December 2022 Coalfield Review

Read our monthly e-newsletter, which will update you on our work, current action items, and upcoming events.

Our Work in the Past Month

Read more of our blogs here!

Public Notices

Read all of the latest relevant public notices from the past month for Washington and Greene Counties as of January 9th here.

In Case You Missed It

2022 Year in Review

2022 was a year of growth for CCJ. We added 6 new full-time staff members, gained over 750 new supporters and members, and engaged in campaigns around the region focusing on everything from coal, oil and gas to broadband access and voter rights. This was all made possible by the support of community members like you! Before we continue our work in 2023, be sure to check out our Year in Review below.

Thanks To Generous Support From Our Community, Residents In New Freeport Have Clean Water For The Holidays

On Saturday, November 20, 2022, several members of CCJ staff helped to distribute water to residents of New Freeport who have been without safe, clean drinking water since June. This was made possible thanks to the incredible support from our members and supporters who donated to our water drive. In total, we raised $3,770, enough for a refillable water dispenser and three 5-gallon jugs of water for each household that has been affected. We also received several in-person water donations which, combined with leftover funds, amounted to over 150 additional cases and containers for affected families through December. For more information about the water drive, read our Greene County Organizer Tonya Yoder’s blog here. To learn about the frack-out and water quality issues facing New Freeport since June, see Quinn Glabicki’s reporting in Public Source here.

Contribute to the CCJ Cookbook

While the holidays are behind us, we want to highlight a project that began for the holiday season and will continue throughout the coming months. The CCJ Cookbook is an effort to bring together the cultures and traditions of our region through a celebration of the foods we love. Whether it’s a traditional recipe passed down through generations or a recently acquired taste, we’d love to include your favorite meals in our cookbook. You can submit your recipe at the link below along with a short description about what makes it special!

Upcoming Events

Center for Coalfield Justice Events

January Community Meeting – Virtual Local Trivia Night

Looking for a fun way to test your Southwestern Pennsylvania knowledge and meet new people in the area from the comfort of your own home? For January’s community meeting, we’re having a VIRTUAL TRIVIA NIGHT to provide members with entertainment and fun facts about the place we call home! We’ll meet via Zoom on Tuesday, January 31st at 7:00 PM and play a game of trivia with questions about the people and places of Washington and Greene Counties. There will be a grand prize of a $100 Sheetz gas gift card and other prizes of CCJ merchandise for the top players.

Ally and Community Events

1/17 Let’s Talk Methane Webinar

• 6-7:30 PM on Zoom
• Join Dr. Ned Ketyer of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania and other ally groups from across the state to talk about the health and climate risks of methane, what the new EPA methane rule will mean for Pennsylvania, and how you can make your voice heard!
• Register here

1/25 Blue Hydrogen: What you Need to Know

• 12 PM on Zoom
• What is blue hydrogen? Is it really a viable energy source or appropriate for certain uses? And what are the health risks of blue hydrogen hubs to residents living near these operations or the gas extraction sites on which they depend? This panel discussion hosted by Environmental Health Project offers a closer look at hydrogen produced by from natural gas.
• Register here

1/25 Methane Webinar

• 6:30 PM on Zoom
• Russell Zerbo from Clean Air Council will give advocates and residents updates on the EPA’s proposed methane rule, how it will impact them, and why it is so important to comment before the February deadline.
• Register here

1/31 If you Smell it, Report it! Lunch & Learn

• 12 PM on YouTube
• Melissa Ostroff of Earthworks will join Protect PT to help residents and community members understand what to do if they smell a leak from oil and gas infrastructure, and how to properly report it to government agencies.
• Get a reminder
• Register here

2/1 Become a Master Naturalist Registration Deadline

• This spring from April-June, join Washington County Watershed Alliance and Pennsylvania Master Naturalists for a training course that will put you on the path to becoming a master naturalist. Learn to identify native species, their importance to our ecosystem, and how to help conservation efforts to protect them. In-person training sessions will take place at CCJ’s office in Washington.
• Register here

Weekly Events

Tuesdays & Saturdays – Greene County Flea Market

• 7 AM – 2 PM, Greene County Fairgrounds

You can find community events in Washington County here and Greene County here.

Support Our Work

We could not do this work without the continued support of our members and supporters. Please help us to continue our work to fight for environmental justice in Southwestern Pennsylvania by becoming a member of CCJ. Recurring monthly donations help to best support our work. Any gift made to the Center for Coalfield Justice is 100% tax-deductible.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns by responding to this email or reaching me at the email below.

Sincerely,

Alex Downing