House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that would mandate air quality monitoring systems be placed near all natural gas compressor stations, processing plants and centralized wastewater impoundments.

Under this legislation, air quality monitoring systems would be required at all current and future sites. In addition, the facility operators would be required to install and maintain monitoring systems at their own expense as a condition of their permitting. Further, this legislation would require that all air quality levels recorded by monitoring systems be made publically accessible through a real-time display posted on the Internet.

Recently, the Associated Press reported on preliminary data from the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project regarding cases in which residents may have experienced symptoms and illnesses as a result of living in close proximity to natural gas operations. To date, the project has discovered 27 cases in which residents developed symptoms and illnesses after nearby natural gas operations began. All 27 cases are confined to Washington County residents who have had no underlying medical conditions that were likely to have caused the symptoms in question, but who live near probable sources of drilling-related water and air pollution.

According to the AP article, (which can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fracking-health-project-puts-numbers-debate) A previous DEP report found some of the state's highest levels of gas drilling air pollution in Washington County, including toxic compounds such as benzene, toluene and formaldehyde. Other gas drilling firms and companies operate in the area, too. Long-term exposure to benzene can affect the immune system and cause cancer, while toluene can cause excessive sleepiness, confusion and, with long-term exposure, brain damage.

Although this data is only in preliminary stages, there are indications that air pollution generated from natural gas production may have a much greater impact on the health of area residents than was previously thought.

I believe that requiring air quality monitoring systems to be placed near natural gas compressor stations, processing plants and centralized wastewater impoundments will hold everyone to a higher standard and ensure that air quality is safe for residents living nearby.

If we are going to have an honest, fact-based debate about the impact of drilling-related operations in our communities, the public should have access to the facts in an unfiltered way. This will also be useful for operators who contend their facilities are not impacting the air quality; if there is no impact, it should be clear for everyone to see.

If you would like to co-sponsor this legislation, please contact Dominic Lemmon at 717-783-6437 or DLemmon@pahouse.net.