The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Deborah Goldberg, Earthjustice, (212) 791-1881, ext 227
Kathleen Sutcliffe, Earthjustice, (202) 667-4500, ext 235

Groups Press Federal Regulators for Thorough Review of PA Gas Pipeline

Project comes as region grapples with rushed, irresponsible gas drilling

WASHINGTON

Dozens of groups throughout Pennsylvania and New York are calling on
federal regulators to thoroughly review a proposed pipeline that would
cut through portions of northeastern Pennsylvania.

The 39-mile pipeline, known as the MARC I Hub Line Project, is proposed
by the Central New York Oil and Gas Company. It would run through
Bradford, Sullivan, and Lycoming Counties in Pennsylvania, cutting
through mountains and watersheds, disturbing some 591 acres and leaving
236 acres permanently altered.

The company's request comes as the region grapples with an explosive
rate of gas drilling and an outbreak of industrial accidents and
pollution related to rushed and irresponsible development.

The non-profit environmental law firm Earthjustice filed comments on
behalf of the groups with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late
yesterday.

The following is a statement from Earthjustice attorney Deborah Goldberg:

"Pennsylvania rushed into developing the Marcellus Shale with no
comprehensive review of the potential effects on public health or the
environment. The State was unprepared for the drinking water
contamination, air pollution, and dangerous accidents that came with the
frantic pace of drilling. It's time to stop scrambling to respond to
crises and instead to prevent them in the first place. This proposed
pipeline is just one of many inter-related gas development and
infrastructure projects that will be built in sensitive watersheds and
forest ecosystems throughout the Marcellus region. Before federal
regulators jump to approve this project, the law requires that they
examine it in its larger context."

Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations, coalitions and communities.

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