the opportunity to make a presentation to the Board at the next EQB meeting occurring at least 15 days after the determination.

DEP will also make a recommendation at that time on whether the EQB should accept the petition or not.

Then the EQB votes to accept the petition or not.

For more information on the petition process, visit the EQB Rulemaking Petitions webpage.

Other Petitions

Environmental groups have submitted petitions to the EQB on other oil and gas issues like increasing plugging bonds for conventional and unconventional shale gas wells.

On conventional well bonding, the General Assembly did an end-around the petition by passing a law saying the EQB could not consider a general increase in plugging bonds for 10 years. [Read more here.]

Both well plugging petitions were submitted to the EQB in November 2021. [Read more here.]

DEP said the petition on increasing shale gas plugging bonds is still under review. [Read more here.]

(Photos: top- Range Resources Augustine Drill Pad in Cecil Township; Augustine Drill Pad showing scale of operation; bottom- Map of Shale gas wells (red dots), conventional oil and gas wells (blue/green dots) in Cecil Township (DEP Oil & Gas Program); 523 feet from nearest house; Well pad gas flare from bedroom window near Augustine well pad (WTAE). Other photos Courtesy of The Energy Age Blog.)

Resource Links:

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: Pennsylvania Voters Overwhelmingly Support Stricter Regulations On Fracking, New Poll Finds [PaEN]

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility PA’s Dr. Ned Ketyer Shares Summary Of Studies Of Shale Gas Development Impacts On Human Health [PaEN]

-- University Of Pittsburgh School Of Public Health Studies Find Shale Gas Wells Can Make Asthma Worse; Children Have An Increased Chance Of Developing Lymphoma Cancer; Slightly Lower Birth Weights [PaEN]

-- Saint Vincent College Study Finds Counties With Shale Gas Fracking Wells Using Chemicals That Target Certain Hormones Have Greater Incidence Of Pre-Term Births, Low Birth Weights [PaEN]

-- State Dept. Of Health Apologizes For Not Listening To Communities Suffering Health Impacts From Shale Gas Development; New Health Study Results ‘Just The Tip Of The Iceberg’ [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: State Dept. Of Health Progress On Implementing Recommendations After Pitt Health Studies Show Impacts From Shale Gas Development ‘Extremely Limited’ [PaEN]

-- 9th Compendium Of Studies On Health & Environmental Harms From Natural Gas Development Released - ‘The Rapidly Expanding Body Of Evidence Compiled Here Is Massive, Troubling And Cries Out For Decisive Action’ [PaEN]

-- Observer-Reporter Letter: There’s Another Side To The 'Shale Gas Revolution' [PaEN]

-- WITF StateImpactPA - Susan Phillips: Fracking In Pennsylvania Hasn’t Gone As Well As Some May Think

-- Cecil Township, Washington County Posts Proposed Ordinance Increasing Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads Of 2,500 Feet From Homes, Businesses; 5,000 Feet From Schools, Hospitals; Nov. 4 Hearing, Meeting Set [PaEN]

-- Cecil Township Supervisors Direct Solicitor To Prepare Ordinance Increasing Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads By At Least 2,500 Feet; Another Hearing, Vote Expected Nov. 4 [PaEN]