Clean Air Council Seeks Federal Help on Marcellus Air Pollution

Edna Molten, Washington County, Pennsylvania

Susan Phillips of StateIm­pact Pennsylvania has reported this story on the blog for National Public Radio and interested readers. Res­i­dents in the vil­lage of Rae, in Wash­ing­ton County, say they have com­plained to the PA DEP of bad odors they think are related to gas drilling. Edna Moten says they’ve been frus­trated by the agency’s response.

The Clean Air Coun­cil says res­i­dents who have con­tacted the PA Depart­ment of Envi­ron­men­tal Pro­tec­tion about gas drilling related air pol­lu­tion inci­dents are frus­trated by the lack of response.  The Coun­cil sent a let­ter to EPA Regional Admin­is­tra­tor Shawn Garvin, ask­ing the EPA to assist the PA DEP. The let­ter from Clean Air Coun­cil exec­u­tive direc­tor Joseph Minott details com­plaints from 13 res­i­dents who expe­ri­enced odors, or wit­nessed “opaque” emissions.

“The Coun­cil dis­cov­ered that in some cases, com­plaints were made to PA DEP and were never fully inves­ti­gated and in other cases, res­i­dents lost faith in PA DEP and stopped report­ing pol­lu­tion com­plaints to them.”

Minott says the Clean Air Coun­cil has since cre­ated its own sys­tem to log shale drilling related com­plaints. The online form includes report­ing on health issues the res­i­dents think might be asso­ci­ated with the odor, or vis­i­ble emis­sion inci­dent. Of those who have filled out the Clean Air Coun­cil sur­vey, 75 per­cent listed health impacts dur­ing the vis­i­ble emis­sions, includ­ing headaches, dizzi­ness and ver­tigo. More than 60 per­cent expe­ri­enced headaches soon after an odor event.

The Clean Air Coun­cil also says it’s tough to even reach the PA DEP to report a complaint.

“Res­i­dents reported that the PA DEP com­plaint tele­phone num­ber has not been work­ing on sev­eral occa­sions in the past 8 months, and res­i­dents and Coun­cil staff have called dur­ing nor­mal busi­ness hours and found that no one answered.”

And to make mat­ters worse, those who did reach the PA DEP, accord­ing to Minott, often described inter­ac­tions with rude and dis­mis­sive field agents.

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Julie Archer of the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization describes their most recent Newsletter. The Summer 2012 edition of Surface Owners’ News is now available.

In this issue:  

• Details on the Governor’s Marcellus Bill
• Session 2012 Recap
• Rejoining Split Estates
• WV-SORO in the Courts
• Blocking Well Pads in Flood Plains
• Inspectors Needed
• WV Host Farms Program Launches
• Rally & March in DC July 25 thru 28th
• Update on EPA’s Hydraulic Fracturing Study
• EPA’s New Air Rules: What Do They Mean?

Click here to read the newsletter.