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Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers in the US. Protect PT offers a no-cost radon monitoring program so residents can discover their radon levels and take action to mitigate if needed. Radon What is Radon and Why Does it Matter? Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in the United States for non-smokers. Lung cancer is usually not discovered until its later stages, and radon-induced lung cancer kills an estimated 21,800 people every year. Radon is a radioactive element that is a product of uranium decay. It is an invisible, odorless gas found naturally in rocks and soils that rises to the surface to be released. Radon gas can enter your home through cracks in the foundation and become trapped, accumulating over time. The levels of radon can vary from house to house. Pennsylvania is estimated to have some of the highest radon levels in the world - an estimated 40% of PA homes have radon levels above Environmental Protection Agency's action guideline of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). A pCi is a unit of measurement for the rate of radon’s radioactive decay over time. The average radon level in a Pennsylvania basement is 7.0 pCi/L while the average of first floors in PA is 3.5 pCi/L. The EPA strongly advises homeowners to mitigate radon at 4 pCi/L. However, it is recommended to take action for 2 - 4 pCi/L because, as scientists have supported, there is not a truly safe level of radon to remain in a building. Sign up for Radon Monitoring Protect PT's Radon Air Monitoring Program (RAMP) Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers in the US. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, making it undetectable without proper testing equipment. You can now participate in free radon testing through Protect PT’s Radon Air Monitoring Program (RAMP)! EcoQube Lending Within our service area, you can borrow a high quality, consumer grade radon monitor called an EcoQube. With the EcoQube app, participants can check their radon levels in real time, see average radon levels, and save the results for future reference. EcoQube testing lasts 30 days. RadonEye Pro Monitoring Near our homebase in Harrison City, PA, we offer radon tests with a professional grade radon monitor called a RadonEye Pro. DEP certified Protect PT staff install and retrieve the monitor, and provide a report of the test results. RadonEye testing lasts 14 days. Both monitors are about the size of a soup can, plug into a standard power outlet and connect to wifi. They sit quietly on a flat surface collecting data. If high levels of radon are found , Protect PT will provide you with resources for how you can get a mitigation system for your home and discuss a plan for a follow-up monitoring. Read this guide from ROCIS to learn how to hire a mitigation contractor in Pennsylvania. Donate to Support Radon Monitoring To learn more about Radon and Air Quality, Sign up for a Home Resource Guide Workshop Sign up for Radon Monitoring

Protect PT has drafted a model ordinance and submitted it to the Penn Township Commissioners for enactment to better protect residents from unconventional shale gas development, also known as fracking. If you are a Penn Township resident, sign our petition now to demand better protections for residents. Penn Township Ordinance Advocacy Penn Township is in the midst of a "Comprehensive Rezoning" of the entire municipality. Make sure that any changes that are made are in your family's best interest. Fracking The process of fracking leaves a clear, negative impact on residents living in its proximity. In addition to producing air, noise, and light pollution, emergency incidents can be catastrophic for environmental and human health. These effects are no secret, and can also lead to lower property values for residents living in proximity to a well pad. We're asking our municipal leaders to protect residents' health and property by: Increasing setback provisions from 600 to 2,500 feet; Developing a ten-year plan for future proposed development with gas wells at issue; Conducting adequate studies and documentation of the proposed 10-year plan and its impacts; Obtaining bonding and insurance in a minimum of 25 million dollars in the event of accidents involving people and property; Specifying fines and penalties for failure to comply with the Ordinance. Learn more about the impacts of fracking and how to make change by viewing our facts sheet below. 1/2 Get your FREE yard sign 1/2 Data Centers The data center boom has begun sweeping through Southwestern Pennsylvania, and without the proper precautions, municipal leaders have been left scrambling for adequate protections. Currently, Penn Township has no Ordinance regulating data centers. Unless the use is clearly defined and regulated as to where it can be located within a municipality, a developer could place a data center wherever they want. Without adequate protections, residents could be subject to : Increased electricity costs; Expanded fracking operations; High water usage; Noise pollution; Air pollution; Heat islands; Among other negative health impacts. Learn more about the impacts of data centers and how to make change by viewing our facts sheet below. Clean water right at our tap and clean air all around us, that’s what each of our families, across races and places, deserves. Join us to advocate for an ordinance that will protect our health and our community in Penn Township for generations to come. To learn more, call or email us: info @protectpt.org 724-392-7023 TAKE ACTION! ADVOCACY LETTER

Complete our form to sign up to volunteer with us! Volunteer We can't do this alone! Community service is a great way to help others and improve the community. Protect PT works to empower residents to become informed and involved in current local events to promote a more viable and communal future. If you are a socially and environmentally conscious person who has a positive attitude, flexibility, enthusiasm, and a passion for helping others and the community, please join us by volunteering your time. Young volunteers can gain skills and experience to include on their resume and college applications. SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER Pictured from left to right: Volunteers, Dan and Kevin, having fun at our 9 Year Anniversary Party!

