Column on natural gas shouldn’t be taken seriously

Editor:

The Feb. 27 guest column (“Replace Russian Gas with Cleaner U.S. Natural Gas”) in the Daily Times is a dangerous proposal that could result in yet another public health disaster.

Delaware County is already overburdened by industrial facilities that either export fuels or import waste to be incinerated, providing absolutely no benefit to local residents while polluting their air and water.

Delaware County does not need a liquified natural gas export facility. One of the county’s largest polluters, the Marcus Hook Terminal, is operated by Energy Transfer who will have a permanent criminal record related to the extreme environmental damage caused by the Mariner East pipeline construction and the 2018 explosion of the Revolution pipeline in Beaver County.

The author attempts to gloss over the fact that exporting natural gas internationally raises its price domestically by saying that “prices increased because of energy market turmoil.”

It’s not “market turmoil,” it’s basic economics.

If gas in Europe costs 10 times what it does in the U.S., as the author mentions, exporting more gas will raise the domestic price.

And if the author actually cared about “leaking methane” and “fighting climate change,” he would be writing in support of soon-to-be finalized oil and gas pollution standards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would reduce greenhouse gases, smog-causing volatile organic compounds, and air toxins like the known carcinogen benzene.

All of these pollutants are emitted from Pennsylvania’s gas drilling industry and the EPA’s new standards will require that all gas wells and compressor stations be regularly inspected for leaks and equipment malfunctions.

The rule will also require these inspections to occur until wells are successfully plugged, eliminating the wasteful and dangerous industry practice of knowingly abandoning leaking gas wells. Currently, the gas industry releases significant portions of its product stream either through intentional venting and flaring or equipment malfunctions. Increasing inspections and air monitoring at oil and gas facilities will actually create domestic jobs, lower air pollution and conserve gas.

Rather than adding another polluting industrial facility to the Delco riverfront, we need to begin repairing riverfront areas in Chester and Marcus Hook from decades of environmental abuse.