Letter to the editor: Senate bill would undo environmental progress

Going back to the ’80s for a mile-high perm and a John Hughes film? Sign me up. Going back to undo 36 years of regulations? That’s a scheme that’s risky at best.

Pennsylvania Senate Bill 790 would undo years of progress on environmental and health protections on oil and gas drilling, taking us all the way back to standards from the 1980s. Under SB 790, industry compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act is reduced. So if your water is contaminated in the drilling process through a leak, spill or emergency, the replacement water does not have to meet the standards for safe drinking water.

It also allows for up to five barrels of oil and 15 barrels of oil and gas water to be spilled and go unreported. That is up to 630 gallons of wastewater that can make its way downstream to communities where residents are unaware the spill ever even occurred.

And SB 790 would suppress a municipality’s right to self governance by preventing the creation of stronger regulations. So if you wanted to keep spills and leaks away from homes, schools or offices, you would be sidelined while drilling companies could do as they pleased.

I’m calling on my state Representative, Anita Kulik, D-Kennedy, and state representatives across Pennsylvania to stand with their constituents instead of industry and vote no on SB 790.

Maura Deely

Oakland

The writer is a community organizing intern with PennEnvironment (www.pennenvironment.org).