What do a Democratic governor, a CEO of a major natural gas company, a Pittsburgh union leader, and the president of an environmental organization have in common?
Earlier this month, all four came together – on an active natural gas well pad – to tout a first-of-its-kind initiative that will responsibly produce energy, create jobs, and protect public health and safety.
While you might not normally expect to see these four leaders working together, here in Pennsylvania – where responsible energy development, a strong working class, and environmental protection are areas of common ground – we’ve shown that by working together, we can move the ball forward and create a blueprint for how to achieve energy, economy and environmental progress.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and CNX Resources have embarked on an historic public-private collaboration to reduce emissions and protect energy jobs by embracing radical transparency, delivering answers about natural gas production to local communities, and collecting extensive air and water quality data.
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Through this collaboration, CNX will voluntarily abide by most of the recommendations that stemmed from a statewide grand jury investigation overseen by then-Attorney General Shapiro. But the company has also outlined a series of steps aimed at radical transparency that go even further.
CNX will engage in rigorous air, water and waste management monitoring and data collection, which will then be disclosed to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and on a public website for all to access.
CNX has also committed to publicly disclose all chemicals used in drilling and fracking before they are used on site, so Pennsylvanians will have all the facts and information about what’s happening in their community.
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But we are going even further. CNX will give DEP unprecedented access to two of CNX’s future wells so that DEP can conduct the most intensive independent study of unconventional natural gas wells in the country.
DEP will monitor the air quality impact of those wells before, during, and after development. And DEP will follow all relevant data to determine what kind of health and environmental policies are needed – including what distance of setbacks will be effective at safeguarding public health and safety.
In launching the nation’s most comprehensive unconventional natural gas data and environmental monitoring program, we are gathering scientific, fact-based evidence to make informed decisions that will truly protect public health and safety in the years ahead.
From the coal mines and steel mills that fueled the Industrial Revolution to the workers who jumpstarted the American labor movement, Pennsylvania has always been a place of breakthroughs.
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As we learn the important lessons from the environmental legacy of the past and continue to innovate, we reject the false choice and misguided rhetoric that says we can’t have a robust energy economy, a healthy environment, and thriving communities.
What we need now are lawmakers from both parties to come together and get something done in this space.
Policymakers should take note – moving commonsense energy and environmental policy shouldn’t take an act of Congress. As the diverse makeup of our state calls for, we are finding common ground and common purpose – protecting jobs while recognizing the important and long-standing role of the natural gas industry in our modern energy economy.
As we wait on lawmakers, the Shapiro administration will build on this announcement and has already instructed DEP to begin making policy changes to implement commonsense measures that will cover all companies in Pennsylvania.
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Once again, Pennsylvania is proving we can break down the barriers that divide us and get things done for the folks who matter – the people of Pennsylvania. We can achieve strong environmental progress while enabling economic prosperity and leveraging our resources for the good of our nation and that of our allies.
CNX is the first company in Pennsylvania to stand up and make these voluntary commitments, but we hope they will not be the last. You can be profit-minded and meet your obligations to your shareholders and employees, and also protect public health and safety – CNX is proof of that.
This is a model we believe in, and we invite all other natural gas companies in Pennsylvania to follow suit.
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There are far too many people demagoguing in our politics today – making noise and demanding purity rather than actually getting things done. We're showing the way here.
The Shapiro administration and CNX are leading and proving energy development, job creation and environmental protection can coexist, and we are committed to making this a success for all – the Pennsylvania way.
Nick Deiuliis is president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based CNX Resources Corp.
