Pennsylvania has tens of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells left behind by industry. New federal infrastructure money can help cap them and prevent pollution.
Researchers looked at millions of Medicare records and found elderly people living downwind of fracking sites had a 3.1 percent increased risk of dying prematurely.
Plaintiffs want U.S. Steel charged with 12,000 air quality violations from the 2018 Christmas Eve fire that knocked out pollution controls for three months. U.S. Steel argued that the number of violations is inflated.
The rules targeted hydrogen sulfide, a gas with a rotten egg smell. The officer said the rules violated a settlement between the health department and the company.
Plastic traded between countries has the carbon footprint of a mid-sized European country. By 2050, it will account for 15% of the world's greenhouse gases.
A loophole in state law allows drilling wastewater to be used on roads to suppress dust or melt ice, but it contains salts, metals and radioactive materials.
The company agreed to donate $30,000 to restore part of Chartiers Creek and for township park improvements. It will also donate 184 acres to Allegheny County.
Reid R. Frazier covers energy for The Allegheny Front. His work has taken him as far away as Texas and Louisiana to report on the petrochemical industry and as close to home as Greene County, Pennsylvania to cover the shale gas boom. His award-winning work has also aired on NPR, Marketplace and other outlets. Reid is currently contributing to StateImpact Pennsylvania, a collaboration among The Allegheny Front, WESA, WITF and WHYY covering the Commonwealth's energy economy.
