Nathan Deron News Today

A new federal rule will cut major methane emissions from natural gas production. But residents of Pennsylvania’s fracking region contend that the cumulative impact of smaller leaks, which go unreported, will continue unabated, compromising their air, water, and health.


A proposed natural gas-fueled power plant a few miles north of West Newton would pump more pollution into a region that already has poor air quality, environmentalists and activists said at a community meeting this week. More than 100 people attended the meeting organized by the Environmental Health Project of

Western Pennsylvania’s distinctive tangle of rolling hills and steep valleys means air pollution often gets trapped or channeled in unusual ways.

The agency is preparing to expand the role of citizens to detect methane leaks at oil and gas wells at the edges of communities.