Journalists to speak about water issues

originally posted on December 7, 2016

 

Marcellus Outreach Butler will present investigative journalists Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman of Public Herald to speak at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 in Butler about how the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency hid drinking water contamination from fracking.

They will discuss their findings from a 30-month investigation of water contamination related to fracking that has occurred across Pennsylvania. Their report reveals nine ways that state and federal regulators keep water pollution related to oil and gas operations “off the books.” Pribanic and Troutman will describe how this happened, whether there’s a growing water crisis in Pennsylvania caused by fracking, and what citizens can do.

This event at AABC Gallery (“Butler Art Center”), 344 S. Main St., Butler, is part of a series of appearances by Pribanic and Troutman across the state to share their investigation, which will also be the topic of a new documentary, “Invisible Hand,” set for release next spring. The release of the findings of the investigative report has special local interest, as it coincides with the sixth anniversary of contamination of household water wells in the Woodlands neighborhood of Connoquenessing Township in Butler County.
Learn More