Plum Injection Well
Plum Zoning Hearing Board Meeting
Protect PT has been advocating for Plum Borough's access to clean air and water ever since Penneco started operating their first gas waste injection well. Penneco applied for a second well permit not even a year after Sedat 3A began accepting waste in 2021. Almost 3 years after Protect PT and Three Rivers Waterkeepers appealed the Plum Borough Zoning Hearing Board's decision to allow a second well, the courts have handed the decision back down to the ZHB.
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All are welcome to attend the public hearing and Plum residents are encouraged to make a public comment regarding the expansion of the Sedat 3a Injection Well.
The issue will be briefed by May 9th.
A decision should be made on or before June 11th.
Fracking Waste Disposal Injection Well Threatens Pittsburgh’s Drinking Water:
The Plum Injection Well is situated near the Allegheny River, the drinking water source for the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities. A leak from the injection well could impact hundreds of thousands of residents.
“We feel vindicated in pressing forward and insisting that they, the Plum Zoning Hearing Board, take into consideration the health and safety of the community in their decision,” said Gillian Graber, Executive Director of Protect PT.
“Like many municipalities facing the tremendous pressure from the industry, the Plum Borough Zoning Hearing Board believed it had no other option but to approve this new well, but townships and municipalities across Pennsylvania can take heart that there are remedies in the law for municipalities to stop this unwanted development,” said James Cirilano, Protect PT’s Community Advocate.
Clean Water Act
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Learn More About The Risks
In spite of the lack of community support, PA DEP and EPA approved the Sedat 3A Injection Well. This well began accepting fracking waste in 2021. Currently, Penneco is seeking to add a second injection well to the site. This new well is called Sedat 4A.
Plum Borough and Protect PT Challenge Injection Well
In January 2022, the Plum Borough Zoning Hearing Board reluctantly approved the Sedat 4A Injection Well. Plum Borough appealed the decision of their own Zoning Hearing Board in a unique case. Protect PT filed joined the appeal in support of residents in Plum.
Appeals require paying for expert witnesses and other legal fees. Your donation of any amount helps us challenge this injection well.
Residents share their experiences:
Residents have reported horrible smells and pollution, excessive noise and truck traffic, water contamination and health impacts from the Sedat 3A Injection Well in Plum. Several residents have expressed concerns about the proposed Sedat 4A Injection Well, which would be located at the same site as the existing well.
Katie shows reporters bottles of her water before and after the first injection well started.
Read the letter to Gov. Wolf regarding the revocation of Plum Injection Well permit and the risks of the project on the public.
Read the letter from the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and the Mayor written to Governor Wolf requesting that he intervene in the Plum Injection Well to protect Pittsburgh's water.
Protect PT's Environmental Science team conducting water monitoring around the Plum Injection Well:
