PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP Determines Rulemaking Petition Submitted By Environmental, Health Groups To Adopt More Protective Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells Is An Action The Environmental Quality Board Has Statutory Authority To Take

Monday, November 25, 2024

DEP Determines Rulemaking Petition Submitted By Environmental, Health Groups To Adopt More Protective Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells Is An Action The Environmental Quality Board Has Statutory Authority To Take

On November 21, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it has determined, in response to a rulemaking petition, the state Environmental Quality Board has the statutory authority to adopt a regulation setting more protective setbacks from shale gas wells for homes, schools and streams in its initial petition review.

EQB regulations at 25 Pa. Code § 23.2 require a petition to meet three criteria in DEP’s initial review--

-- Petition must be complete;

-- Petition requests an action that can be taken by the EQB [within its statutory authority]; and

-- The action does not conflict with federal law.

DEP’s determination means the petition has met these three criteria, at this stage.

Next Steps

The next step in the process is that the petition will be announced at the next EQB meeting, and Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project will have the chance to give a 5-minute presentation on why EQB should accept it for study.

DEP will make a recommendation at that meeting as to whether EQB should accept the petition for study.

If EQB accepts the petition, DEP then has 60 days to prepare a report evaluating the petition in detail, to which the groups will be able to respond, and then DEP will make its final recommendation.

If DEP recommends a regulatory change, it has six months to develop a proposed rulemaking for EQB consideration.

Setback Increases Proposed

On October 22, the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project-- as part of the Protective Buffers PA Coalition-- filed a 358-page rulemaking petition with the Environmental Quality Board asking it to increase minimum setback distances from shale gas wells from a minimum now of 500 feet to 3,281 feet. Read more here.

Specifically, the petition proposes--

-- 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.

Click Here for background on health and environmental issues identified in over 20 years of experience with shale gas development in Pennsylvania, including health studies, a special Grand Jury Report and other resources.

Statements

“This is an important first step in the right direction to protect the millions of Pennsylvanians who live near fracking,” said Alex Bomstein, Executive Director of Clean Air Council. “No one deserves to live with the harms and perils of fracking in their backyard.”

“Study after study shows that fracking too close to buildings and waterways has caused grave and undeniable harm to Pennsylvanians, so we’re glad our petition is moving forward.” said Lisa Hallowell, Senior Attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project. “DEP’s job is to protect people and the environment from pollution, and increasing minimum setback distances from fracking sites should be an obvious next step to protect everyone in the Commonwealth regardless of one’s politics.”

“There is no evidence that shale gas development can be done without harm to human health,” said Alison L. Steele, executive director of the Environmental Health Project. “However, greater setback distances are ultimately better for reducing health harms. The EQB’s consideration of a petition to increase setbacks can begin the critical work of correcting what was unquestionably an egregious public health error made when fracking was in its infancy. Today, we know better.”

“Those of us living on the front lines of fracking activity have known for decades that this activity is way too close to thousands of families across Pennsylvania, which was affirmed in the 43rd Grand Jury report,” said Gillian Graber, Executive Director of Protect PT, a member of the coalition. “We would encourage the EQB to take swift action to support families impacted by fracking by instituting these changes,” said Graber.

"The EQB's acceptance of this petition marks a significant step toward adopting long-overdue protections for Pennsylvania communities," said Katie Jones, Ohio River Valley Coordinator with FracTracker Alliance. "As Attorney General, Governor Shapiro strongly advocated for commonsense measures to protect public health, including expanded no-drill zones to shield Pennsylvanians from the harmful impacts of fracking. At FracTracker, our data consistently highlights the disproportionate risks faced by frontline communities, and we urge swift action to transform this proposal into enforceable safeguards that deliver meaningful relief to those most affected."

"Earthworks has spent the last decade proving that oil and gas operations pollute nearby homes and entire communities," said Melissa Ostroff of Earthworks. "Requiring polluters to operate at a distance less harmful to the health of people, and especially children, is common sense and the right thing to do. We appreciate the DEP's decision to move the petition forward, and Gov. Shapiro and his administration should act quickly to set safe setback distances to protect all Pennsylvanians."

Click Here for a copy of DEP’s determination.

(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 - Setbacks, Health, Safety Impacts:

-- Senators Santarsiero, Comitta Introduce SB 581 Increasing Setback Safety Zones From Natural Gas Drilling Sites, Other Infrastructure, Based On Latest Science [PaEN]

-- House Committee Hearing On Increasing Safety Setback Zones Around Natural Gas Facilities Heard About First-Hand Citizen Experiences On Health Impacts; From Physicians On Health Studies; The Gas Industry On Job Impacts [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw, Republican Chair Of Senate Environmental Committee, Called Bill To Reduce Shale Gas Industry Impacts On Health, Environment ‘Stupid’ [PaEN]

-- Cecil Township Supervisors In Washington County Adopt 2,500 Setback From Shale Gas Well Pads From Homes, Businesses, 5,000 Foot Setback From Hospitals, Schools [PaEN]

-- Hundreds Of Residents Warn Against Impacts Of Shale Gas Development In Cecil Township, Washington County [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 16 to 22 - $5.257 Million In Penalties; Conventional Well Owners Issued More Violations Than All Of 2023; More Abandoned Wells; Failure To Submit Shale Gas Reports [PaEN]

-- EPA, Justice Dept., DEP Announce $5.275 Million In Penalties, Plus $1.4 Million In Abandoned Well Plugging Funding Against Shale Gas Drilling Companies-- XTO Energy, Inc., Hilcorp Energy Company For Federal, State Clean Air Act Violations [PaEN]

-- DEP So Far In 2024: 6,907 Violations Issued To Owners Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - 153% More Than In 2021; 833 Violations For Abandoning Their Wells -- Exceeding All Of 2023 [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Wastewater Release At Bear Lake Properties Injection Well In Warren County Went Unreported For 109 Days; More Contamination Discovered Along Related Wastewater Pipeline Route [PaEN]

-- Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group Update: Industrial Shale Gas Development In Tioga State Forest Prioritizes Industry Profit Over Constitutional Mandate To Preserve, Protect State Forest Lands [PaEN]