PA Environment Digest Blog: 5 Years Later: A Progress Report On PA’s Grand Jury Recommendations For Protecting Public Health, Communities From Shale Gas Industry Impacts

On June 25, a webinar presentation by Protect PT, the Center for Coalfield Justice, the Environmental Health Project, the Sierra Club - PA, and Earthworks reviewed the 2020 state Grand Jury’s eight recommendations for how Pennsylvania can do better to protect public health and communities from shale gas industry impacts.

Environmental health experts examined progress made on these recommendations, asked essential questions, and took a look at what comes next for our state.

Click Here for the webinar video. Click Here for presentation slides.

“We had hope when the Grand Jury Report came out,” said Gillian Graber, executive director of Protect PT. “It was validation of everything that we knew was happening in communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania. But five years later, what has really changed? Governor Shapiro made deals with CNX instead of working for the people in our communities.”

The Shapiro Administration claims to have addressed each of the eight recommendations made in the Grand Jury Report.

But a closer analysis reveals major shortcomings and concerning inaction when it comes to actually defending the health of residents.

“As EHP outlined in a white paper released early this year, the Shapiro Administration has yet to address key recommendations made in the Grand Jury Report that can better protect health,” said Aaron Makatura, Appalachia project coordinator for the Environmental Health Project. “We urge the administration to take immediate action to address toxic emissions from shale gas development and to work with communities to keep them safe.”

One of the most important recommendations in the Grand Jury Report was to create greater setback distances between fracking operations and places where people live, work, play, and go to school.

Residents are deeply concerned that no meaningful progress has been made to increase setbacks.

“Communities elected Governor Shapiro with the hope he would follow his own recommendations from five years ago to protect public health,” said Melissa Ostroff, Pennsylvania policy and field advocate at Earthworks. “Residents should not have to wait any longer for basic protections like increased setback distances from polluting infrastructure. We’ve seen time and again that pollution from fracking travels far beyond fence-lines and has an enormous impact on the lives of Pennsylvanians living nearby.”

The Grand Jury Report also recommended the safer transport of waste from fracking activities, especially when dealing with the large amounts of toxic water and soil waste generated by fracking operations.

Truck and rail transport, as well as any pipelines that may carry toxic and radioactive waste, must be made safe for industry workers and residents who live nearby.

Another major recommendation of the Grand Jury Report was that all the sources of pollution emissions must be considered when siting fracking operations and determining community safety.

Only when cumulative emissions are considered can we get a clear impression of the harms that residents may face.

The webinar speakers appealed to the Shapiro Administration to recognize the settled science and dozens of epidemiological studies that show higher risks of health harms for individuals and families living near fracking operations.

Residents in areas of fracking appeal to the administration to come to their communities to witness the health impacts firsthand and to do something about it at once.

Click Here for background on the Environmental Health Project white paper.

Click Here for the webinar video. Click Here for presentation slides.

Grand Jury Recommendations

The Grand Jury recommendations included--

-- Expanding No-Drill Zones: Expanding no-drill zones in Pennsylvania from the required 500 feet to 2,500 feet;

-- Chemical Disclosure: Requiring fracking companies to publicly disclose all chemicals used in drilling and hydraulic fracturing before they are used on-site;

-- Gathering Pipelines: Requiring the regulation of gathering lines, used to transport unconventional gas hundreds of miles;

-- Assess Air Quality: Adding up all sources of air pollution in a given area to accurately assess air quality;

-- Safe Transport Of Waste: Requiring safer transport of the contaminated waste created from fracking sites;

-- Comprehensive Health Response: Conducting a comprehensive health response to the effects of living near unconventional drilling sites;

-- Limit Revolving Door: Limiting the ability of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection employees to be employed in the private sector immediately after leaving the Department;

-- Direct Criminal Jurisdiction: Allowing the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General original criminal jurisdiction over unconventional oil and gas companies.

Click Here for a copy of the Grand Jury Report. Read more here.

Resource Links - Oil & Gas Industry Compliance History:

-- AG Shapiro: Grand Jury Finds Pennsylvania Failed To Protect Citizens During Natural Gas Fracking Boom [June 2020]

-- 7 Years Ago, People From Over 70 Households Gave First-Hand Accounts Of How The PA Shale Gas Industry Impacted Their Health, Lives And Communities To A State Grand Jury Describing The ‘Sometimes Harsh Reality’ Of These Operations [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project Releases New White Paper: PA's Shale Gas - What We Can Do Now To Better Protect Public Health [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: 34 Organizations Sign Letter Urging Pennsylvania To Adopt Measures To Better Protect Public Health, Environment From The Impacts Of Shale Gas Drilling [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: Lois Bower-Bjornson Shares Her First-Hand Experiences With Shale Gas Health, Environmental Impacts In Washington County [PaEN]

-- New Report: Shale Gas Industry Expected To Drill 8,400 More Wells In PA; 171 Shale Wells Abandoned So Far; Shale Well Plugging Expected To Cost Up To $8.5 Billion [PaEN]

-- Environmental Quality Board Tables Vote On Accepting Petition For Study To Increase Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells Until Last Minute Comments Can Be Reviewed [April 2025]

-- House Environmental Committee Reports Out Bill To Require DEP To Consider Cumulative Impacts Of Certain New Sources Of Pollution On Already Impacted Communities [April 2025]

-- Conventional/Shale Oil & Gas Industry Association Acknowledges 1.4 Million People ‘Are Impacted By General Oil & Gas Operations’ In Pennsylvania [April 2025]

-- Criminal Convictions; Record Penalties, Restitution Of Over $158.3 Million Highlight Big Shale Gas, Related Petrochemical Industry Compliance History In Pennsylvania [March 2025]