As part of this program update, CNX will add continuous ambient gamma radiation monitoring at its unconventional well pads and certain produced water facilities and expand its public disclosure of radiation levels associated with waste leaving its operating sites-- all shared with DEP and the public with the same open, real-time approach that has defined the collaboration since it launched in 2023.
Since Governor Shapiro and CNX signed the historic Statement of Mutual Interest in November 2023, the collaboration has grown from a commitment to disclose air and water quality data and drilling chemicals on a 24/7 basis to also include the most intensive independent study of unconventional natural gas wells in the nation.
The partnership also helped inform DEP rulemaking requiring broader chemical disclosure across the industry.
This new announcement extends the same standard of site-level, third party-verified data to radiation monitoring.
Onterris, formerly Montrose Environmental Group, is an accredited third-party environmental services provider with decades of experience in scientific testing and regulatory compliance across air, water, and radiological monitoring.
CNX said Onterris brings the same independent rigor to CNX's radiation protection data as Clean Air Engineering applies to air quality monitoring under the program.
Under the expanded program, CNX will--
-- Install continuous ambient gamma radiation monitoring at or near its unconventional shale gas well pads and certain produced water [contaminated water] facilities, covering all phases of well pad development from drilling through production.
Raw data will be collected by Onterris and provided to CNX and DEP simultaneously, with quality assurance and quality control performed under a dedicated QA/QC plan.
The data will also be shared with the public in real time on the CNX Radical Transparency website.
-- Expand public disclosure of waste transportation radiation surveys consistent with CNX's Comprehensive Radiation Protection Plan (CRPP).
CNX already surveys the radiation level of waste leaving its sites before disposal; it will now disclose that daily survey data publicly, updated monthly, from drilling to production.
CNX also conducts semiannual desktop reviews and annual on-site inspections of every waste handling facility it approves to receive its waste.
Click Here for more information.
"Radical Transparency was never meant to be a program with an end date — it's how we intend to manage our business moving forward, providing the public and policymakers the data needed to make informed decisions about the nature of natural gas development in Pennsylvania, and that means it must continue expanding and growing into new areas," said Alan Shepard, President and CEO of CNX.
"Just as we've done with air and water quality, we're going to put actual, site-level radiation data in front of the public and DEP rather than allow questionable studies and speculation to drive the narrative on this important issue. These are voluntary commitments that go beyond what any regulation requires of us, because our communities deserve real data, not guesswork, about the operations happening near where they and we live and work."
CNX notes that these commitments are voluntary and go beyond the company's existing compliance obligations under state and federal law.
As with the rest of the Radical Transparency program, the goal is to provide communities, regulators, and elected officials direct access to site level data and facts – rather than relying on assumptions or modeling.
Additional information on Radical Transparency, including live monitoring data, is available at the CNX Radical Transparency website.
Click Here for the CNX announcement.
At this writing, the Department of Environmental Protection has not released a statement on the CNX announcement.
Reactions
FracTracker Alliance Executive Director Shannon Smith released this statement on the CNX announcement--
FracTracker Alliance supports comprehensive monitoring of radioactive materials in oil and gas waste.
CNX’s announcement includes third-party collection of ambient gamma data and public disclosure of radiation surveys of waste leaving its sites.
However, ambient gamma monitoring alone cannot identify or characterize the full range of radioactive contaminants or potential exposure pathways, and CNX’s own 2024 Comprehensive Radiation Protection Plan describes a broader suite of radiation-protection measures.
In its own February 2024 Comprehensive Radiation Protection Plan, analyzed in FracTracker’s Not-So-Radical Transparency report, CNX identified “drill cuttings, production water, flow-back solids/sludge, and pipe scale” as potential sources of radioactive material.
CNX’s 2024 plan also notes the relevance of surveys of alpha and beta radiation, radon monitoring, airborne radioactive-particle sampling, and laboratory analysis of water and solid waste.
Radical transparency entails a clearer explanation of why this “expanded” radiation monitoring falls short of the more comprehensive monitoring described in the 2024 plan.
Equally concerning is the continued reliance on voluntary company commitments for radiation monitoring and disclosure, rather than enforceable requirements that apply consistently across Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry.
This leaves the company itself with substantial control over what gets measured and ultimately is made public.
The limitations of voluntary industry disclosure are illustrated by the controversy around CNX’s water-testing program at its NV110 well site.
A 2023 agreement said post-drilling water results would be made public when participating landowners approved their release, yet the site was later archived before all opted-in results were published.
CNX subsequently said those results were not posted because the pre-drill samples preceded the Radical Transparency program and did not provide the baseline it wanted for comparison.
The Center for Coalfield Justice notes this appears nowhere in the signed forms, calling it “changing the rules in the middle of the game.”
Whatever the explanation, the episode demonstrates the problem with making public-health information dependent on a company’s voluntary disclosure program rather than a clear, enforceable disclosure requirement.
“We’ve been calling attention to gaps in monitoring for years, so yes, collecting more data is a good thing,” said Shannon Smith, Executive Director of FracTracker Alliance. “But CNX monitoring itself does not answer the larger public health questions, and it certainly does not make the company the authority on whether its operations are safe.
