PA Environment Digest Blog: Shale Gas Industry VP Attacks Credibility Of A Mom And Allegheny County Resident For Comments She Submitted In Support Of DEP Plan To Reduce Methane Emissions From The Oil & Gas Industry

On June 30, Vanessa Lynch, a mother, resident of Allegheny County and a Coordinator for the Moms Clean Air Force, submitted comments to DEP on its plan to reduce methane emissions from the conventional oil and gas and shale gas industry in Pennsylania. Read more here

In addition to supporting the initiative and pointing out her personal experiences with shale gas drilling in her community, she referenced the 2020 state Grand Jury Report which found the state failed to protect citizens from the health and environmental impacts of the shale gas industry.

The Grand Jury was convened by then Attorney General Josh Shapiro in response to complaints his office received from those living with shale gas operations.

Lynch said the methane plan “is a tangible opportunity to right past failures, creating real change and strong protections, decreasing oil and gas air pollution in communities that have been inundated by fracking.” Read more here

She pointed to the Grand Jury Report as documenting past failures.

What the Grand Jury Report did was make a series of recommendations for strengthening very weak state laws regulating the oil and gas industry to prevent the kind of health and environmental impacts the jurors heard about during their deliberations. Read more here.

In a Twitter-- now X-- post on his personal account less than 2 hours after Lynch’s testimony was posted by PA Environment Digest, Patrick Henderson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Communications for the Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition said--

“The AG report was & is a farce: a politically inspired document that Gov. Wolf accurately called a “disservice to the citizens of Pennsylvania.” It’s a shame Vanessa & others continue to be fooled by its nonsense.”

In his attempt to undermine the credibility of Vanessa Lynch and many others, Henderson’s post attributed that quote about the report to Gov. Tom Wolf.

Gov. Wolf didn’t say that.

The quote was actually from the response to the Grand Jury Report that DEP’s outside legal counsel Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP submitted for DEP. [Grand Jury Report, page 103]

Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) confirmed that in a 2021 statement. Read more here.

Citizens Raising Serious Concerns

The Department of Environmental Protection is in the middle of holding eight hearings on a state plan to implement an EPA federal rule 40 CFR Part 60, Subparts OOOOb and OOOOc Reducing Emissions Of Methane and Other Pollution from conventional oil and gas and shale gas operations. Read more here.

The public comment period will end July 30.

PA Environment Digest has so far highlighted six of the over 40 comments submitted so far on the methane reduction plan--

-- Oil & Gas Methane Pollution Reduction Testimony: Patrice Tomcik, Mother, Butler County Resident And Moms Clean Air Force Member [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Methane Pollution Reduction Testimony: Kim Anderson, Evangelical Environmental Network - Rager Mountain Leak Of 1.1 Billion Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Methane Pollution Reduction Testimony: Sarah Hertweck, Indiana Township Supervisor - ‘I See Up Close How Hobbled We Are By The State To Make The Best Choices For Our Community’ [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Methane Pollution Reduction Testimony: Rachel Meyer, Mother, Beaver County Resident - My Home Is Near A Natural Gas Compressor Station, 8 Shale Gas Well Pads, And The Shell Petrochemical Plant Is In My County [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Methane Pollution Reduction Testimony: Barbara Jarmoska, 77 Year Resident Lycoming County - The Degradation Is ‘Shocking And Tragic’ [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Methane Pollution Reduction Testimony: Vanessa Lynch, Mother, Allegheny County Resident - Its Been 5 Years Since A Grand Jury Report Said Pennsylvania Failed To Protect Families From Fracking, Let's Right Past Failures [PaEN]

To see other comments submitted on the methane reduction plan, visit DEP’s eComment webpage.

Visit DEP's Reducing Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Operations webpage for information on hearings and how to submit comments. The deadline to submit comments is July 30.

What The Grand Jurors Said About The Report

To refresh everyone’s memory, seven years ago people from more than 70 households began testifying to a Statewide Grand Jury about the impacts of the shale gas industry on their health, their lives and their communities. Read more here.

Five years ago, the Statewide Grand Jury issued its report documenting these impacts in a way the jurors-- ordinary Pennsylvanians-- said, “provided us with a sound and detailed understanding of the realities of this industry and the problems associated with fracking in our Commonwealth.”

“We were moved by the profoundly emotional experiences many have endured.

“Often, their pain was still raw, but they nevertheless testified and taught us about the sometimes harsh reality of shale gas operations.

“While we cannot truly capture what it was like to witness their testimony, all those reading this report should understand that we find the testimony of these homeowners credible and compelling.”

“While each homeowner's experience was unique, they were in many ways similar, regardless of whether they lived in the same township or hundreds of miles from one another.

“Indeed, many of their accounts were remarkably consistent.

“Dozens of people experienced the same medical symptoms in association with the same oil and gas activity.

“Parents invariably feared what exposure to fracking operations posed to their children's health and future, as any parent would.

“There are simply too many people who have suffered similar harms in communities throughout Pennsylvania where fracking occurs to disregard the damage caused by this industry's operations.

“This reality necessitates laws and regulations capable of protecting those put at risk by fracking, and a government willing to enforce them.

