Archive: Press Releases
WASHINGTON, PA — In response to Governor Wolf’s Executive Order to codify and expand the Office of Environmental Justice and the Environmental Justice Advisory Board (EJAB), and planned legislation by the Black Caucus to both support the executive order and require an environmental impact statement on permits, the Center for Coalfield Justice released the following statement:
October 1, 2021— On September 21, public health advocacy groups Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania (PSR PA) and the SWPA Environmental Health Project (EHP) met for a fifth time with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) to press the agency to consider a number of actions that would lower the risk of health impacts to residents from shale gas development emissions. Secretary Alison Beam and seven other DOH representatives attended the virtual meeting. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), including Deputy Secretary of the Office of Oil and Gas Management Scott Perry, also attended.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Lois Bower-Bjornson, Southwestern Pennsylvania Field Organizer, Clean Air Council, 412-979-5509, lbb@cleanair.org Laura Dagley, Medical Advocacy Coordinator, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, 540-556-0132, laura@psrpa.org Ned Ketyer, Board Member, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, 724-255- 7440, ned@psrpa.org Stacey Magda, Community Organizer, Mountain Watershed Association, 724-455-4200 x9, stacey@mtwatershed.com Tammy Murphy, Advocacy Director, Physicians for […]
“This is a good first step, as it will help to provide important information to the public; however, it still keeps the burden of testing waterways for hazardous waste on us, the taxpayers. It is imperative that the oil and gas industry bear the cost of ensuring clean waterways. Protecting health and taxpayer money can only happen if and when Governor Wolf closes the oil and gas waste loophole.”
Despite the financial inconsistencies, the DOH seemed receptive to the ongoing request for a visit to Southwestern Pennsylvania. Heaven Sensky, Community Organizer for Center for Coalfield Justice, said, “It is absolutely imperative that representatives from the Department of Health, who are making decisions and drawing conclusions about our exposure to harmful fossil fuel extraction, come to our communities and witness themselves what we are facing. One cannot begin to understand the proximity and density of families whose homes and lives have been invaded by the fossil fuel industry without taking the time to witness it. We welcome the Department of Health to our community, and we hope that their experience here will better inform them moving forward with the study.”
Today, State Representative Sara Innamorato (D-Allegheny) and Senator Katie Muth (D-Berks, Chester, Montgomery) have reintroduced legislation to protect public health by closing a 30-year-old loophole in state laws governing the disposal of toxic drilling waste.