Pennsylvania is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse-gas pollution in the U-S, and the Environmental Protection Agency wants input on a plan to do more to reduce methane emissions in oil and gas development.

The EPA proposal would require curbing methane emissions at existing oil and gas wells in addition to new sites.

Barbara Jarmoska, a board member for the Responsible Decarbonization Alliance, said methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and regulating it can be one of the primary ways to slow global warming.

"When you look at what is Pennsylvania's greatest insult, what activities in Pennsylvania produce the greatest concern, it is certainly methane release," she said, "and one of the primary factors in that is these hundreds and hundreds of unplugged, methane-leaking wells."

In her own neighborhood, Jarmoska said there's a massive project involving 80 new wells and a high-pressure gas line under construction.

The public can weigh in on the EPA's proposal in writing through Feb. 13.

Jarmoska and other Pennsylvanians voiced their concerns in a three-day virtual public hearing this month. Some groups have stressed that the new rules should ban "flaring," the process of burning off gas at well sites. Jarmoska said another concern is the prospect of future methane use, since Pennsylvania looks to build out what's being called the hydrogen hub. It's gotten bipartisan support, but she said it's a controversial process.

"Blue hydrogen is just another way to create demand for methane, fossil methane gas, and so we cannot allow this transition to happen," she said. "But it is being driven by the gas industry, acceptance of blue hydrogen as this new and wonderful solution to climate change."

She explained that "blue hydrogen" involves creating energy with the natural gas from fracking and steam, and then capturing the carbon dioxide that is also produced and storing it underground. Some business groups are hoping to win a bid to build a hydrogen hub in Philadelphia.

Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson said he thinks it's important for the EPA to do more to fight climate change as a national security issue. He said he sees it as a threat not only to the United States but as a source of instability abroad as well. Anderson said he believes a transition to renewable energy will boost employment in this fast-growing field.

"There's all kinds of renewable energies that I believe will not only reduce our reliance on oil and on the carbon-based fuels," he said, "but provide opportunities to develop a truly green economy that'll put a lot of the people that are presently working in coal mines and in the oil industry, put them to work installing solar panels and wind turbines."/pages/Article.aspx?post=91.

From conservation to sportsmen's groups, the U.S. Supreme Court is getting plenty of backlash over its most recent ruling, which weakens federal protections for wetlands.

The 5-4 decision in Sackett v. EPA means wetlands are only protected by the Clean Water Act if they have a "continuous surface connection" with a larger, navigable body of water.

Sam Sankar, senior vice president of programs for EarthJustice, warned the ruling puts millions of acres of wetlands at risk, including in Pennsylvania.

"According to the National Wetlands Inventory, there are just over half a million acres of wetlands in Pennsylvania, and all of those wetlands are threatened by the decision of the Supreme Court," Sankar asserted.

The ruling is a victory for an Idaho couple who sued the Environmental Protection Agency after being denied a federal permit to build a home on land which included wetlands. Sankar noted some farmers, developers, and landowners may cheer the decision but might not understand the benefits of wetlands to the environment, in terms of flood control, water quality, and wildlife habitat.

Sankar added the ruling imperils the safety of drinking water for millions of Pennsylvanians whose drinking water sources are downstream of wetlands no longer protected from pollution or development following the court's decision.

"If wetlands aren't protected, there's going to be more pollution, more flooding, more drought,"
Sankar projected. "And that means that surface waters that are inextricably intertwined with the wetlands are going to be degraded as well. Those surface waters are often the place where our communities get their water from, and so, eliminating protection for wetlands threatens drinking water."

Sankar stressed Earthjustice is among the groups asking Congress to use its power to negate the ruling. Some states also have said they will enforce their own, state-level protections.

Environmental groups in Tennessee have an urgent call to action for the Tennessee Valley Authority to cut fossil-fuel emissions and replace their coal plants with renewable energy.

The TVA provides electricity for 153 local power companies and serves 10 million people in Tennessee and parts of six surrounding states.

Gabriella Sarri-Tobar, energy justice campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, which is a member of the Clean Up TVA Coalition, wants to see the Kingston and Cumberland power plants replaced with renewable energy alternatives.

She explained local environmental groups including The Clean Up TVA Coalition are working daily to encourage fossil-fuel-free energy production by 2030.

"One of our key demands is that the new board should take back and should reclaim the decision-making authority that was previously delegated to the CEO Jeff Lyash," Sarri-Tobar pointed out. "The TVA board did take back that authority."

Sarri-Tobar emphasized the importance of TVA being a leader in the transition to clean and renewable energy and the coalition is working to ensure workers and communities most impacted by TVA's decisions are represented in the energy discussions.

Sarri-Tobar noted a recent Appalachian Voices report looking at the job market specifically focused on the Cumberland coal plant retirement plan, and what the shift from coal to gas would do in terms of jobs versus clean power and energy efficiency.

"They found that shifting to gas would actually result in fewer jobs than renewable energy and energy efficiency," Sarri-Tobar stressed. "There is a transition, that's gonna happen because those coal jobs will no longer exist, but they can become clean energy jobs."

The Cumberland plant is set to retire one unit by the end of 2026 and the second unit by the end of 2028. The Kingston plant is currently undergoing an environmental review process.


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Despite the veto of a key piece of Montana environmental legislation, advocates are not giving up on the measure becoming law - even though the state Legislature has already adjourned.

Senate bill 442 would have infused $30 million into the coffers of Habitat Montana, the state's premier conservation program created by the Legislature.

It protects wildlife habitat and access to public lands for hunters, hikers and fishermen - as well as roads, veterans' programs and mental-health services.

Alex Blackmer, communications manager with Wild Montana, said the bill had unwavering bipartisan support - which is why it shocked him and other supporters when Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed it after the session ended.

"It's supported by farmers and ranchers and veterans and hunters and local governments and business organizations and conservationists and EMTs and you name it," said Blackmer. "So, for the governor to have vetoed it the way he did is really disappointing."

Gianforte cited some technical and funding issues in his veto letter, but Blackmer said supporters are attempting what's known as a "poll override" - which involves sending questionnaires to lawmakers who could still choose to override the veto, even though they are no longer at the Capitol.

The poll override works like this: The Montana Secretary of State sends out the questionnaire, which has to be completed and returned within 30 days.

Blackmer said this amounts to a last-ditch effort to save a critical piece of environmental legislation.

"Because the Legislature has a constitutional right to address a governor's veto, this is just a way for them to do that when they're not all gathered in the same place," said Blackmer. "Everyone has gone home. A lot of folks are back to work, back on their land. It's a chance for everyone to participate in the democratic process."

136 of Montana's 150 legislators voted in favor of the bill. Two-thirds of the Legislature would have to vote to overturn the veto during the mail-in poll override effort.




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