Economy
Families And Advocates Criticize PA’s Fracking Health Studies
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State announced $3.9 M studies after pressure from families of rare cancer patients in SW PA
WSKG (https://wskg.org/author/reid-frazier/)
State announced $3.9 M studies after pressure from families of rare cancer patients in SW PA
Energy, pollution policies are felt deeply in Pennsylvania.
Estimates don’t capture leaks from ‘abnormal’ conditions, Environmental Defense Fund says
Help with refinancing debt could help shale companies in PA
Regulator, company at odds over erosion, hillside slips
‘Everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong’
“I think that we would have a less severe outbreak if we had lower levels of air pollution.”
“We are following government guidelines with distancing measures being taken, increased cleaning schedules in-place, and limits on gatherings of groups.”
Voters are split on the question of a fracking ban
Pennsylvania is getting less money from the federal government this year to clean up its old abandoned mines.
Support for a ban strong in cities and suburbs; weak in rural SW Pennsylvania
Plastics build-out could conflict with governor’s climate goals
Fracking pollution not included in study; could lessen health benefits, author says
The settlement also lifts a nearly year-long permit freeze on the company’s other pipeline projects, including the cross-state Mariner East pipelines.
Taxes and bans on single use plastics try to combat plastics in the oceans
“What would I say now? I would say because of the regional and local health concerns and concerns about climate change, we should stop fracking–everywhere.”
Natural gas is mostly used for heating homes or fueling power plants. But when it comes out of the ground, it contains another key ingredient — ethane, a building block of plastics.
Rules on coal ash ponds, wastewater from coal-fired power plants are targeted
Resolves 2018 order involving more than 1,000 wells.
“The benefit is there’s employment in the area. But the rest of the town’s neglected and I don’t feel our town of Grangemouth benefits as much as it should, with an oil refinery on our doorstep.”
For decades, the United Kingdom has relied on oil and gas from the North Sea. Those fields, first developed in the 1960s and 70s, are declining.
The massive refinery and petrochemical complex in Grangemouth, Scotland, run by INEOS, was one of the first overseas plants to receive Pennsylvania ethane.
HARRISBURG, PA (WITF) – The Allegheny County Health Department and U.S. Steel have a draft agreement to resolve multiple air pollution violations from the company’s Clairton Plant over the past two years. The agreement calls on the company to pay $2.7 million in fines and put in place a suite of pollution upgrades at the plant. The company said the price of those upgrades is $200 million. The agreement does not resolve legal issues between the county and the company over air pollution problems that resulted from a Dec. 24 fire.
The court document was issued under seal, but was discovered last week in a public database by a public radio reporter. After issuing an injunction, Judge Katherine B. Emery on Tuesday ruled it could be published.
Experts testified before a House Science, Space, & Technology subcommittee that nuclear energy is important in limiting air pollution from the power sector, and for national security.
“All they’ve ever gotten is a slap on the wrist. It’s time for that to change. I’ll hold the oil and gas companies criminally liable for poisoning our air and our drinking water.”
Alabama company has until 2033 to plug wells or put them back into production
A new report finds coal ash pollution is leaking into groundwater at nine power plants around Pennsylvania and over 200 nationwide. West Pa. site has arsenic 372 times the ‘safe’ level
Permit will cover 16 newly discovered seeps coming out of Little Blue
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The grid operator for the mid-Atlantic region released a long-anticipated study about whether coal and nuclear plant retirements present a threat to its electric supply.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – State regulators have ordered the owner of a pipeline that experienced a catastrophic explosion last month to fix inadequate erosion control measures in several locations along its route.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – At an oil and gas conference in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler touted the Trump administration’s moves to roll back over 70 environmental regulations, telling the crowd the rollbacks will make America’s air and water cleaner while keeping the economy booming.
Pennsylvania is trying to figure out how to regrow forests after fracking.
The company says there is still time for a federal bailout to save its struggling coal plants
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Environmental groups say a Trump administration rollback of Obama-era coal ash rules could threaten Pennsylvania groundwater. The new rules, finalized on Tuesday, loosen requirements on utilities for disposing the coal ash left after burning.
Rig forced relocation of part of trail named for environmental icon
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania has joined a growing number of states in issuing new methane requirements for natural gas wells.
THE ALLEGHENY FRONT – To save the bats of Pennsylvania, Greg Turner wants to build a better bat cave.
Plan could cost ratepayers more in mid-Atlantic, guarantee profits for some power plants
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Spreading oil and gas wastewater has been a common and cheap way for municipalities to suppress dust on unpaved roads in parts of Pennsylvania for years.
Natural gas has replaced coal as the country’s top power source. But it’s also causing problems for another source of energy.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A coalition of anti-fracking groups says Gov. Tom Wolf should pay more attention to the health impacts of fracking, and that he’s “turned his back” on people who say they’ve suffered from the state’s natural gas industry.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will spend $55 million on abandoned mine cleanup projects around the state.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – As low natural gas prices force more coal and nuclear plants to retire, the grid operator for 65 million customers in the mid-Atlantic region says it will look at whether it’s becoming more susceptible to outages forced by extreme weather or cyber-attack.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The natural gas boom was supposed to help the electric sector lower its carbon footprint by replacing old, carbon dioxide-spewing coal plants with newer, lower-emitting natural gas plants. And to a degree, that’s happened. As coal plants have retired, carbon emissions from the power sector have decreased.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A dispute over a local law that opens up much of a Pittsburgh suburb to oil and gas drilling has made it to a Westmoreland County courtroom.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania announced approval of $25 million in funding for cleanup of abandoned mines at 12 sites around the state.
Fracking may have been born in the U.S., but there are shale gas reserves in dozens of other countries. Will these countries say yes or no to fracking? Shanti Gamper-Rabindran a University of Pittsburgh professor and editor of The Shale Dilemma, sat down for an interview about the topic.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A majority of Pennsylvanians still support the natural gas industry, but a new opinion poll shows the number of people concerned about its environmental impact is growing.
TATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Citing market challenges,” electric utility FirstEnergy says it will close three nuclear plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, while at the same time asking the Department of Energy for immediate help to keep its fleet of coal and nuclear plants open.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – On a recent afternoon, Ken Broadbent walked the aisles of his union’s “weld shop.” Behind orange plastic curtains that shield the eye-searing brightness of their torches, a few dozen apprentices practiced welding pipes together. Each will end up with about 700 hours of training.
Ryan Zinke, President Trump’s Interior Secretary, came to Western Pennsylvania to tout the federal government’s abandoned mine cleanup program. It was an appropriate setting.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will extend the public comment period for Shell’s 97-mile Falcon pipeline, which will carry ethane to the company’s $6 billion petrochemical plant in Western Pennsylvania.