Letter to Editor, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, April 23, 2018

To be a Pittsburgher is to be proud not only of the role our region played in building this nation, but also of how we have emerged in the post-industrial economy. Our location in the Marcellus Shale has meant an increase in hydraulic fracturing, “fracking,” which has been shown to carry some risk. I am concerned that the failure of many local municipalities to update zoning ordinances to restrict the location of oil and gas operations will set back our progress and detrimentally affect our health.

Indiana Township recently approved a conditional use permit to “frack” eight gas wells in a residential zone in proximity to Fox Chapel Area and Deer Lakes schools, a popular park, a beloved summer day camp and Deer Creek — a trout stream and tributary to the Allegheny River. As a parent, pediatrician and allergist/​immunologist, I worry about the threats fracking potentially poses to our air quality (already one of the worst in the nation in terms of particle pollution) and drinking water. City of Pittsburgh residents should be concerned that the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority sits downstream of the well pad.

I hope all residents of the region will take note of the dramatic increase in fracking activities and encourage their municipalities, including Indiana Township, to update zoning maps and ordinances to keep this industrial activity away from homes, schools, parks and drinking water sources.

TODD GREEN, M.D.
Fox Chapel, North Pittsburgh, PA

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/letters/2018/04/23/The-risk-of-fracking-is-hitting-close-to-home/stories/201804230006