Communities in Western PA Need the EPA’s Proposed Methane Rule

Clean Air Council staff has been working with local organizations in Western Pennsylvania to encourage state and local governments to require the gas drilling industry upgrade pollution controls using widely available technology. The Council worked with Protect Penn-Trafford (Protect PT), a local organization in Westmoreland County, to inform the Penn Township Zoning Hearing Board that Olympus Energy was proposing to use technology that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon ban in its upcoming federal standard to limit climate-changing methane and smog-causing volatile organic compounds (VOC) as well as the known carcinogen benzene. The EPA has already published extensive research finding that pressure control devices known as “intermittent bleed pneumatics” leak methane and VOCs at levels far higher than previously estimated, particularly without proper maintenance. These devices use the force of gas to open and close valves that control the flow of gas at drilling sites. After repeatedly opening and closing valves, this pressurized gas begins to continuously vent to the atmosphere, creating previously unknown air pollution. 

In its upcoming pollution standard for existing oil and gas facilities, EPA is proposing to require pneumatic devices that use pressurized air or electricity (rather than gas itself) to open and close valves at oil and gas facilities, eliminating significant air pollution sources. The gas industry could also simply capture the gas vented to the atmosphere and direct it back into pipelines, reducing air pollution and saving more product. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and local zoning boards continue to approve and permit drilling proposals using outdated pneumatic devices that vent large amounts of air pollution to the atmosphere. Clean Air Council staff continues to advocate at every level of government against the use of this polluting technology. 

Council staff has also been heavily engaged in the state permitting process for a series of gas wells and compressor stations owned by MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources, LLC. In 2018, EPA and DEP settled a major lawsuit with MarkWest regarding underestimated air pollution from 237 of its drilling sites and compressor stations in Ohio and Pennsylvania, requiring MarkWest to install and develop new pollution control technologies and apply for new, expanded air permits. Unfortunately, Clean Air Council believes that air pollution is still being underestimated from MarkWest’s facilities in Pennsylvania, particularly from pneumatic devices as well as other equipment used in gas drilling like “pigging” operations, used to release accumulated fluids and gases in pipelines. EPA and DEP’s settlement with MarkWest required the gas company to pay a penalty of $610,000 and invest over $2M in developing a new “pigging” device that would create less air pollution. The use of newly designed pollution control technologies requires stringent, continuous air monitoring to ensure that the device properly functions and currently, DEP only requires, at most, quarterly air monitoring.

The EPA is currently considering community air monitoring networks as a part of its upcoming pollution standard for new and existing oil and gas facilities. This is absolutely necessary to identify the true air pollution emitted by gas wells and compressor stations. Air pollution spikes can happen at any time and air pollution at oil and gas sites is known to increase over time as equipment ages. Clean Air Council is proud to work with local organizations to advocate for federal pollution standards that require upgraded pollution control technologies and continuous, community centric air monitoring while informing state and local governments about the latest research on air pollution from oil and gas facilities. 

Please watch this online session detailing the Council’s work with Protect PT and email Russell Zerbo at [email protected] for more information.

Pennsylvania’s Gas Industry is Falling Behind: What Local Governments Need to Know from Clean Air Council on Vimeo.

Originally Appeared Here

This summer the Clean Air Council is celebrating Executive Director and Chief Counsel, Joseph Minott’s 40 years of leading the Clean Air Council! It is rare to have such strong and stable leadership like what Joe has provided for almost his entire career.

Joe is a sought after environmental voice and leader across the state and the region. He has spent his career championing environmental issues like clean air and water, advocating for a transition away from fossil fuels, and promoting clean energy solutions such as energy efficiency, wind, solar and geothermal.

Being an environmental activist in a fossil fuel state is not for the faint of heart.

Joe started as a new Staff Attorney in 1982 and within 3 years, was appointed as Executive Director and Chief Counsel, and he still fills those roles today. Joe fought tirelessly to raise awareness on urban air pollution in the1980’s by establishing and distributing a daily regional air quality index report that is still used today.