“For too long, Pennsylvania has failed to live up to its responsibility to its people in both respects.”

“We are not “anti”-fracking. The purpose of this Report is to present an account of the impacts of an industry that will affect Pennsylvanians for decades to come.

“We are aware that unconventional drilling brings significant economic benefits. But if the activity is to be permitted, it still must be regulated appropriately, in ways that prevent reckless harms.

“Instead, we believe that our government often ignored the costs to the environment and to the health and safety of the citizens of the Commonwealth, in a rush to reap the benefits of this industry.”

What Gov. Shapiro Said About The Report

When the Grand Jury Report was released in 2020, Attorney General Josh Shapiro made these comments, among others--

Today, we release their report, and in the time we have this morning, I will document what they found.

This report isn't about whether we should have fracking in Pennsylvania. It's about preventing the failures of our past to continue in the future, and it is about the big fights that we must take on to protect Pennsylvanians, in ensuring that their voices are not drowned out by those with bigger wallets and better connections.

The grand jurors made two things clear. Despite real improvements made by the Wolf Administration, there is still a profound gap between what our constitution mandates and the realities facing Pennsylvanians in the shadows of fracking drills.

We can't rely on big corporations to police themselves. After all, they report to their investors and their shareholders. That's their job.

It's the government's job to set and enforce the ground rules to protect the public interests through- and through multiple administrations, they failed to do that.

Grand jurors heard testimony from residents impacted by fracking on their land, that their water had a black film, that it looked like black sludge, and that it was cloudy.

And this was the water seen by those grand jurors, taken from neighborhoods and communities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. [shows bottle of dirty water] Those who tasted what came out of the tap said it was foul and it was metallic-tasting.

That's what the grand jurors heard. Black sludge or black slime would clog and damage the pumps and filters used to treat well water, costing homeowners thousands of dollars to fix it.

One woman testified before the grand jurors, she said, "We started getting sores all over us, and we were sick to our stomachs, and having problems with breathing whenever we were in the shower."

And it wasn't just the homeowners. Pets became violently ill. Local farmers had horses die, livestock became infertile and miscarried.

Families came to doubt the safety of the air around them. A grimy film would accumulate on glass surfaces inside their homes, so residents testified that they had to keep their windows shut and stop spending time outdoors.

Kids couldn't play in their yards. Some homeowners started feeling nauseous and dizzy.

Their eyes, nose, and skin and throat would burn, they testified. They got persistent nosebleeds and mouth ulcers.

The grand jurors heard repeated testimony of small children waking up with severe nosebleeds.

One parent testified that her four-year-old daughter was waking up crying with blood pouring out of her nose.

There was so much blood, that her daughter's princess bedspread was ruined.

Families couldn't get clear answers from their doctors on what they should do.

One homeowner actually testified that after taking her son to see a doctor multiple times for rashes, the doctor said, according to the testimony, that there was nothing she could do for it.

They said her advice, the doctor's advice was to get an attorney or to move.

Hardly the clean air and pure water that we are guaranteed under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Look, we can peel back disagreements about the science, about whose fault it was, whether there was enough funding or the right laws or the right outreach. And we detail that in the report that you now have.

But the bottom line is, this was a failure.

A mom and dad trapped in a home they no longer feel safe in, comforting a child, feeling powerless to help.

As a father of four, I can't imagine that feeling. Feeling like they had no one who would listen to them.

Residents cried for help and no one from government came. This should never have happened in a state that has known the cost of unchecked mining and drilling for generations.

Click Here for a transcript of Attorney General Shapiro’s opening statement.

(Photos: top- Range Resources Augustine Drill Pad in Cecil Township; Augustine Drill Pad showing scale of operation; bottom- Map of Shale gas wells (red dots), conventional oil and gas wells (blue/green dots) in Cecil Township (DEP Oil & Gas Program); 523 feet from nearest house; Well pad gas flare from bedroom window near Augustine well pad (WTAE). Other photos Courtesy of The Energy Age Blog.)

Resource Links - Shale Gas Industry Impacts:

-- AG Shapiro: Grand Jury Finds Pennsylvania Failed To Protect Citizens During Natural Gas Fracking Boom [June 2022]

-- 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 [March 2025]

-- Environmental Health Project Releases New White Paper: PA's Shale Gas - What We Can Do Now To Better Protect Public Health [April 2025]

-- 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 [April 2025]

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

-- DEP Reports 575 Water Supply/Stray Gas Complaints About Oil & Gas Operations In Last 2 Years; Investigation Can Take A Year, Sometimes 2-3 To Find Those Responsible [March 2025]

-- 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]

-- Daily Grind Living Next To Oil & Gas Industry: Spills, Polluted Water Supplies, Smells Like Gas, Noise, Air Pollution, Explosions, Truck Traffic, Erosion, Radioactive Waste, Gas Flares, Dust, Lights, Road Dumping Waste, Abandoned Wells [March 2025]

-- 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 [November 2024]

-- Range Resources And MarkWest Liberty Midstream File Legal Challenges To The 2,500 Foot Shale Gas Facility Setback Ordinance Adopted By Cecil Township, Washington County [January 2025]