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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently received letters regarding the proposed PennEast gas pipeline from neighboring congressmen, Matt Cartwright and Tom Marino.
Cartwright’s letter stated that there needs to be a hearing on the need for the pipeline, because of the significant environmental damage and loss of property use for the people living near the pipeline’s 108-mile path. Marino’s letter stated that the pipeline needs to be built to assure the “clean” fuel from fracking gets to market.
Just what experiences with natural gas do these congressmen bring to the table?
Cartwright handled gas drilling water-damage claims in court, meticulously researching the cause and effect that gas drilling has on water supplies in the Marcellus Shale region. Marino had some meetings and tours with gas industry officials, who convinced him it was clean and didn’t cause water contamination – so much so to the point of embarrassment.
In 2014, Marino twice stated on TV that “there has not been one case of fracking contaminating the water or air.” This was said two months after the state auditor general released a report that showed more than 240 cases of proven water contamination from gas drilling in Pennsylvania, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
He also hasn’t been keeping up with the research that shows the leaking methane from gas infrastructure makes gas as dirty, or dirtier, than coal, since methane is much more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, dispelling the “clean” myth. Now, research is showing a higher risk of asthma issues for people living around gas wells.
There are two leaders here, one addressing the real issues that people are facing, and one who bases his decisions on what he wants to be true.
Which kind of leader would you want representing you?
Scott Cannon
Plymouth