PA Environment Digest Blog: Guest Essay: Our Children’s Health Isn’t Partisan, Pennsylvania Needs Strong Pollution Protections From Fracking Now

By Rachel Sica Meyer, Beaver County Resident, Moms Clean Air Force

The following guest essay was first published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on November 11, 2024--

Six years ago, a transmission pipeline that carries fracked gas through my township north of Pittsburgh exploded in a neighboring community, destroying a house, a barn, and cars.

By some miracle, no people or animals were killed. But we constantly live in fear of the next catastrophe.

As I watched “frack, frack, frack” become a rallying cry behind Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, I looked to the scorched hillside that the erupting pipeline left behind.

I thought to myself: We already have so many oil and gas operations in the region, and now you want to add more, more, more? If Trump follows through on this promise, it will mean more pollution for families like mine to breathe.

Now, as Trump prepares to take office for a second time, I am asking him to consider the health and safety of Pennsylvanians before gearing up to “frack, frack, frack.”

I look at the rolling hills around my home and see the pockmarks from all the activity the oil and gas industry has brought to my community.

We are completely surrounded.

Oil and gas companies use a process called hydraulic fracturing — commonly called fracking — to extract methane from underground shale rock by injecting a toxic chemical cocktail under high pressure.

Climate-warming methane comes to the surface, along with other gases and harmful volatile organic compounds such as benzene.

The resulting pollution can cause asthma attacks, adverse birth outcomes, neurological problems, cancer, and even anxiety and depression.

These fracked gas wells don’t stand alone, as there is a massive amount of polluting infrastructure built to get the gas to market.

Every time these pollutants spew into nearby communities like mine, dangerous airborne chemicals can end up in our lungs.

This is especially harmful to children’s developing bodies.

I worry about how residing near these operations could affect my 5-year-old daughter’s health. She’s lived here her entire life.

According to reports from the University of Pittsburgh, rates of asthma and childhood cancer are higher among those living within 10 miles of gas wells.

I have at least 100 gas wells within a 10-mile radius surrounding my home.

I find myself up at night wondering: Is the air she breathes day in and day out putting her health at risk?

If fracking operations multiplied under this next presidency, so would the pollution and my sleepless nights.

Fracking’s impact on my community doesn’t end there.

The gas wells in the region produce ethane, which is sent through another pipeline through my township to the Shell petrochemical complex located eight miles from my house.

The facility emits large amounts of air pollution to produce plastic and has repeatedly violated its air emissions limits.

It’s no wonder families living near polluters like this one face higher risks of cancer, neurological problems, birth defects, and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

And the health and safety risks continue as ethane is pushed across Pennsylvania through the Mariner East pipeline system to the Marcus Hook terminal for shipping overseas to make plastic.

No family, including mine, should have to worry about an explosion, or if the air they breathe is safe.

That’s why I advocate for strong pollution protections in my work with Moms Clean Air Force.

But we need our leaders in government to listen.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has the opportunity to act now by swiftly passing a strong state implementation plan for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s recent rule to protect families from oil and gas methane pollution.

His administration must prioritize Pennsylvanians’ health above industry expansion of oil, gas, and petrochemicals.

We also need our leaders at the federal level to get on board.

Whatever party we affiliate with, I know in my heart we all want children to be healthy and safe.

So as we head into 2025, I’m calling on Trump to drop the drumbeat of “frack, frack, frack” and on state and local leaders to “act, act, act” on climate and pollution protections.

A healthier future is possible for my daughter and all our children if we act with the urgency this moment demands.

Rachel Sica Meyer lives in Independence Township, Beaver County, which is located in Southwest Pennsylvania. She is the mother of a 5-year-old, a teacher, and the Ohio River Valley coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force, focusing on Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.

Upcoming Event:

November 13-- Moms Clean Air Force: Advocates To Call On Gov. Shapiro, DEP To Stop Toxic Facilities Targeting PA. 10:00 a.m. In-Person State Capitol Rotunda, Online.

Resource Links:

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Our Children’s Health Isn’t Partisan, Pennsylvania Needs Strong Pollution Protections From Fracking Now - By Rachel Sica Meyer, Beaver County Resident, Moms Clean Air Force

-- 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]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 2 to 8 - 8,800 Gallon Shale Gas Wastewater Spill; Failure To Comply With Plugging Order; Spills, Releases, Gas Leaks [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - November 9 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 71 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In November 9 PA Bulletin [PaEN]