The bizarre reality that is the Marcellus Shale debate continues to produce ironies beyond the realms of logic.
Consider the latest news out of South Fayette Township -- an area southwest of downtown Pittsburgh, not far from the bustling gas fields of Washington County, PA. It seems the South Fayette town fathers are terribly worried about the impacts of gas drilling near schools, and are developing an ordinance that would set up distance boundaries for drilling near school properties.
Sounds reasonable, right? Sure. But for those who know a little about the environmental history of South Fayette and the Chartiers Valley area, it may actually raise a deep belly laugh or two. Not necessarily because they're in favor of Marcellus Drilling, but because the irony of the situation is richer than Midas.
You see, just off Interstate 79 at the Bridgeville exit, where, if you pass now, you'll see construction vehicles busily working on a new mixed use development of shopping , housing and entertainment, there once sat one of the most environmentally destructive chemical facilities in Southwestern Pennsylvania, if not the state.
Mention the old Koppers facility to anyone who's lived in the Char Valley for more than a few years, and they'll likely tell you the story about how once, during an interesting winter in the 1970s, a chemical release from the plant turned the falling snow green.
Koppers made resins, moth balls, and other chemical products and derivatives there. Much of the plant's heyday was happening just as the US Environmental Protection Agency and state level environmental agencies were getting their sea legs, but there was lots going on at Koppers that would likely result in major fines, penalties and enforcement actions today (there have been some retroactive ones). For those who think government is soft on environmental crime, this stuff would be the kind the actually does get prosecuted.
I digress. What makes South Fayette Township's desire to shield children from the evils of the Mighty Marcellus somewhat comical is the fact that it's allowed multiple youth soccer fields to be built on old Koppers property that was likely never really remediated correctly if really at all. Even more amazing, additional portions of this property are currently being bulldozed and designed into a place where families are supposed to live, shop and live long happy lives.
In case that didn't sink in completely, the same township that allows children to play on fields that almost certainly contain at least trace levels of toxic waste (Check the swampy wetland across the road from the entrance. Nothing I know comes naturally in that shade of chartreuse.) is suddenly terribly concerned about their health. The field construction may have been overseen by different supervisors in a different time, but the current construction there is just baffling. I wonder whats uncovered with all that earth moving every time I drive by, and I wonder if its impacting the workers.
But apparently there's much more to fear from the Marcellus Shale, which promises not only jobs, but cleaner energy. Something else ironic? Just one gubernatorial administration ago, natural gas was hailed as the answer to air quality transportation issues in PA. It was actually considered an "alternative fuel." That idea about a natural gas fueling station at every PA Turnpike rest stop? Old news. They tried that in the 90s.
I digress again. The issue is this: why do we center fear on something that offers us more good than bad, and has still not been proven to bring the horrible things some would have us believe it will, and turn a blind eye to problems that truly exist and need fixing?
The former Koppers property and surrounding area is more than likely to present a real toxic threat. Yet we're bulldozing that over to make it a place to live.
In a few years, when overly ambitious local officials who want a broader tax base hear about a little problem called vapor intrusion, or when someone who wasn't an original resident of the development fails to read their deed and plants a vegetable garden in "brownfield" soil, all hell will break loose.
Until then, South Fayette and communities like it will be busy fighting the best thing that's happened to Pennsylvania in years while their children play soccer on fields of toxic waste.
