Fracking is bad for public parks and the people who use them
Iwas born in Murrysville. In the 1880s, Murrysville was the site of the construction of the first commercial gas well in the country. Commercial methane extraction began quite literally in my backyard. In Murrysville, this is treated as a local point of pride.
Should we be proud of this chapter of our region’s history? The Haymaker Well caught fire and burned, in one of the worst manmade disasters to ever strike southwestern Pennsylvania. The flames could not be extinguished. They rose so high into the sky that they could be seen from Pittsburgh, 20 miles away. The well burned for months.
You would think we would have learned from that, but today, we rely on fossil gas more than ever. We are treated every month to news stories about deadly pipe explosions and toxic wastewater spills. And the government of Allegheny County even allows private companies to frack in our public parks.
I was astounded when I moved to Allegheny County and learned that fracking occurs in our parks. There are very few places in America where people can gather without paying money. Parks are one of them. Parks are where we walk our dogs, go on dates, take hikes with our families. They exist for the public good. They are not supposed to be industrial drilling sites.
Private companies should not be profiting from extracting petrochemicals from our public parks, next to where our children play.
On June 9, Allegheny County Council held a hearing on a bill that would ban new fracking wells from being built in our parks. 72 people signed up to give public comment. Dozens more packed the Gold Room with signs. It was standing room only, with a line of people waiting outside.
Every single person who spoke supported the ban. The room burst into applause after every comment.
For me, the most striking comments came from two former fossil fuel industry workers. One of them was a lawyer who used to defend the drilling industry. She broke down into sobs when she said she wished she could take back what she had done. Both of them said that their work had taught them that fracking is inherently unsafe, and they urged the Council to ban it from our parks.
Without bothering to attend the hearing, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced the next morning that he would veto the bill. The bill’s sponsors responded by vowing to override his veto. They would be right to do so.
Council members have an obligation under the Pennsylvania Constitution to protect the clean air and water that is the right of all Pennsylvanians. Maybe someday, Fitzgerald will also regret the role he has played in selling off the public’s clean air and water. But not yet.
As with all things in this region, the debate circles around jobs. But we do not have to choose between jobs or clean air and water. Another bill on County Council, Bill 12184-22, would see county buildings retrofitted, reinsulated, and greened. That means jobs in HVAC. Local jobs. Whereas drillers will truck in their existing staff to any drill site, creating no local jobs, there are dozens of local HVAC companies in Allegheny County that have the expertise necessary to retrofit county buildings using only local labor.
We must not shut one door without opening another. Both bills should be passed, and if Fitzgerald vetoes either, councilmembers must override him.
But we shouldn’t stop with just these two bills. Let’s start getting creative. For example, CCAC could include more training on zero emissions heat pumps in their HVAC program. If we’re creating zero-emissions HVAC jobs, County Council and our local community college can make sure folks in Allegheny County are trained and ready to take those jobs.
The 72 public commenters at the hearing made very clear that they were fighting for both residents and for workers. They were fighting for an energy system that won’t shoot flames into the sky that are visible from 20 miles away.
The Murrysville gas well is so revered in my hometown that it is emblazoned on that city’s logo. Yet, even in its romanticized image on the city seal, it is depicted in flames.
That is not the future I want for our parks.