Remember when you were a kid and the schoolyard bully started losing a game? For them, the quickest fix was simple: change the rules. It may have worked on the playground, but when the government and business do so to whitewash their commitments to public health, it stops working for communities like ours.
On November 2, 2023, the Office of the Governor and CNX Resources entered into a Mutual Interest Agreement, holding a press conference at CNX’s NV110 well pad in East Finley Township, Washington County. The goal was to “definitively confirm that there are no human health problems” related to drilling. CNX would do this by creating the Radical Transparency ™ program. Here, CNX shared that it would publicly post data it has collected at and around its named Radical Transparency ™ sites, including NV110.
On November 3rd, the very next day after the Mutual Interest Agreement press conference, a family living within 2,500 feet of the Radical Transparency ™ NV110 well pad lost their drinking water. This was the start of a series of months-long water complaints made to the DEP by several families residing within the zone of presumption of the Radical Transparency™ well pad NV110.
This is when the rules of the game began to change.
One of the rules of the Mutual Interest Agreement states: “For post-drill analysis, after the well is turned-in-line (meaning it has started the production and sales phase) at least four post-drill samples will be taken seasonally/quarterly, at least 45 days apart, to compare to pre-drill conditions, subject to landowner approval, and post publicly subject to landowner anonymity and approval.”
Instead, NV110 was archived on the Radical Transparency™ page before all of these samples could be publicly posted. Residents who opted in to have their post-drill water samples made public for the governor, decision-makers, and their neighbors to view were effectively removed from the metaphorical playground.
Families, landowners, and the community have questions about the type of post-drill water sampling analysis that has been and will be conducted. They are questioning the results, the type of water analysis done, and the integrity of the company doing the water testing. The simple, transparent answer is to release the data as promised.
Over a year after NV110 was “Archived” and several months after Nick Deiuliis, the CEO of CNX and mastermind of Radical Transparency™, retired from his position, a public explanation was given by CNX’s Radical Transparency Context Corner as to why some ‘opt-in’ post-drill water results were not posted publicly. CNX shared a timeline illustrating “iterative changes that were in process while developing the RT [Radical Transparency]program on NV110.” This is simply an excuse to avoid publicly releasing the opted-in data, despite the promises made to landowners who signed a contract requiring it.
The “Context Corner” goes on to explain to the residents of NV110 that the reason their water results were not posted publicly, even though they opted in to disclose their results, is that their “pre-drill testing occurred before the [Radical Transparency] program was established,” and so comparisons could not be conducted with the post-drill data. But the CNX Data Transparency Initiative contract signed by landowners didn’t mention anything about comparing data or excluding sites whose pre-drill data was collected before the start of the program.
Instead, it simply read: “I would like to ▢Opt In ▢Opt Out (please select one) of the CNX Gas data transparency initiative to publicly disclose water quality analysis results. I understand that this will apply for all pre-drill and/or post-completion samples collected at the above reference property conducted on behalf of CNX as part of their sampling program.”
Again, I ask: Is it transparent or ethical to change the rules of the game after it has started?
CNX is claiming that their “goal is to empower communities with information—not just about potential drilling impacts, but about overall water health.” CNX should follow through and “empower” our community and policy makers by releasing the water data as promised.
Our community deserves answers and complete transparency. Community meetings are nothing out of the ordinary to CNX; landowners living next to the Radical Transparency ™ well sites and all of their neighbors in the community deserve one.
Governor Shapiro must also meet with the residents affected by the Radical Transparency ™ well pads. He was more than happy to hold a press conference and very publicly announce the launch of the program with Deiullis in East Finley. He should be able to show just as much enthusiasm for hearing from the residents living there, whose health and safety he is supposed to protect. Regulatory changes, including increased setbacks between well pads and homes, must be implemented, and CNX and the Office of the Governor must abide by the rules of the Mutual Interest Agreement by releasing the complete pre- and post-drill water data from NV110 and all other Radical Transparency ™ well pads.
We cannot accept anything less than full transparency from the company that has trademarked the term Radical Transparency ™. The rules of the game need to be followed by the parties that wrote them, not ignored and changed when they aren’t convenient. Release the data for our community, legislators, and decision-makers to make informed choices for our state and families. The health and safety of our families and communities depend on it.