PA Environment Digest Blog: Washington County Resident To DEP: Harmon Creek Natural Gas Plant Expansion Will Result In A Huge Increase In Air Pollution, It Should Be Required To Have A Major Air Quality Permit, It Is Not A ‘Minor’ Source

This testimony was presented by Lois Bower-Bjornson, Clean Air Council and Washington County resident at a March 11 hearing by the DEP Office of Environmental Justice on an Air Quality Permit for the expansion of the MarkWest Energy's Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant in Smith Township, Washington County.

My name is Lois Bower-Bjornson. I am the SW Pa. field organizer with the Clean Air Council and the host of Frackland Tours.

Clean Air Council has been protecting communities right to live in a safe and healthy environment free from toxic exposure from industrial facilities for 50 years.

I am a resident of Washington County.

For years in SW Pa. industry has been piled on top of another industry. From oil, to coal, to natural fracked gas, along with Petrochemical hubs, to cryogenic plants. Enough is enough. SW Pennsylvania nor its residents are not guinea pigs.

This community and many others in SWPA is in the 95th percentile as an environmental justice community.

This means that 95 percent of this community already has exposure and negative impacts from the industries already here.

Now the DEP wants to add to more exposure?

Why did the The DEP ignore the request that the “public conference” and the “hearing” be held on two separate nights, with one for learning and questions and the next for providing our comments.

The combined “public conference” and permit hearing is inadequate for fostering informed public participation in an environmental justice area.

Folks are just learning of the possible expansion. Concerned residents do not have enough time to understand the project and know their rights to ask the DEP questions under the combined meeting procedure.

This expansion should be required by the DEP to be permitted as a Major Source.

We need to make sure the permit DEP is considering will in fact protect the residents of Smith Township along with workers at the plant.

We want to make sure that both workers and the community residents are protected under the guidelines of the Clean Air Act.

DEP is considering permitting the proposed expansion of the MarkWest Harmon Creek gas processing plant.

The pollution amounts that will be associated with the increased operations and increased emissions of pollutants goes into the air we breathe.

The current proposed permit would authorize a huge addition with more emissions that can exceed major source thresholds, and the controls that would make this a synthetic minor source are not sufficient to ensure emissions will not exceed those thresholds.

The DEP should not allow Harmon Creek to expand to add yet another, third cryogenic plant at this site.

The plant has not demonstrated compliance for the two plants they have.

The evidence is in the plant's history of noncompliance, malfunctions, flaring and black emissions.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Lois Bower-Bjornson is a field organizer with the Clean Air Council and the host of Frackland Tours. She can be contacted by sending email to: lbb@cleanair.org.

(Photo: Lois and her family.)

Resource Links - Harmon Creek Hearing:

-- Community Speaks Out Against Expansion Of Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]

-- Washington County Resident To DEP: Harmon Creek Natural Gas Plant Expansion Will Result In A Huge Increase In Air Pollution, It Should Be Required To Have A Major Air Quality Permit, It Is Not A ‘Minor’ Source [PaEN]

-- Moms Clean Air Force To DEP: Families In Washington County Are Already Living In The Middle Of Major Natural Gas Industrial Sites - Do Not Expand The Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant And Make It Worse [PaEN]

-- Fact Sheet: How Oil and Gas Operations Impact Your Baby’s Health

-- DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Pays Additional $2,671,044.75 In Civil Penalties For 12-Month Air Quality Violations After May 2023 Consent Order [PaEN]

-- Shell Falcon Pipeline LP Pleads No Contest To Criminal Charges For Violating The State Clean Streams Law In Allegheny, Beaver, Washington Counties; Will Pay $300,000 In Penalties [PaEN]

-- 3 Days That Shook Washington County: Natural Gas Plant Explosion; Pipeline Leak Of 1.1 Million Cubic Feet Of Gas; 10,000 Gallon Spill At Compressor Station [PaEN]

-- PA Shale Gas & Public Health Conference Attended By Nearly 480 People Featured Health Experts, Scientists, Advocacy Groups On Health, Environmental Impacts Of Shale Gas Development [PaEN]

Resource Links - Health:

-- Frackland Video Tour, with Lois Bower-Bjornson, Clean Air Council