PITF Draft Report Talking Points<\/p>\n
1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Comment on the fact that the task force is all about perpetuating fossil fuel extraction. In the first meeting, Secretary John Quigley, head of the Department of Environmental Protection, said the aim of the task force is to build public acceptance of the industry. (see video link below) Point out that taxpayers\u2019 money would be better spent on a task force to speed the transition to sustainable energy. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YukYnM6F70w&t=67m30s<\/a><\/p>\n 2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Comment on the composition of the task force itself. The Public Accountability Initiative issued a report on October 28th<\/sup> noting how stacked in favor of the industry the task force\u2019s membership is. In fact, Scott Cannon of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition was invited to join one of the working groups and was almost immediately disinvited when they realized that he\u2019s a vocal grassroots pipeline opponent. http:\/\/public-accountability.org\/2015\/10\/pennsylvanias-pipeline-infrastructure-task-force-is-dominated-by-the-oil-and-gas-industry\/<\/a><\/p>\n 3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Comment on the fact that the task force met to finalize the report 4 days after the public comment period began. Their original plan was to not meeting again until January 13 when they would present the finished report. They have now added a meeting on December 16, two days after the comment period ends, but it probably has more to do with the fact that the task force couldn\u2019t come to agreement over much at the November meeting when the industry started balking at the use of words like \u201crequired\u201d in the recommendations. The task force obviously has no interest in what the public thinks.<\/p>\n 4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Comment on the fact that many of the 184 recommendations have to do with either educating the public or providing better access to information. The \u201ceducation\u201d will clearly be one-sided. Many of the other recommendations are so obvious that it\u2019s hard to believe they\u2019re not already in practice or that it would take a 148-member task force to come up with them. For instance, Recommendation #6 from the Conservation & Natural Resources working group says \u201cAvoid Geologic Hazards During Planning\u201d by looking for recorded areas of seismicity. Or Recommendation #1 from Emergency Preparedness working group, \u201cStandardize Emergency Response Plans\u201d or #2, \u201cTrain Emergency Responders\u201d. Or Recommendation #36 from the Environmental Protection working group, \u201cRequire Shutoff Valves for Liquid Product Pipelines\u201d.<\/p>\n 5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Comment on your disappointment that this effort by the Wolf administration would be led by the Department of Environmental Protection. This is an excerpt from the draft report, \u201cPennsylvania already has more than 12,000 miles of large-diameter oil and gas pipelines in the ground, but now, according to Pipeline Development \u2013 Strategies and Tools to Minimize Landscape Impacts, a presentation made to the PITF by The Nature Conservancy , the miles of natural gas gathering lines alone will at least quadruple by 2030<\/b>.\u201d Point out that while the rest of the world is trying to find ways to transition off of fossil during those same years, the remaining years we have left to get any sort of handle on climate change, our Department of Environmental Protection and the administration it serves is supporting an expansion of this climate-killing industry. The latest research indicates that fracking is contributing even more than previously thought to the climate crisis. https:\/\/www.dovepress.com\/methane-emissions-and-climatic-warming-risk-from-hydraulic-fracturing–peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-EECT<\/a><\/p>\n 6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Every pipeline means more fracking. Right now, there are about 9,000 wells in the ground. That represents less than a 10th<\/sup> of what the industry plans to drill if it has its way. We have seen so much damage to our natural resources, our communities, and the people of Pennsylvania, that it\u2019s hard to imagine what 100,000 wells would do to our state. Currently, more than 555 studies make a collective case for a ban on fracking, not an expansion of it. http:\/\/psehealthyenergy.org\/site\/view\/1233<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The full draft report can be viewed \u00a0here: http:\/\/files.dep.state.pa.us\/ProgramIntegration\/PITF\/Meetings\/11-18-15\/Governor’s%20Pipeline%20Infrastructure%20Task%20Force%20DRAFT%20Report.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n