“Governor Shapiro should be investing in independent public health research and enforceable oversight instead of relying on a fracking company to monitor itself and then use its own data to make sweeping claims about public safety.”
Click Here for the full statement.
Alison Steele, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Project had this to say--
“CNX says they'll be using Onterris as their monitoring contractor - they are a reputable company, which is the most positive thing I can say about this update.
“With that said, CNX's monitoring plan, as described in their press release, still leaves a lot to be desired.
“CNX says they'll be monitoring at "certain produced water facilities," but it's unclear which ones, how many, or how those sites are chosen.
“Another significant concern comes down to the implication that their radiation monitoring plan is comprehensive — it is not.
“Their press release describes a monitoring system for gamma radiation, but it says nothing about alpha or beta radiation.
“Because of the loophole that exempts fracking waste from being treated as radioactive waste, industry operations regularly put site workers and nearby residents at greater risk of coming into contact with radioactive dust, soil, or brine.
“Inhaling or ingesting alpha- or beta-emitting particles can be incredibly hazardous to human health, but those pathways of exposure seem to have been overlooked in CNX's plan.”
Physicians for Social Responsibility in Pennsylvania representatives had these comments--
Executive Director Tonyehn Verkitus said-- "CNX's "first in the nation" collaboration with Governor Shapiro and PA DEP shouldn't exist as a standalone public-private partnership for environmental monitoring.
“The health and wellbeing of Pennsylvania residents should never be determined by the very polluters that put them at risk.
“To date, CNX has not been fully transparent about their monitoring so there's no reason to expect that to change with the addition of gamma radiation monitoring.
“The PA DEP is already tasked with protecting the health and safety of its residents as defined under the Environmental Rights Amendment of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
“The Shapiro Administration should provide the PA DEP with the resources and tools to do its job rather than trusting a corporation to put human health above corporate profit and shareholder dividends.”
Environmental Science Director Christina DiGiulio said-- “While CNX’s collection of more radiation data is welcome, its purpose is unclear as ambient gamma readings and waste surveys do not disclose what is actually in the waste.
“To achieve true “radical transparency,” the Shapiro Administration needs to take immediate steps to fully characterize the waste, only possible through a lab analysis of radium and other radionuclides in liquids and solids taken at the source before any mixing or solidification.
“Voluntary monitoring with no enforcement or penalties does not demonstrate a true commitment to prioritizing public health and safety - instead it suggests a clever PR tactic that continues to allow polluters to rely on the same, old regulatory gaps.
“Pennsylvanians deserve better. We need enforceable, lab-based testing and disclosure, with DEP verifying the data instead of just receiving it.”
Click Here for expanded PSRP comments on the CNX announcement.
(Photos: From CNX facility used as case study during a state Department of Health and Penn State Medical educational program to investigate health impacts of natural gas facilities. Read more here.)
Resource Links - CNX:
-- Gov. Shapiro, CNX Natural Gas Company Sign Statement Of Mutual Interests To Monitor Air Emissions At Drill Sites, Extend Safety Setbacks While Data Is Being Collected; DEP To Move Ahead With Some Reg Changes [PaEN]
-- TribLive Editorial: Is Shapiro's Voluntary Agreement With CNX The Right Move For Gas Well Safety? 'We Do Not Trust Foxes To Guard Henhouses' [PaEN]
-- Environmental Health Project: CNX Resources Claims Shale Gas Drilling Poses No Public Health Risks Are ‘Misleading, Irresponsible, Dangerous’ [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Agrees There Is ‘Acute’ Danger In CNX Misusing A Deposition In An Appeal Before The Board To ‘Punish’ An Environmental Advocate For Her Advocacy Against CNX [PaEN]
-- DEP: CNX Gas Suffers Shale Gas Well Casing Failure While Zipper Fracking 3 Wells In West Finley Twp., Washington County; CNX Waited Over 10 Hours To Notify DEP [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Violations For Failing To Report How Waste Was Disposed Of Safely From 133 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells, Including 50 Owned By CNX Gas Company [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies CNX Gas Company Motion To Throw Out Ullom Family Appeal Over Water Loss In Washington County; Scope Of Rebuttable Presumption Under Review [PaEN]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Capital & Main Resolves Legal Challenge From CNX Resources Over Its Reporting With Editor’s Note Explaining What It Did Not Say Or Write About In An Article [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- House Environmental Committee To Hold Oct. 5 Hearing On New DEP Conventional Oil & Gas ‘Mineral Brine’ Permit Allowing Unrestricted, Unlimited Road Dumping Of Contaminated Water [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Environmental Health Project Blog: So You Don’t Want To Live Near Natural Gas Facilities - A Guide To Homebuying In Southwest PA
-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Why Do Pennsylvania Elected Officials Want To Take My Family’s Oil & Gas Rights From Us By Retroactively Changing Laws? - By Jeff Sloan, Thorne Family Member
-- Post-Gazette: Home Heating Oil Prices In Western PA Have Ballooned, Diesel Prices Are Highest In 48 Years
-- TribLive: Westmoreland Transit Authority Gasoline Costs Went From $55,000 to $92,000/Month, Looking For Alternatives
-- The Citizens’ Voice: ‘Skyrocketing’ Diesel Prices Impacting NE PA Businesses
[Posted: September 23, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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