Dozens of concerned residents submit petitions demanding Ohio's regulatory agencies deny permits for new oil and gas facilities and revoke permits associated with the PTTGCA ethane cracker plant and the Mountaineer NGL storage facility until a comprehensive health impact study is completed.
Dr. Yuri Gorby, staff scientist with the FreshWater Accountability Project (FWAP), Ted Auch with FracTracker Alliance, Bev Reed with Concerned Ohio River Residents (CORR), and Jill Hunkler, an organizer associated with FWAP and CORR, went to the Williamson’s home in Salem Township to install AirViz VOC monitors and Purple Air particle meters, offer support and a listening ear, and take drone footage of the area. Their home is less than an 1/8th of a mile from Williams compressor station. The noxious odors and noise pollution were so intense during our two-hour visit. Everyone present experienced almost immediate headaches, difficulty breathing, and even anxiety. Being directly downwind from this facility, it is hard to imagine the pollution could be coming from any other source. Ted’s drone footage can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/user/FracTrackerVideos/videos.
The FreshWater Accountability Project has received funding for baseline air and water monitoring and ongoing testing to provide community protections in the region of the planned PTT Global petrochemical buildout, along the Ohio River in Belmont County. The Citizens’ Watch program will incorporate scientific research and successful community advocacy and educational programs initiated by residents faced with potentially major polluting sources, such as an ethane cracker plant.
A grant has provided aid for this important initiative to ensure that major polluters are held accountable for potential environmental and public health harms that would be caused by building a major petrochemical complex, and to expose the already dangerous levels of air pollutants being emitted by oil and gas infrastructure throughout the Ohio Valley, threatening the health and safety of area residents and the land we love.
This initiative is providing essential services to residents in the Ohio Valley, as you can witness by watching the News9 story on residents of Salem Township in Jefferson County who have been suffering negative health impacts for many months due to emissions from a compressor station near their homes. The Williamson’s featured in the story are such a nice couple, recently retired. They planned to relax and enjoy the decades of improvements they made to their property. Now, they deal with constant air, noise, light pollution and negative health impacts.
Those living in close proximity to the proposed Dilles Bottom ethane cracker plant site have already shared first-hand accounts of concerning site preparation work. They are complaining about massive amounts of dust coming off the site and the effects it may have on their air quality. We are excited to have installed an air monitor at a residence in Dilles Bottom and other locations in the area. Residents are showing great appreciation for having access to air monitoring, and they're supportive of our efforts.
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