Pennsylvania’s Shale Gas Boom: How Policy Decisions Failed to Protect Public Health and What We Can Do to Correct It

On June 2, Senator Muth will host a hearing regarding the health impacts of shale gas infrastructure in Pennsylvania. A chasm exists between the reliable public health research that has been conducted and the actions taken by legislators, the Governor’s Office, and the Department of Health. These actions demonstrate how the promise of economic benefits outweighed any sense of caution about potential health impacts from shale gas development, how the insistence on irrefutable evidence of health harms became the enemy of reasonable protective measures, and consequently how the burden of proof fell to the communities experiencing the health impacts. The hearing will also address recommendations on what can be done differently to ensure that public health considerations are included in the decision-making process going forward. The hearing will include testimony from impacted residents as well as experts in public health and policy regarding shale gas development.