Harrisburg, PA – Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) — the body that adopts all of the Department of Environmental Protection’s regulations — tabled a petition filed in October aimed at increasing setback distances between fracking operations and homes, schools, public spaces, and water sources.

The petition, which is backed by scientific studies and testimonies from residents living near drilling sites, was submitted by Clear Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project and is supported by a coalition of environmental organizations across Pennsylvania, including Food & Water Watch.

PA currently allows fracking infrastructure within 600 feet of occupied buildings; the setbacks petition requests extending the distance to: 

• 3,281 feet (1 kilometer) from any building and from any drinking water well;
• 5,280 feet (1 mile) from any building serving vulnerable populations (e.g., schools, hospitals); and
• 750 feet from any surface water of the Commonwealth.

In response to the decision, Food & Water Watch PA State Director Megan McDonough issued the following statement: 

“By tabling the fracking setback petition, the EQB chose industry profits over human lives. This is a disgrace. Their so-called reasoning was nothing more than a scripted excuse to delay action while people continue to suffer from the impacts of the largely unfettered fossil fuel industry. Every day delayed puts more children, families, and frontline communities at risk. Pennsylvanians will not sit quietly while our air, water, and futures are sacrificed. This fight is far from over — we are furious, and we are mobilizing.”

Food & Water Watch has been a leading group in calls to pass local municipal ordinances that help to protect against the harms of the oil and gas industry. Through this work, 35 communities have passed protective ordinances, Allegheny County banned fracking in its parks, and over 530,000 residents have been protected.