Residents React to Emerging Natural Gas Policy

Clean Air Council staff and other community advocates got together this week to discuss emerging federal methane policy in the context of the lived-experience of Pennsylvanian’s dealing with every stage of the natural gas industry, from extraction to refining. 

From Washington County to Delaware County, the natural gas industry is having major effects on public health in Pennsylvania. Panel participants discussed everything from the economics of living in a fracked community to the multiple lifecycle waste issues involved in the natural gas industry, from the attempted treatment of fracking waste to the influence that fossil fuel extraction has on the plastics industry.

Clean Air Council encourages local activists to use the commitments the Biden and Wolf administrations’ have made regarding greenhouse gas emissions to leverage existing campaigns. Similarly, participants also emphasized the role that local governments can have in environmental permitting. One of the main themes of the online session was that all levels of government have a role to play in protecting residents from the natural gas industry.