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In this edition of our newsletter, we are excited to announce the Ohio River Valley Institute’s first virtual forum, Critical Condition: “The Shale Crescent” and the Dream of an Appalachian Petrochemical Boom. We invite you to join our staff and expert panel on Wednesday, February 3, at 10:30 AM as we discuss the likelihood of regional petrochemical buildout, how the Ohio Valley could change if such a buildout takes place, and what will happen if it doesn’t.
We also feature a new article from Senior Researcher Eric de Place on what some are calling Biden’s first fracking test and how commonsense insurance requirements could stop the transport of liquefied natural gas by rail and protect rail-side communities. In addition, we feature Advisory Council member, Dr. Matthew Mehalik, a leading advocate for air quality, public health, and sustainable communities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Last week, Mehalik testified on the need for modifications to regulations governing pollution from coke ovens that have negatively impacted the air quality in Allegheny County.
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| Advisor’s Corner: Meet Advisory Council Member Dr. Matthew Mehalik |
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Matt’s recent work includes comments to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) urging aggressive action to reduce pollution from coke ovens at facilities like the Clairton Coke Works. In his comments, Matt encouraged adoption of the most strident regulations to “save lives, reduce burdens on vulnerable people, preserve future generations’ rights to clean air and a healthy climate, and take action that makes everyone proud.”
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Matt is Executive Director of the Breathe Project, a coalition of local residents, environmental advocates, public health professionals and academics advocating for healthier air for the Pittsburgh region. From 2007 – 2016, he served as Program Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh where he created Pittsburgh’s sustainable business network, Champions for Sustainability, and its performance programs and networks. Matt has been teaching sustainability and environmental policy at Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University, since 2008. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in sustainability, design and education and has co-authored “Ethical and Environmental Challenges to Engineering” with Michael E. Gorman and Patricia Werhane. Matt’s Ph.D. is in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia. For the past 20 years, Matt has dedicated himself to creating and managing networks that transform systems for a sustainable, just, fair and hopeful future.
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| On Wednesday, February 3, at 10:30 AM, join us for our inaugural forum,“Critical Condition: ‘The Shale Crescent’ and the Dream of an Appalachian Petrochemical Boom,” an expert panel discussion and Q&A on the future of regional petrochemical development. RSVP here if you are able to join us or to receive a recording of the event.
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Biden’s First Fracking Test: How commonsense insurance requirements could stop LNG by rail and protect rail-side communities.
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Biden’s first fracking test. That’s what the Wall Street Journal editorial board calls the incoming administration’s decision about a port project on the Delaware River. Yet the decision is not about fracking at all. At least not directly.
It is, rather, about whether to approve a port facility in New Jersey that would handle mile-long trains of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped by rail from northeast Pennsylvania. In 2020, Trump administration regulators issued expedited permission for New Fortress Energy to ship loaded 100-car trains to the site twice per day. Now, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is reviewing safety issues at the port terminal site itself.
So the question for President Biden is not whether to restrict fracking — a position that is rather popular with voters in Pennsylvania — but whether he should allow the industry to expand in dangerous new ways. To date, most of the debate over the New Fortress project has centered on the risk of LNG explosions to lives and communities, which makes perfect sense because an accident could be horrifying.
Lives are more important than dollars, yet it may prove to be the case that the New Fortress project is most vulnerable because of its finances. If federal regulators simply required the project backers to insure against the risk of loss, it would almost certainly vanish in the blink of an eye.
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ORVI In The News
Groups Opposing Mountaineer NGL Storage (Times Leader)
Plans for a Mountaineer Natural Gas Liquids Storage facility near the Ohio River are raising fears of pollution and long-term damage to the area and its people. At a virtual meeting held last Thursday, environmental groups shared information and comments, encouraging the public to reach out to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources during a 30-day comment period that ends Feb. 6. They also referred to an upcoming economic impact study from the Ohio River Valley Institute, which they said would suggest job creation and economic development in the area associated with fracking and plastics will not benefit the region in terms of jobs and population.
The Senate’s New Point Man on Climate Has Been the Democrats’ Most Fossil Fuel-Friendly Senator (Inside Climate News)
“Usually, discussions of climate change are dominated by people on the East and West coasts of this country,” said Ted Boettner, a West Virginia-based senior researcher with the Ohio River Valley Institute, a think tank with a focus on clean energy and social equity. “But they are going to have to drive through Sen. Manchin to get anything done.”
Summit on Race Matters in West Virginia – Session 6 – Housing and Wealth (GKVF)
Senior Researcher Ted Boettner facilitated the final session of the Summit on Race Matters in West Virginia, covering issues related to housing and wealth. Click here to watch a recording of the session. Artist Emily Marko created a graphic report (below) detailing key takeaways from the event.
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What We’re Reading at ORVI
Energy and democracy issues continue to dominate headlines. Here are the stories we are reading this week:
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Ezra Klein’s Playbook for the Democratic Party (New Yorker)
For the first time in a decade, Democrats have won the Presidency and both houses of Congress, giving them a greater ability to pass Joe Biden’s agenda, which includes economic relief measures and legislation tackling climate change and immigration. Many in the Party want to embark on major structural changes, such as abolishing the Senate filibuster and granting statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. But, because the Democrats control only fifty Senate seats, moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin of West Virginia hold outsized power, and have already spoken with skepticism about some of their party’s more ambitious plans.
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Dozens of Labor Leaders, Advocates Call on Lawmakers to Drop Judicial Gerrymandering Plan (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
In an extraordinary joint letter to the General Assembly, scores of labor unions, good government groups and progressive advocacy organizations are hitting back against a controversial change to the way Pennsylvania elects its appellate court judges, arguing that it’s a “massive threat to the independence of our judiciary.”
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PA Senate Republican Caucus Spent $1.04 Million in Taxpayer Money on Voter Suppression, Election Denial Efforts (Pennsylvania Spotlight)
PA Spotlight has exclusively secured documents showing how much the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucus spent trying to overturn the 2020 election and suppress the vote. A right-to-know request turned over documents that show Pennsylvania Senate Republicans spent over one million dollars in taxpayer money on their failed efforts throughout 2020.
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Biden Environmental Moves Quickly Show Tension Between WV Environmental, Energy Transition Advocates and GOP Congressional Leaders (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
President Joe Biden has wasted no time in changing the nation’s environmental agenda after taking office Wednesday, triggering blowback from the state’s congressional leaders and giving conservationists hope for greater environmental protection in years to come.
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Sen. Brown Urged to Push Appalachian Infrastructure Support (Highland County Press)
In a discussion hosted by the collaborative Reimagine Appalachia, consultants from the environmental, economic and manufacturing sectors all advised Brown on ways in which re-training of workers coming out of industries like the coal market, and increased investment in Appalachia would improve America’s standing as a whole.
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