Pittsburgh-based natural gas company CNX Resources is urging the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board to consider two years of independently collected environmental data before endorsing proposed expansions to natural gas well setback distances.
“CNX urges policymakers to base regulations on actual measured data — not speculation or assumptions lacking scientific validation,” the company wrote in a Dec. 8 blog.
Expanding setbacks as proposed “would eliminate responsible natural gas development opportunities and undermine Pennsylvania’s energy leadership, jeopardizing thousands of jobs and regional economic growth,” wrote the company.
CNX reiterated its stance in a Dec. 5 letter sent to Environmental Quality Board Chair Jessica Shirley, highlighting findings from its Radical Transparency program — an environmental monitoring initiative launched in November 2023 in collaboration with Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The letter was submitted as the Environmental Quality Board considers an amended rulemaking petition from environmental groups seeking setbacks of 3,281 feet from buildings and 5,280 feet from schools and hospitals — more than six times current requirements.
Since its inception, CNX says its Radical Transparency program has collected nearly 800,000 data points from 18 monitoring sites across its operational footprint, including well pads and midstream facilities.
“The program represents the country’s most comprehensive real-time environmental monitoring effort focused on unconventional natural gas development,” according to CNX.
The program monitors PM2.5 particulate matter and BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) — pollutants associated with respiratory illness and cancer — using EPA-approved Federal Equivalent Methods.
Each well pad site includes two PM2.5 monitors, four BTEX passive samplers, and meteorological equipment to track wind direction and other conditions.
Key findings from two years of monitoring include no exceedances of federal National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5; BTEX levels held consistently at background concentrations, never exceeding Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry thresholds; and there’s no evidence of emissions or contamination that would exacerbate asthma, cause cancer, or impact groundwater quality, according to the company.
“Radical Transparency data, compiled over two years and approaching one million points, does not support further expansion of these setbacks,” writes CNX. “Instead, it supports a data-driven regulatory approach that balances public health protection with responsible energy development.”
Pennsylvania also currently enforces the strictest setback distances among the top five natural gas-producing states, requiring 500 feet from water wells and existing buildings, 300 feet from streams and wetlands, and 1,000 feet from public drinking water intakes, according to CNX.
Expanding setbacks would be unjustified and lead to drastic negative impacts for the state without actually addressing public health and safety concerns, the company says, adding that it also would eliminate responsible natural gas development opportunities.
“Rather than a reactionary decision meant to stifle an entire industry and our state economy,” wrote CNX, “efforts like Radical Transparency will help build a comprehensive, real-time environmental monitoring platform that supports health, informs policy, and drives continuous improvement across the industry.”