FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 29, 2025
Media Contact: Arielle Cohen, 516-983-5440 arielle@acohen.llc
Lisa DePaoli, 412-229-7116 lisa@centerforcoalfieldjustice.org
Residents, Health Experts, and Advocates Demand Governor Shapiro Acknowledge Harm from Failed “Radical Transparency” Project
Community and environmental groups reveal withheld water data from “Radical Transparency” partnership
HARRISBURG, PA Today, community members, health experts, and environmental advocates held a press conference at the Pennsylvania State Capitol Rotunda to call on Governor Josh Shapiro to address the failures of the “Radical Transparency” Initiative, a partnership between the Governor’s Office, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and CNX Resources.
The initiative, announced in November 2023, was billed as a model for openness in the fracking industry. Residents living near CNX’s NV110 well pad in East Finley Township reported serious water problems immediately after the press event. One family lost their water, and several others are having issues with water quality. Post-drilling water test results that residents had opted to make public have not been released.
Jodi Borello, Washington County Organizer for the Center for Coalfield Justice, said “The data that proves fracking harms people is and has been readily available for years. Thanks to the Radical Transparency initiative, it is clear how far companies will go to hide information, proving that setbacks are needed to protect people from the harms of fracking.”
In addition, investigations show that CNX used non-drinking water testing methods, and the NV110 site was removed from the company’s Radical Transparency website in April 2024, after multiple DEP complaints had already been filed. The testing company, Eurofins, was not accredited to perform drinking water analyses for the samples it evaluated.
Advocates’ Demands
Residents and organizations are calling on the Governor to:
- Meet with affected residents in Claysville, PA within one month.
- Retest water near all Radical Transparency sites using accredited drinking water standards.
- Audit Eurofins laboratories for accuracy and integrity.
- Clarify DEP’s role in CNX’s testing protocols.
- Implement the 2,500-foot setback recommended by the 43rd Statewide Grand Jury.
Through several Right-to-Know requests and public records, it has become clear that CNX Resources’ Radical Transparency initiative has repeatedly failed residents:
- CNX withheld post-drill water sampling results, even when landowners had opted in for public disclosure, as required under both the Mutual Interest Agreement and landowner contracts.
- Water sampling data was withheld and analyzed using non-drinking water standards.
- Residents received unreliable post-drill water results.
- The NV110 site was archived on the Radical Transparency website on April 27, 2024, following numerous DEP complaints, without publishing any of the water data from residents who opted in.
Ned Ketyer, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, said that “Governor Shapiro’s ‘radically transparent’ experiment with CNX has gone radically wrong. He has chosen to ignore the scientific research linking fracking to a variety of cradle-to-grave health harms. He has chosen to be a cheerleader for fracked gas projects like LNG, blue hydrogen, and gas-fired AI data centers instead of being a champion for public health and well-being — the type of champion all Pennsylvanians expected of him when he was elected governor.”
Governor Shapiro’s partnership with CNX Resources was presented as a step forward in accountability. Instead, it has left residents without clear water testing results, ignored documented health risks, and raised urgent questions about industry oversight.
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