PHILADELPHIA – The State Committee of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) has agreed to oppose the spread of fracking brine on rural PA roads. Meeting virtually on September 18, more than 20 elected delegates from county Green Parties achieved consensus on a letter to the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) demanding a ban on use of such waste materials.

Falls Township Auditor Jay Sweeney of Wyoming County, had requested the Green Party to take such action. Sweeney said, "I submitted the request for GPPA to sign on to the letter demanding an end to the spread of radioactive frack wastewater on our PA roads because this industry continues to be the biggest threat to the environment of rural PA and worldwide. The Green Party holds environmental wisdom as one of its Four Green Pillars."

"Fracking continues to be the biggest threat to the environment in my opinion," continued Sweeney, "because it consumes vast quantities of water that cannot be returned to its natural state. It results in this dangerous radioactive wastewater that the fossil fuel industry cannot recycle or dispose of in a benign manner. They use dangerous disposal methods including deep well injection techniques to drive the water underground. This not only threatens our water table, but has also resulted in earthquakes. Using the wastewater for dust control and deicing of roads is another disposal method that introduces radiation and other dangerous elements into our environment. In addition, fracking results in the release of methane into the atmosphere, a major contributor to the greenhouse effect and climate change. Fracking needs to stop!"

The letter to DEP had already been signed by more than 60 organizations which defend the environment. Sweeney said, "We must join with others who are taking a leadership role on these issues. I hope the Green Party establishes a relationship with these leaders so we can take more timely action with them when necessary."

"This new proposal to dispose of fracking waste products by spraying them all over PA's roads is just the latest outrageous step in the entirely unnecessary fracking process," explained GPPA Co-chair Beth Scroggin of Chester County. "The Green Party has been against fracking since it was introduced by PA Governor Ed Rendell in 2008. Fracking is unsafe for the environment, people, and animals alike. There is absolutely no need for anyone to be devising new ways to use fossil fuels at this point. There are all sorts of ways in which the process of fracking can malfunction, causing chemicals to leak into the groundwater or pollute the air. Additionally, it needlessly depletes our supply of freshwater. The fracking industry has already taken a devastating toll on neighborhoods across PA, so that corporations can make more money."

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party's Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

For more information, please see:

"Sign the letter to DEP re: Road Spreading of Brine,"
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfywuN-6wKXEOW2Zwqy5dHmhIt2XtwlHxJ2AgiQaA8KRPk8yQ/viewform;

"PA Greens Push for an End to Fracking" by Matt Nemeth, Green Party of PA News Release, October 4, 2020,
https://www.gp.org/pa_greens_push_for_an_end_to_fracking; and

"Pennsylvania and Fracking," Global Energy Monitor, April 30, 2021,
https://www.gem.wiki/Pennsylvania_and_fracking.