Clean Air Council receives a proclamation from Philadelphia’s City Council in 1985, two years before Joe Minott ( third from the right) took over as Executive Director

And in the early 2000’s when fracking was falsely seen as transitional energy, Joe purposely grew the legal team to oppose natural gas expansion. He also increased the Council’s community organizers to warn residents about the harms of the fracking industry. Joe hired engineers and public health educators on staff, successfully giving the Council more credibility with the public, and in the courtroom. Working for the Council, Joe and his legal team have sued the federal government, the state government, local governments, and the fossil fuel industry.

Joe has over 40 years of community organizing experience, and he served on the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee and its Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, and the City of Philadelphia’s Air Pollution Control Board.

Under Joe’s leadership, the Council has grown considerably in depth and breadth, now enjoying a $3 million budget and a staff of over 30 environmental experts. Joe’s greatest accomplishments include the drafting of Philadelphia’s mandatory recycling law, forcing the Commonwealth to implement an automobile emissions inspection program, securing funding for, and helping to form, Community Energy, Inc., (a successful, local renewable energy company), and promoting the development of off-shore wind in the State of Delaware.

In 2020, amidst changes in state politics, Joe saw the need for more direct engagement in elections and politics in Pennsylvania, so he led the creation of the Council’s 501c4 sister agency called the Clean Air Action Fund – to help maximize environmental impact by allowing for greater activism directly with candidates and elected officials.

Today, Joe leads the Council in defending PA’s effort to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state movement to lower emissions from the power plant sector. RGGI is a huge win for climate action, but the coal industry and politicians in Harrisburg have gone to court to block Pennsylvania from moving forward with RGGI. Part of Joe’s environmental legacy will be to make sure RGGI crosses the finish line, and that the resulting revenues are invested in clean energy.

In honor of Joe’s unparalleled integrity and dedication for forty years, the Council is asking for a special gifts from our members, board and friends to celebrate his legacy and commitment. Joe has decided that any donations will go toward hiring a Legal Fellow in 2023 to assist the legal team with ongoing litigation, like fighting Mariner East II pipeline, and other proposed natural gas projects such as the Shell Petrochemical Plant. The legal work is one avenue where the Council makes its greatest impact, and currently, there is no funding for the Legal Fellow position for 2023.

Make a gift to honor Joe’s 40 years of protecting the environment.

Your tax-deductible special gift will go a long way toward strengthening the Council’s legal team and ensuring the Council can hire a Legal Fellow for $60,000 in 2023.

Originally Appeared Here

The Hub 6/3/2022: Clean Air Council’s Weekly Round-up of Transportation News.

Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY). Image Source: PlanPhilly

“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up-to-date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.

PlanPhilly: Latest Wrench In The Plan To Narrow Washington Ave. Has Some Cheering, Others Fuming – Washington Avenue’s redesign faces yet another roadblock as Councilmember Johnson wants to keep the roadway as a five-lane road through his district and refused to introduce parking legislation that would facilitate narrowing the roadway. But advocates like Feet First Philly, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and other groups are calling on the mayor to make Washington Avenue safer for everyone and to move ahead with the narrowing of the roadway.

AP News: Rising US Traffic Deaths Put Focus On One Philadelphia Road – Roosevelt Boulevard also called the “corridor of death” by some residents and safety advocates has been stained with traffic fatalities for years. Multiple families lost loved ones on this roadway. The City of Philadelphia is hoping for Federal dollars to start redesign of the Boulevard as outlined in a 2019 study. Two design options for the Boulevard are making center lanes a restricted expressway or reducing speed limit and converting car lanes to bicycle and transit lanes.

TheCityFix: 6 Ways To Design Safer School Zones: Lessons From Mumbai – Safe access to schools is very important, thus if cities are designed to increase the safety of children then it will be safer for everyone. Six ways to improve safety in school zones based on a study done in Mumbai includes:

1. Delineation of school zones
2. Road markings and signage
3. Vibrant pedestrian crossings
4. Bulb-Outs – to reduce crossing distance
5. Speed calming measures
6. Informative footpaths

This study also concluded that 93% of children felt the street was more accessible and safer with these improvements.

Transportation Today: FTA Make Available $13M In Competitive Transit Grants – The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) pilot program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning supports comprehensive or site-specific planning projects that will combat climate change and also promote equitable delivery of benefits to vulnerable communities. Applicants for this grant must be existing FTA recipients and applications are July 25th.

Route Fifty: Pedestrian Fatalities Are Surging. Here Are Strategies To Bring Them Down – Traffic fatalities declined steadily between 1966 and 2019, but since the pandemic traffic fatalities surged nationwide. Distracted driving, driving under the influence, and speeding are contributing factors. Strategies to reduce traffic fatalities nationwide include:

1. Reducing speed limits in all neighborhoods
2. Improving street designs and install traffic calming measures
3. Improving pedestrian crossings, along with proper signage and lighting.

Image Source: PlanPhilly

Article tags: the hub, transportation

Originally Appeared Here

Pennsylvania’s biggest step forward to fight the climate crisis showed up for its court hearing on Tuesday, May 10–and Clean Air Council attorneys were there to defend it

Harrisburg, PA (May 20, 2022) On April 23, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published a long-awaited rule that will put a price on carbon pollution and enable the Commonwealth to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI, as it’s known (pronounced “Reggie”), is a cap-and-invest program for power plant pollution that all Northeastern states from Virginia on up through Maine participate in. Before April 23rd, Pennsylvania had been a glaring hole in the middle of the regional marketplace. The program works by requiring fossil-fuel-fired power plants (with 25 megawatts or greater capacity) to obtain allowances for every ton of carbon dioxide they spew into the atmosphere. These allowances are sold at quarterly auctions and can be traded on a secondary marketplace. Over time, the supply of allowances decreases, driving down power plant pollution that is harmful to human health, and lowering the amounts of greenhouse gasses that are pumped into the air. Every ton of CO2 avoided will reduce the odds of truly catastrophic climate change impacts, and people will breathe cleaner air as a result. And what’s more, the money from the auctions will be deposited  in a special, segregated account known as the Clean Air Fund, which DEP must administer in the use of further eliminating air pollution. 

RGGI is a win-win-win for the public. But, unsurprisingly, the coal industry and a group of politicians in Harrisburg have gone to court to block Pennsylvania from moving forward with RGGI. All of the challengers have asked the Commonwealth Court to issue an order enjoining (or stopping) the RGGI rule from taking effect while their challenges are pending before the court. Every day that Pennsylvania families and communities are subject to virtually unrestricted power plant pollution, the climate gets more hazardous and the quality of the air we breathe suffers. The court scheduled a two-day hearing for May 10-11 in Harrisburg to hear evidence on whether to put a hold on the RGGI rule. 

Shortly before the hearing, Clean Air Council asked the court to be allowed to intervene as a party. The court allowed the Council and its allied organizations–PennFuture, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, and Natural Resources Defense Council–to participate in the hearing but held off on deciding whether we would be full participants during the rest of the case. Over the course of two days, we put on witnesses who gave powerful testimony about the adverse effects of air pollution from power plants on human health and the public interest. The politicians offered the testimony of Senator Gene Yaw – a loud and vocal opponent of RGGI – and the coal industry offered up a power plant executive who argued that RGGI would cut into his plants’ profits.

At the end of the hearing, the judge set a schedule for the parties to submit written briefs for their sides. While we don’t yet know how the court will rule, much is at stake. The new Pennsylvania RGGI rule is the most important effort the state has undertaken to lower greenhouse gas emissions. It is not enough, but it is a critical first step. Clean Air Council will not stand aside as the coal industry and out-of-touch politicians hold our lungs and our lives hostage.

For more information contact Alex Bomstein, Director of Litigation, [email protected].

Originally Appeared Here

Clean Air Council, Feet First Philly, and several other local organizations held a fun day of activities along Cobbs Creek Trail as part of Celebrate Trails Day on April 23. The day’s events kicked off with our fantastic partners WeWalk and GirlTrek hosting a walk along the Cobbs Creek Park trails. 

The Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center headquartered the celebration with half a dozen exhibitors offering resources and educational materials including trail maps, sustainable commuting guides, a guide to local green stormwater infrastructure, and upcoming event schedules. John Heinz Wildlife Refuge also hosted a fishing casting lesson and the Boy Scouts gave a lesson on fire building that included roasting some delicious s’mores. 

At the middle and southern ends of the trail, stewardship efforts were in full swing with UC Green volunteers planting trees adjacent to the trail, and Cobbs Creek Ambassadors and Darby Creek Valley Association stewards conducting clean ups at Mt. Moriah Cemetery and Blue Bell Inn.

After the clean ups, visitors joined an afternoon cemetery tour at Mt. Moriah, yoga in Haddington Woods located along the northern end of the trail, and horseback riding and free water ice giveaways at the Environmental Center.

Clean Air Council would like to thank all the partners who came together to make Celebrate Trails Day at Cobbs Creek a huge success.

Thanks To:

Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center

Cobbs Creek Free Library of Philadelphia

Erin the Concrete Cowgirl

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Siddiq’s Real Fruit Water Ice

Cobbs Creek Neighborhood Association

Feet First Philly

East Coast Greenway Alliance

UC Green

Darby Creek Valley Association

John Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum

Fairmount Park Conservancy

Sarah Craig Yoga

WeWalkPHL

Originally Appeared Here

Avoiding Economic Displacement during Greening in Philadelphia

All neighborhoods in Philadelphia deserve green space. Climate change is here and it is having a disproportionate and serious impact on disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. That is not acceptable. Lack of resilience in such neighborhoods against the health and welfare threats of climate change can not be allowed to continue. While much of the harm is caused by climate change – the harm is also due to long time neglect due to institutional and systemic racism.  Communities in Southwest Philadelphia, North Philadelphia and the lower Northeast deserve as much greenspace as Chestnut Hill and Lower Merion. 

The former Philadelphia refinery represents 1,400 acres of transformative potential that could improve public health, provide local recreational amenities, and increase the city’s ability to manage stormwater and the rising Schuylkill river. Many city leaders and bureaucrats simply assumed that the site would need to continue as a refinery or other heavy industrial use because of extreme soil contamination caused by 160 years of fossil fuel activity. That kind of  short-term thinking would have harmed the health and welfare of nearby neighbors and frankly the greater Philadelphia region for generations to come.   

Directly across the river from the former refinery, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) is removing contaminated soil from previous industrial activity in order to extend existing recreational trails at Bartram’s Garden. That is a good step forward. We need more greenspace in the city and I applaud PIDC’s current effort to expand riverfront access along the Schuylkill. 

Hilco, the new owner of the former refinery, should follow this lead and develop accessible, safe public greenspace at the former refinery site. 

There is a theory among some planners that low income neighborhoods should limit their greening in order to prevent gentrification. That is not acceptable and simply gives in to past racism. The City of Philadelphia has to protect local residents from the gentrification that often accompanies infrastructure investments in parks and trails. 

Local residents are rightly concerned that expanded public amenities could accelerate already rising rents and property taxes. All Philadelphians deserve access to well-maintained, safe, and accessible greenspace without risking being displaced from their homes by income disparities. Increasing greenspace is a key strategy in mitigating the impacts of climate change.such as flooding and extreme heat. Many studies have clearly established that greenspace improves positive mental and physical health. It is discouraging, but understandable, to see local residents feeling that they have to oppose the increased development of recreational infrastructure and other greenspace out of fear that it will raise their cost of living and ultimately displace them from their homes and communities. These fears are real, but we cannot continue to play this zero-sum game where environmental improvements come with economic punishments, or vice versa. In order to prevent development from increasing property taxes and rent in historically underserved communities of color, there are several necessary city policies and programs that can be enacted, and in some cases reopened or expanded.

Residents are currently witnessing property tax and rent increases caused by new development, while new property owners are protected by the 10-year new construction property tax abatement. Although ending the tax abatement was discussed in City Council, it remains in effect with 2022 applications subject to a gradual increase of property taxes over 10 years. This program began in 2000 and was intended to be a temporary stimulus for new construction. Over twenty years later this supposedly temporary tax incentive is still in effect. Approximately half of the property tax collected in Philadelphia is intended for the Philadelphia School District.

The City offers a Homestead Exemption available to all property owners that could reduce the taxable cost on your home by $45,000, potentially saving homeowners $629 in annual property taxes. Considering the much larger funds currently being lost to the property tax abatement, this program needs to be expanded. The current deadline to apply for the homestead exemption is September 13th, 2022. Apply now! This is also the early deadline for applications to the City’s Senior Citizen Tax Freeze Program. We need these programs to be expanded to target lower income households and residents also need more outreach staff to help navigate the application process.

The city has thankfully reopened Philly First Home, a previously closed program to assist first time home buyers. The program offers $10,000 grants to help new homeowners with down payments or closing costs. Reopening this program is likely the single most achievable and impactful effort the City could undertake to support residents attempting to build intergenerational wealth and establish anchors in their communities. 

Philadelphia also has no current policy regulating rent increases while New York City and San Francisco have both administered successful rent control campaigns for decades. Landlords are still able to raise rent in these cities, it is simply limited to 5-10% of current rent. This is commonsense economic policy that gives renters confidence they will be able to stay in their homes, while also allowing landlords to account for inflation. Currently, new property owners have an extremely clear timeline when property taxes will be collected. Renters should be entitled to a similar assurance. 

On top of existing economic pressures for current residents and tax breaks for new property owners, the City often does not enforce its own open space standards, making public parks and trails all the more necessary. Unfortunately, many Philadelphia neighborhoods in need of expanded greenspace are under immense pressure from housing developers who routinely request zoning appeals to avoid the city’s minimal 20-25% open space requirements for multifamily housing developments. Lack of greenspace puts increased pressure on aging homes during flooding events and further increases the difficulty of Philadelphia residents to stay in their often deteriorating homes. 

The City of Philadelphia has acknowledged the existential threat of climate change, but has been slower to adopt economic policies that will protect residents as infrastructure updates and increased public amenities raise property taxes. The need for expanded parks and trails in this time of extreme weather cannot be understated. These public health and quality of life improvements must be accompanied by just economic policy that does not favor new property owners at the expense of existing residents. 

For more information contact Russell Zerbo at [email protected]

Please click here to view the source of the featured image.

Originally Appeared Here

Clean Air Council Celebrates Final Publication of Pennsylvania’s CO2 Budget Trading Program

Harrisburg, PA (April 22, 2022) This morning, the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) final-form regulation that links Pennsylvania with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was published in the online version of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The lengthy regulatory review process under state law is now complete. Pennsylvania’s CO2 Budget Trading Program has the full force and effect of law, and the state is on track to participate in RGGI’s upcoming regional auction in September.

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council, issued the following statement:

“It has been a long time coming, but what a monumental day. Pennsylvania has officially taken the most significant policy step to combat climate change in its history. From now on, the costs of carbon pollution emitted by fossil fuel-fired power plants in the Commonwealth will also be borne by polluters, not solely by the residents and taxpayers who suffer the impacts of that pollution. Governor Wolf issued his executive order directing DEP to draft this regulation over two-and-a-half years ago now. This has been an exhaustive regulatory process featuring overwhelming public support and participation. Pennsylvania’s program is projected to cut up to 227 million tons of carbon pollution by 2030, deliver billions of dollars in public health benefits, and provide hundreds of millions of dollars annually for reinvestment in Pennsylvania’s families and communities. These investments can help improve housing quality, increase energy efficiency, and lower electricity bills, as well as further eliminate air pollution. Now, the hard work begins to implement this program and allocate those RGGI proceeds to communities most in need.

I want to extend my deep thanks and congratulations to Governor Wolf and his administration. There is so much more work to be done to combat the climate crisis – at all levels of government – but today is worth celebrating.”