Protect PT advocates for the constitutional rights of Pennsylvania residents to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of the environment. Legal Advocacy Our Legal Advocacy in Southwest PA Protect PT advocates for the constitutional rights of Pennsylvania residents to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of the environment. Members participate in appeals to public officials and government agencies charged with protecting your health and environmental rights. Find more information about each case below. Support our Legal Work Municipality Assistance Protect PT has assisted numerous municipalities in suggesting protective ordinance language covering activities that have been known to harm human health and the environment, including: Injection wells Data Centers Unconventional well pads Noise Also covering truck routes, lighting, landscaping, and other important considerations where industrial development is proposed. For residents who want more information on how they can advocate to protect their community from these types of activities, email our Community Advocate Jim Cirilano: james@protectpt.org or call 724-392-7023 . Drakulic Well Pad Drill and Operate Permits: Apex Energy, LLC, since acquired by CNX Resources, by its subsidiary WCAA Upstream, LLC (WCAA), obtained special exception zoning permits for a total of 7 well pads in Penn Township. Drakulic is one of those well pads and is located on 1st Street in Penn Township, adjacent to Trafford PA. Apex initially applied for the D&O permits in 2021, but because the permits expire in one year if drilling does not occur, those first permits expired and Apex was required to refile its application. Protect PT had appealed the second set of permits. The Environmental Hearing Board (EHB), the adjudicative body that hears appeals from permits granted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), held hearings in January of 2025 on the PA DEP’s issuance of drilling and operating permits for fracking wells by WCAA at the Drakulic Well Pad. Protect PT objected to well permits for Apex's 1H and 7H wells. The EHB rendered its decision in June and upheld the issuance of the permits by the DEP, however the hearing board amended the permits to include conditions on the well pad that WCAA (formerly Apex) had agreed to in a Consent Judgment that it had entered into with Penn Township in 2016. Protect PT appealed the EHB’s decision to uphold the issuance of the permits to the Commonwealth Court. WCAA appealed the EHB’s amendments to the permit requiring compliance with the provisions contained in the Consent Judgment. Since these appeals were filed, the permits granted by the PA DEP for the 1H and 7H wells have expired. No drilling is currently allowed at the Drakulic site. Due to this, Protect PT has dismissed its appeal and believes that the appeal by WCAA is now moot. Our Press Release EHB Docket 2025 Adjudication 2016 Consent Judgement Sedat 4A Injection Well Residents Prevail in Plum, Blocking Penneco’s Hazardous Fracking Waste Injection Well! Our Press Release On September 23, 2024, the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County issued an order that returned the Sedat 4a injection well permit back to the Plum Borough Zoning Hearing Board. The Court ordered the Zoning Hearing Board to clarify its original Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. The Commonwealth Court explained in its opinion that the Zoning Hearing Board was free to deny the injection well permit, if it found that Penneco did not meet the required standards. The Zoning Hearing Board had the option to draw its conclusions from the transcript of original hearing held in 2022, or to conduct another hearing on the matter. The Board decided to conduct another hearing, which took place in March of 2025. In June of 2025, the Board voted unanimously to deny Penneco's application for a special exception and Penneco's application for a variance. Penneco appealed this decision in July of 2025 and Protect PT has intervened in the appeal. This appeal is currently in front of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Additional Documents Judges Order 1.29.24 Order of Court 9.23.24 Learn More about the Plum Injection Well Guardian Compressor Station In January 2024, Olympus, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Hyperion Midstream (Hyperion) filed for a Special Exception zoning permit for the Guardian Compressor Station (Guardian). Guardian is located between the Aphrodite pad and the Poseidon pad, between Pleasant Valley Road and Ramalley Road, near the Valley Landfill. A compressor station is associated with pipelines for the produced gas. It compresses the gas for transmission through the pipeline. Protect PT challenged the Special Exception zoning permit application before Penn Township’s Zoning Hearing Board. The hearings were held one night a month, over the course of nine months. The Zoning Hearing Board granted the permit and we have now appealed that decision to the Common Pleas Court, Westmoreland County, Judge Smail. Olympus challenged Protect PT’s right to bring the appeal, based