Letter to the editor: Protecting communities from gas well pollution

The West Deer supervisors’ rejection of Olympus Energy’s well pad application (“West Deer supervisors reject well pad proposed by Olympus Energy,” Dec. 21, TribLIVE) shines a light on the proximity of existing gas wells to communities, particularly smaller wells. Unfortunately, the state recently finalized a pollution standard for gas wells that exempts wells with low gas production, ignoring that gas production has little to do with the amount of methane, volatile organic compound and carcinogenic air pollution that is emitted from gas wells.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, thankfully, is considering a nationwide pollution standard that does not classify gas wells by production, but purely by air pollution.

Smaller gas wells dot Pennsylvania, often creating dangerous air pollution close to residences. The EPA’s new rule could account for the pollution vented from small, aging gas wells while giving communities, government and industry the information needed to repair malfunctioning equipment, eliminating unnecessary and dangerous air pollution while creating jobs.

West Deer’s attention to the location of gas wells should be a wakeup call to all communities dealing with local drilling pollution. The EPA’s new rule, in the absence of a protective state rule, should give communities more power to engage with existing gas infrastructure.

Russell Zerbo

Philadelphia

The writer is an advocate with the Clean Air Council.