Originally Appeared Here

National Bike Month is right around the corner. This May, join people across the Philadelphia region and beyond embracing biking as a great way to travel while doing your part to improve air quality and reduce your carbon footprint. Beyond the benefits of biking for you, your community, and the world, this May Bike Month you can win prizes and compete with your friends and coworkers. Learn more about the Love to Ride May Bike Month challenge and how you can ride an Indego bike to participate.

Looking for a way to stay motivated to bike all month? Sign up for the Love to Ride Bike Month Challenge. This free, online, biking competition gives you a place to record all your bike rides, set goals for yourself, and earn points to win prizes by biking and encouraging others to bike!

How does it work? Just create a team of up to ten people; these can be friends, family or co-workers. Together, your team earns points by riding, and encouraging each other to ride and will compete against other teams of similar experience levels. Regardless of your experience level, this challenge is right for you. In fact, new riders earn DOUBLE the points, so if you are new to biking this is a great way to get involved. Prizes, including a bike worth $1,500, are up for grabs, so if you are already planning to bike this month, make sure you are signed up and logging those rides.

Don’t have a bike of your own? No problem! Philadelphia’s favorite bike share, Indego, is turning 7 years old this April 23rd! To celebrate this milestone, as well as Bike Month, Indego is offering the first month of the Indego30 and Indego30 Access pass at a greatly reduced price. From April 23rd – May 31st new riders can use the code INDEPRO22 at www.rideindego.com for a $5 Indego30 pass or $2.50 Indego30 Access pass! With this Indego pass, riders get an unlimited number of 60-minute rides for 30 days! This pass is great for exploring the city and trails on your schedule. Indego is excited to give folks who have always wanted to try bike share the opportunity to do so! Once you have signed up for your Indego pass remember to log your rides with Love to Ride, for the chance to win a full free year-long Indego pass!

Since last Bike Month there have been some major improvements to bike facilities, bike lanes, and bike paths around the cities. In addition to the numerous new Indego stations installed this year (check out the map below!), the Chestnut St. bridge has finally reopened with a parking protected bike lane, and Circuit Trails have been extended including at Bartram’s Garden. You can see existing bike lanes, find Circuit Trails, and see all the Indego stations on GoPhillyGo, as well as map out your bike routes – including using an Indego bike. So if you are looking for a trail to bike on, or just want to map out the safest route to your destination this bike month, there are plenty of tools to help you. 

Since Indego began their current system expansion a year ago they have added 34 new stations!

So grab your bike or sign up for an Indego pass and commit to biking this May!

This blog was written jointly by the Clean Air Council and Indego Bike Share.

Originally Appeared Here

Academics, Elected Officials, Organizations, And Over 470,000 Residents Send Powerful Message To EPA On Methane Emissions

At the end of January, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed the 78-day public comment period for its updated New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and first-ever Emissions Guidelines for existing sources in the oil and gas industry with over 470,000 people submitting comments in support of a strong methane rule. 

In addition to this large number of resident comments, over 110 state and local elected officials, academics, and organizations sent respective letters to Administrator Regan asking the EPA to meet this moment and finalize comprehensive methane rules for the oil and gas industry. This tremendous outpouring of public engagement sends a powerful message to the EPA that the public supports the strongest methane rules possible.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, and harmful chemicals leak from every single segment of the oil and gas supply chain. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas and traps heat in the atmosphere up to 87 times more than carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it’s released. Methane emissions create ideal conditions for extreme and deadly weather events and are responsible for 30% of the climate crisis effects we see today. 

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene, ethyl benzene, and toluene leak at the same time as methane, and these harmful chemicals can cause cancer. Exposure to methane and VOCs can negatively impact the nervous system as well as the brain, lungs, and blood. VOCs also contribute to ground-level ozone, the main constituent of smog. Smog exacerbates respiratory diseases like asthma and emphysema, increases asthma attacks, and can lead to heart disease. 

The EPA’s highly anticipated proposal, released in November 2021, is intended to significantly reduce emissions of methane and other harmful air pollutants from the oil and gas sector. It came as an about face from the previous administration’s policies, which aggressively sought to loosen regulations on sources of methane pollution, despite its devastating impact on public health and climate change. However, the public is calling on the EPA to strengthen its proposed rule in a few key ways:.

• Require frequent leak detection and repair for all sources, especially small, leak-prone wells. Research has shown that these wells are responsible for a disproportionate and significant amount of methane pollution from oil and gas sources in Pennsylvania.

• Ban harmful non-emergency flaring at oil and gas facilities. Flaring gas creates unnecessary and harmful air pollution.

• Ensure monitoring results and complaints from communities go directly to EPA so it can hold companies accountable to fixing leaks. Frontline communities feel the worst effects from oil and gas pollution and deserve to have their concerns addressed and access to accurate air quality data to make informed decisions to protect their health. 

A supplemental proposal is expected later this Spring, and the Council and its partners continue to call on EPA to do the right thing and strengthen its methane proposal for the oil and gas sector. A comprehensive final rule that prioritizes public health and the environment over industry profits is the best solution, and anything less will be consequential for everyone, but especially for frontline residents already disproportionately burdened by oil and gas impacts.

Originally Appeared Here

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF COUNSEL: CLEAN AIR COUNCIL’S PRIORITIES IN 2022

(Feb 07, 2022) Harrisburg, PA The start of a new year provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the past and plan for the future.  2021 was yet another stressful and difficult year for us all. COVID-19 continued to upend almost every aspect of life in America and around the world. In the United States, there seems to be increased anger and pessimism about the future. 

For the last three years, I have not seen my Clean Air Council colleagues except through zoom. I really miss them. The Council continues to work remotely – the furthest remote employee is located in Montana!  The Council has an amazing staff and I am so impressed by how quickly they adapted to remote work.  On the other hand, it is sad how divided America was in 2021, and the bitterness between fellow Americans  seems to be growing. But 2021 was also a year of optimism where long-established issues of social injustice started increasingly being addressed despite growing backlash towards change of any kind. Many Americans, businesses and nonprofits are still struggling to understand how to best move forward productively and with optimism.  2022 is a new year, and I pray that healing from the pandemic, economic downturn and our political divide can start early. It is also an election year in which I hope we all do our patriotic duty and vote. 

This year will mark  my 40th at the Council. At age 67, I still do not want to leave my beloved organization and its critical mission. But I also recognize that sometime in the not far future some young, eager, much more talented person will take my job and continue to grow the Council. One of the issues that the Council staff and board are working on is how to ensure a smooth transition when the time comes for me to retire. 

The last few years have been hard for environmental protection. The Trump administration rolled back many of the baseline federal environmental protections that the Council worked for years to secure. At the state level, there were some victories and some defeats. In the last couple of years, Pennsylvania has seen some progress in addressing climate change, yet state elected officials continue to promote policies and subsidies that support the fossil fuel industry. The Council’s top  priority is to get the United States and all 50 states  to move forward in a meaningful way  to address climate change. This requires getting Pennsylvania’s elected leaders to understand the great environmental and economic opportunities provided by the green economy.

The Council has had many achievements since 1967 – when the organization was first created.  Today we know so much more about our environment and the devastating impacts of fossil fuel extraction and combustion, which directly fuels the climate crisis and causes devastating public health harms. We know climate change is not only real but already causing serious damage throughout the country and in many Pennsylvania communities. And yet Pennsylvania leaders at all levels of government – while paying lip service to the issue – continue to promote fossil fuel expansion.

I have some optimism that at the federal level we will see some progress in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. But those efforts will likely not be enough, nor will they reflect the amount of reductions needed in the relatively short timespan dictated by the science.  In Pennsylvania, now the second largest fossil gas producer in the US, methane and other pollutants endanger the health of residents throughout the state . Meanwhile, new pipelines are tearing through our communities, and irresponsible drilling has resulted in hundreds of spills, tree clearing, seriously harming local communities, and local ecosystems. Yet the state seems to refuse to adequately penalize chronic bad polluters. The state fines them at a level that amounts to chump change for multi-billion dollar companies. Many of these companies have forfeited their social license to operate in Pennsylvania and their permits need to be revoked.

Having chosen to be an environmental advocate in Pennsylvania, I have no choice but to be an optimist. I believe 2022 will offer new opportunities to block the growing anti-environmentalism among many of our elected officials. Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly want clean air, clean water and protected open spaces. In fact, it is guaranteed in Pennsylvania’s Constitution by the Environmental Rights Amendment (ERA) and, thanks to groups like Clean Air Council and others, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has reinvigorated the ERA and ruled that our fundamental environmental rights are enforceable and protected by law.

We have a lot to do in the coming year and, thanks to our supporters, I am convinced we’ll make great strides. Here are the Council’s priorities for 2022:

Work with other environmental groups to overturn the Trump Administration’s rollbacks of federal environmental laws that protect public health and the environment: The Biden administration is still politically moderate but does support moving forward on addressing climate change and using good science in policy development and rule-making. It represents a sea change from the disastrous prior administration and, believe it or not, represents the most aggressive climate policy approach from any White House in history. 

Ensure enforcement of rules and regulations that protect public health, quality of life and preservation of ecosystems in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania is a state that has always been welcoming of extractive industries. Over the last few years, the General Assembly has deliberately underfunded the Department of Environmental Protection so that it cannot fulfill its constitutional obligation to  protect public health and the environment through rigorous permit reviews, enforcement of existing laws and regulations, and monitoring of potential polluters. 

Pennsylvanians continue to see proposals for new, gigantic gas-fired power plants and pipelines that offer no real benefits to the people of Pennsylvania and will seriously degrade the environment. Groups like Clean Air Council are left to pick up the slack. We are up to the task and are ready to support residents and local groups across the state in raising concerns about proposed fossil fuel projects. The Council has no fear of suing the DEP or any industry if needed to protect public health and the environment. The Council also willingly lends our expertise to DEP as the agency  develops and proposes new regulations. Finally, the Council will continue to work with local governments throughout Pennsylvania on developing ordinances that limit where polluting sources can be sited in order to protect public health and fragile ecosystems.

Give voice to environmental justice communities impacted by pollution: It is no secret that some communities are more impacted than others when it comes to being asked to host polluting facilities. Working to bring environmental justice to these communities is a top priority of the Council. The Council’s community organizers, engineers and lawyers help residents ensure that their voices are heard. As one example, the Council’s engineers have developed accurate, low-cost air monitoring devices, designed to be loaned to communities, so concerned residents can monitor air pollution levels where they live, or where their children go to school. The Council, working with local community members, forced Sunoco to reopen its public input process to ensure that community members would have a voice in how the old refinery site should be cleaned up.

Promote the green economy: We need to rapidly shift away from using fossil fuels. The history of fossil fuel extraction in Pennsylvania has left a terrible toll on our state’s environment. I am proud that Clean Air Council is working with local governments big and small throughout Pennsylvania to support them in their move  to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy in their communities. The Council will continue to fight against state and local barriers that stand in the way of expanding solar and wind power in Pennsylvania.

Reduce pollution from the transportation sector: Pollution from the transportation sector is a leading cause of air pollution and greenhouse emissions. COVID, in a perverse way, encouraged people to work from home and exercise outdoors.  More people were riding bikes than ever before and enjoying the outdoors as pedestrians. As people return to work, though, they are more likely to go back to driving alone, and we will see increased pollution from the transportation sector. Even if people choose to stay remote, more people ordering packages for home delivery will increase demand for diesel fuel to transport goods in heavy-duty trucks. The Council will continue to work at the state and local level to help public transportation recover, expand bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and make it easier to get around without a single-occupancy gasoline-powered car. The Council is involved in working with policy makers and industry to build out electric vehicle infrastructure in an equitable way. 

The Council depends on support from the public for all the important work we do. I love hearing feedback from our supporters on how they think the Council is doing, and about more ways we can help protect your right to a healthy environment. Please reach out to [email protected], and I will look forward to reading your feedback and suggestions!

Sincerely,

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq

Executive Director and Chief Counsel

Originally Appeared Here