on standing. In order to bring legal action, an individual or group must have personal stake or involvement in a particular issue and the result of a decision about that issue must have the potential to impact them in a significant way. Olympus is challenging whether we have a member who will be sufficiently impacted by this decision for our case to go forward. Judge Smail denied Protect PT's argument that we have standing. Protect PT has appealed this decision to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Pictured: June 2024's packed Compressor Station Hearing with our Environmental Consultant, Makenzie White, as an Expert Witness. Pictured from left to right: Community Advocate, Jim Cirilano and Protect PT's attorney Lisa Johnson, Esq. at the April 2024 Compressor Station Hearing Pictured: Our Environmental Consultant, Makenzie White, serving as an expert witness at the June Compressor Station Hearing. Slickville Pipeline Protect PT along with Three Rivers Waterkeeper, in a joint appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board are challenging the DEP’s grant of a permit for a produced waste pipeline to CNX Midstream that would traverse and imperil 48 wetlands, 43 streams, and two ponds, in the area around Slickville, Pennsylvania. We have filed our appeal and are now in the discovery stage of the proceedings. Aphrodite Well Pad The Well Pad Placement: Olympus had applied for the Aphrodite Well Pad in January 2022 and the hearings concluded in June, 2022, findings of fact and conclusions of law were issued in August 2022 and the Aphrodite pad was granted the permit by Penn Township. Olympus then applied to the DEP for an erosion and sedimentation permit. Protect PT objected, pointing out to the DEP that the proposed pad interfered with an intermittent stream. Olympus then moved the pad to avoid the stream, and applied to Penn Township for a land disturbance agreement. Protect PT appealed this to the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, arguing that Olympus could not change the location of the well pad without another hearing before the Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB). The matter was heard by Judge Smail and he ruled against Protect PT. This matter is on appeal to the Commonwealth Court, briefing and oral argument are complete and we are awaiting a decision. The OG71b Permit: In order to obtain an approval to process waste through an OG71b, it must be based on a processing system that is currently in place and approved through an existing OG71a. There also must not be any violations associated with the original OG71a that the proposed OG71b is based on. The first Aphrodite OG71b was derived from a waste approval granted to the Olympus Calliope well pad. The Calliope disposal approval had numerous violations, however, which would void any potential OG71b for Aphrodite. Olympus then applied for an OG71b based on a prior waste processing approval granted to the Olympus Metis well pad. Olympus claimed the Metis waste processing approval is substantially different from Calliope’s. Protect PT granted the dismissal as to the Calliope derived approval and now challenges the grant based on the Metis approval. Draftina Well Pad Expiration of the Special Exception Approval: Apex obtained a special exception zoning permit from Penn Township as part of the Federal Court action, which resulted in a Consent Order and Apex receiving special exception zoning permits for the well pads called Draftina, Drakulic, and Beattie in 2016. The special exception zoning permits, by the terms of the Penn Township Ordinance, expire, without notice, after two years if there is not substantial completion of the proposed use. In March 2024, Apex and the township entered into a Land Disturbance Agreement whereby Apex proposed to begin the development of the Draftina well pad. This would mean that the development was only beginning nearly eight years after the issuance of the special exception zoning permit. Protect PT appealed the Land Disturbance Agreement to the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County. Attorney John Smith of the firm Smith Butz represents Protect PT in this matter. The case has been fully briefed and argued and we are awaiting a decision. Drill and Operate Permit Appeal: Protect PT has also appealed the DEP’s issuance of Drill and Operate permits for Draftina. Protect PT is objecting to well permits for Apex's 2H, 3H, 4H, 7H, 9H, 11H, and 13H wells because these wells are close to sensitive public gathering places, the permits do not consider the cumulative impact of nearby wells and compressor stations, the permits do not consider federal New Source Performance Standard regulations on air emissions, the permits include an exemption from hazardous and radioactive pollutants, which violates the Environmental Rights Amendment, and the permits do not restrict PFAS and PFOAS contamination. One of the wells also drills under Turtle Creek and could pollute this critical public waterway. For additional updates on our legal work, visit our blog page or contact our Community Advocate, Jim Cirilano. Support Our Work