PA Environment Digest Blog: Gov. Shapiro, CNX Resources Announce New Shale Gas Well Pad Air Monitoring Initiative

On May 1, Gov. Shapiro and CNX Resources Corporation announced the Department of Environmental Protection will begin conducting an independent study of unconventional shale gas well pad air emissions.

CNX will provide DEP with continuous access to one of its well pad sites in Washington County, allowing for in-depth independent monitoring of the air emissions before, during, and after development of the new wells.

[This study is part of a Statement of Mutual Interests signed by Gov. Shapiro and CNX in November 2023 to implement a temporary program to measure emissions and heighten chemical disclosure, while temporarily enhancing safety zone setbacks for new wells near homes, schools and hospitals during the data collection phase. Read more here.]

“As Attorney General and now as Governor, I have listened to Pennsylvanians concerned about their health and safety – and I am delivering on the promise I made to them to conduct the most robust air monitoring in the country,” said Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“My Administration is setting a new standard for Pennsylvania natural gas to be produced in a responsible, sustainable way and showing how we can bring people together to get things done.

“We’re going to follow through on our commitment to increase monitoring, improve transparency, and protect the health and safety of our communities while maintaining Pennsylvania’s proud energy legacy and our Commonwealth’s critical role in the nation’s energy economy,” said Gov. Shapiro.

Nick Deiuliis, President and CEO of CNX Resources Corp. said, "This unprecedented access to a future CNX well pad site will provide the most in-depth view of the full spectrum of natural gas development in the nation and serve as a model for future public-private collaboration.

“Our local communities deserve to know the truth about natural gas development in the form of actual, directly measured, real-time data and this next phase of our historic collaboration aims to further validate the results of our work to date.

“With over 400,000 site level data points across every phase of development over the course of nearly two years and no ambient air quality exceedances during that period, CNX continues to demonstrate the superiority of site level data versus speculative studies that rely on loose associations.

“We view our Radical Transparency program as our new normal course of business versus a project with an end date, so we intend to grow the 400,000 data points to 4 million and well beyond.

“We welcome this unique opportunity to provide our communities with real time information and our policymakers with the facts and data they need to make well-informed decisions on future energy and environmental public policy in the Commonwealth,” said Deiuliis.

“Using the information and data we receive from this continuous access, DEP will continue to protect the environment and ensure Pennsylvanians have clean air,” said Acting DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “DEP’s air quality monitoring will be there for all stages of the well – collecting background data before the well is even drilled, and monitoring during the well construction, drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and early production phases.”

The air monitoring study is set to begin today, May 1, marking the start of a multi-year air monitoring campaign designed to comprehensively assess the air emissions of gas well development from construction through production.

The initial phase will be the background phase of the air monitoring, where DEP will initially monitor for two air pollutants that are associated with natural gas development – volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fine particulates (PM2.5) until the construction of the well pad begins in early 2026.

VOCs and PM2.5 will be monitored close to the well pad through the duration of the air monitoring project.

[Note: During the lifecycle of a shale gas well pad there are other hazardous air pollutants emitted from these operations, for example, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, acrylonitrile, methylene chloride, sulfuric oxide, nitrogen oxides. Read more here.]

Air monitoring is likely to be completed in 2029.

Click Here for the text of the Shapiro Administration announcement.

Reaction

Alison L. Steele, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Project, issued this statement on the announcement--

“The announcement of Pennsylvania DEP monitoring at a CNX well site does little to address the concerns EHP raised after the initial Radical Transparency announcement in November 2023.

“We have listed those concerns on multiple occasions, including in our recent white paper, Pennsylvania’s Shale Gas Boom: What the Shapiro Administration Can Do to Better Protect Public Health.

“This initiative still reads as a delay tactic or a piece of marketing to distract from CNX’s history of violations, and there has not yet been sufficient detail provided about the monitoring and analysis approach at this new site to address our concerns.

“Any company that is truly interested in transparency and being a good neighbor should acknowledge that the shale gas industry has historically not been a good neighbor and should further provide specific examples of things it is doing to reduce pollution exposure in frontline communities, rather than attempting to negate the vast body of epidemiological evidence that currently stands.

“While well-constructed studies can and should continue to provide valuable information about evolving technologies, now is the time to take action on the evidence that is already available in order to protect Pennsylvania residents from known pollution risks.

“While Gov. Shapiro takes steps to accommodate industry greenwashing and delay action, people’s lives—those of our families and neighbors—are being held in the balance.”

Other 2023 Commitments

In the original November 2023 announcement with CNX, Gov. Shapiro said DEP would also be pursuing these changes in regulating oil and gas operations in these areas--

-- New requirements for the disclosure of chemicals used in drilling;

-- Stronger drilling waste protections, including inspection of secondary containment; and corrosion protections for gathering lines that transport natural gas; and

-- Improved control of methane emissions aligned with forthcoming federal policy.

DEP has made progress on regulating methane emissions from oil and gas operations when they adopted regulations in 2022, however, the regulations were never implemented for conventional oil and gas facilities that were expected to provide 80% of the potential emission reductions.

A settlement on the regulations announced last week will now require conventional well owners to submit their first compliance reports on June 1, 2025. However, the compliance record of the conventional industry generally is very poor. Read more here.

DEP is developing a new program to reduce shale gas and conventional oil and gas facility methane emissions based on a newer US Environmental Protection Agency regulation.

However, the new Administrator of EPA has put that regulation on hold for further evaluation. Read more here.

(Photo: Gov. Shapiro and Nick Deiuliis from the November 2023 announcement. Read more here.)

NewsClip:

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shapiro, CNX Expand Air Quality Monitoring At A Shale Gas Drilling Site In Washington County

Resource Links - CNX:

-- CNX CEO Tells DEP’s Citizens Council Their Monitoring Shows ‘No Material Impact’ To Air Or Water Quality From Natural Gas Development; Citizens Said CNX Lacks Scientific Rigor, Offers Misleading Greenwash [PaEN]

-- On Feb. 13 Dept. Of Health, Penn State Project ECHO Held A Webinar To Educate Medical Professionals, Public On Exposures To Natural Gas Facility Pollution; Real Washington County CNX Facility Case Study Used [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: CNX Resources Claims Shale Gas Drilling Poses No Public Health Risks Are ‘Misleading, Irresponsible, Dangerous’ [PaEN]

-- CNX: 'Natural Gas Development Is Safe And Poses No Public Health Risks,' Based On CNX Air Quality Monitoring From 14 Sites, Most For Just 4 To 24 Weeks [PaEN]

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility PA: Gov. Shapiro's Announcement With CNX Does Not Go Far Enough In Protecting Public Health And The Environment From Natural Gas Development [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]

Resource Links - Oil & Gas Impacts: