Congratulations to the 2021 Community Sentinels!
The 2021 Community Sentinel Awards include John Beard, Jr., Veronica Coptis, Travis London, and Love Sanchez.
Notable upcoming events and other announcements
Paid Data & GIS Internship Positions Available for Spring 2022
FracTracker Alliance is offering two paid data & GIS internship positions starting in February 2022. Apply today!
Environmental Health Fellowship Opening – Summer 2021
This paid, remote fellowship will provide a graduate student with the opportunity to deepen their academic understanding of environmental issues affecting the heavily-fracked region of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The fellow will work in close collaboration with their FracTracker supervisor and their academic advisor.
This position was developed in partnership with the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and The Heinz Endowments.
Title: FracTracker Alliance Environmental Health FellowFellowship Details
Eligibility: Current graduate students
Fellowship Period: 12 weeks (6/7/21 – 8/27/21)
Application Deadline: April 2nd, 2020
Compensation: $15/hour, 37.5 hours per week
Location: Remote, reporting to the Pittsburgh FracTracker office
Fellowship Description
This paid, remote fellowship will provide a graduate student with the opportunity to deepen their academic understanding of environmental issues affecting the heavily-fracked region around Southwestern Pennsylvania. The fellow will work in close collaboration with their FracTracker supervisor and their academic advisor.
FracTracker Alliance is a national, Pennsylvania-based environmental nonprofit organization that provides visual and technical tools to protect communities from the impacts of unconventional oil and gas development. FracTracker is a premier resource on unconventional oil and gas issues in the United States, and has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, the LA Times, The Guardian, USA Today, and more. The organization has received over 1.25 million visitors on www.fractracker.org, where FracTracker staff regularly contribute maps and articles on pressing unconventional oil and gas issues.
Fellows will perform research and geo-spatial data collection, processing, and analysis with a focus on environmental health issues associated with oil, gas, and petrochemical development. Specific projects and research interests will be identified by the fellow in consultation with FracTracker staff and the fellow’s graduate program advisor. While multiple projects might be undertaken, a signature capstone project and blog post on the FracTracker website will be the primary foci of the experience. The fellow will also have the opportunity to present their work to various audiences in the format of their choice.
This position is not eligible for health benefits, but approved travel expenses for relevant research, meetings, and fieldwork will be reimbursed. This remote position reports to the Pittsburgh FracTracker office. Depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be possible to conduct some meetings in person.
This position was developed in partnership with the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and The Heinz Endowments with the goal to bring high quality environmental and public health students to the region; to strengthen the region’s public health capacity to address issues impacting environmental, health, equity and sustainability outcomes; and to provide highly meaningful experience for students with strong academic backgrounds and in consultation with academic advisement.
Apply today to:
- Conduct independent study relevant to your coursework
- Deepen your understanding of environmental health issues and solutions
- Learn and Apply GIS skills
- Obtain valuable resume-building experience
- Make new connections in the field of environmental health through participation in a cohort of Environmental Health Fellows from partnering organizations
This position is not eligible for health benefits, but approved travel expenses for relevant research, meetings, and fieldwork will be reimbursed. This position reports to the Pittsburgh FracTracker office. Depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, fellows will likely work 100% remotely.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the fellow will revolve around their capstone project. They may also be asked to assist with daily work and time sensitive projects of the organization. Responsibilities will vary, but may include:
- Spatial analyses and mapping using GIS software
- Data mining, cleaning, and management
- Field research (e.g. mobile app documentation, interviews, air or water monitoring, etc.)
- Meetings with staff, partners, and/or experts
- Written contributions to the FracTracker blog at www.fractracker.org
- Translation of data into information and stories for the blog
- Developing educational outreach materials
Qualifications
This fellowship is dedicated to current graduate students only. The candidate should possess the following qualifications:
- Interest in protecting public health from risks associated with unconventional oil and gas and/or petrochemical development
- Working knowledge of geographic information systems (GIS) and Microsoft Office products (especially Word and Excel)
- Ability to assist with researching spatial data availability from internal and external sources; collect, assimilate, analyze, and interpret data and draw sound conclusions; prepare oral and written reports
- Attention to detail
- Excellent written and oral English communication and research skills
- Ability to tackle challenging problems with minimal guidance
- Experience presenting data and information in creative, visually compelling ways is a plus
Completed studies in environmental or public health, environmental science, environmental policy or environmental law, environmental engineering, chemistry, biology, economics, marketing, or nonprofit management are desired, but not mandatory.
To Apply
To apply, please fill out the form below. The application deadline is Friday, April 2nd, 2021 at 5pm.
Selected candidates will be contacted for an interview with FracTracker staff members. First-round interviews will take place between April 12th – April 23rd.
Once the fellow has been selected, all first-round candidates will be notified regarding the result of their application by April 30th.
Second-round interviews will take place between May 3rd – May 7th, with the final candidate being selected by May 10th at the latest. All first-round candidates will be notified regarding the result of their application at that time.
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Shannon Smith at smith@fractracker.org.
FracTracker is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, citizenship status, age, veteran status, or disability.
This form is currently closed for submissions.
Want to learn more about FracTracker’s internship, fellowship, and visiting scholars programs? Click here.
Brook Lenker, Matt Kelso, and intern Gianna Calisto counting oil trains as they passed through Pittsburgh, PA
2020 Community Sentinel Awards Recap
The 2020 Community Sentinel Awards include Edith Abeyta, Yvette Arellano, Theresa Landrum, and BJ McManama.
FracTracker in the Field: Building a Live Virtual Map
August 19, 2020 Update:
The virtual story map is live!
In this special one-day fundraiser event, two intrepid FracTracker teams will build and share a live virtual map as we travel throughout the Ohio River Valley Region documenting oil, gas, and its effects on our health, climate, and environment.
How many sites can we visit in one day? What will we find?
We’ll share our findings to build awareness about the plight of this region—and so many other places victimized by this rogue industry. Plus, viewers will gain a firsthand understanding of how FracTracker turns data into real-world impact.
Proceeds will benefit the ongoing work of FracTracker to decarbonize our economy and promote environmental justice.
Whether you are able to contribute financially at this time or not, we hope you’ll join us on this virtual journey. You’ll see regular video updates along the way as we share our progress, and watch as a story map is updated throughout the day.
Join our team of explorers in spirit and pledge your support! We’re excited to share this journey with you.
Testimony to PA DEP on Control of Methane & VOC Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas Sources
This testimony was provided by Shannon Smith, FracTracker Manager of Communications & Development, at the July 23rd hearing on the control of methane & VOC emissions from oil and natural gas sources hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
My name is Shannon Smith and I’m a resident of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. I am the Manager of Communications and Development at the nonprofit organization FracTracker Alliance. FracTracker studies and maps issues related to unconventional oil and gas development, and we have been a top source of information on these topics since 2010. Last year alone, FracTracker’s website received over 260,000 users. FracTracker, the project, was originally developed to investigate health concerns and data gaps surrounding Western Pennsylvania fracking.
I would like to address the proposed rule to reduce emissions of methane and other harmful air pollution, such as smog-forming volatile organic compounds, which I will refer to as VOCs, from existing oil and gas operations. I thank the DEP for the opportunity to address this important issue.
The proposed rule will protect Pennsylvanians from methane and harmful VOCs from oil and gas sources, but to a limited extent. The proposed rule does not adequately protect our air, climate, nor public health, because it includes loopholes that would leave over half of all potential cuts to methane and VOC pollution from the industry unchecked.
Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane and VOC pollution harm communities by contributing to the climate crisis, endangering households and workers through explosions and fires, and causing serious health impairments. Poor air quality also contributes to the economic drain of Pennsylvania’s communities due to increased health care costs, lower property values, a declining tax base, and difficulty in attracting and retaining businesses.
Oil and gas related air pollution has known human health impacts including impairment of the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, leukemia, depression, and genetic impacts like low birth weight.
One indirect impact especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, is the increased incidence and severity of respiratory viral infections in populations living in areas with poor air quality, as indicated by a number of studies.
Given the available data, FracTracker Alliance estimates that there are 106,224 oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania. Out of the 12,574 drilled unconventional wells, there have been 15,164 cited violations. Undoubtedly the number of violations would be higher with stricter monitoring.
There is a need for more stringent environmental regulations and enforcement, and efforts to do so should be applauded only if they adequately respond to the scientific evidence regarding risks to public health. These measures are only successful if there is long-term predictability that will ultimately drive investments in clean energy technologies. Emission rollbacks undermine decades of efforts to shift industries towards cleaner practices. So, I urge the DEP to close the loophole in the proposed rulemaking that exempts low-producing wells from the rule’s leak inspection requirements. Low-producing wells are responsible for more than half of the methane pollution from oil and gas sources in Pennsylvania, and all wells, regardless of production, require routine inspections.
I also ask that the Department eliminate the provision that allows operators to reduce the frequency of inspections based on the results of previous inspections. Research does not show that the quantity of leaking components from oil and gas sources indicates or predicts the frequency or quantity of future leaks.
In fact, large and uncontrolled leaks are random and can only be detected with frequent and regular inspections. Short-term peaks of air pollution due to oil and gas activities are common and can cause health impairments in a matter of minutes, especially in sensitive populations such as people with asthma, children, and the elderly. I urge the Department to close loopholes that would exempt certain wells from leak detection and repair requirements, and ensure that this proposal includes requirements for all emission sources covered in DEP’s already adopted standards for new oil and gas sources.
Furthermore, conventional operators should have to report their emissions, and the Department should require air monitoring technologies that have the capacity to detect peaks rather than simply averages. We need adequate data in order to properly enforce regulations and meet Pennsylvania’s climate goals of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.
Pine Creek compressor station FLIR camera footage by Earthworks (May 2019).
For A New Decade
In the summer of 2019, FracTracker began work on a bold strategic plan. With the organization’s last formal plan dating to 2013, the effort was long overdue.
Consultations, stakeholder surveys, and scans of issues and trends fed a rigorous, facilitated retreat. More conversations followed, accompanying iterative drafting, until a comprehensive and detailed plan emerged.
Meanwhile the world didn’t stop and wait. A pandemic wreaked havoc. The fossil fuel industry reeled. Demands for equality and justice reigned. The planning proceeded, mindful of these realities.
The strategic plan explores programs and projects; technology; communications; fundraising; safety and wellness; training and capacity; diversity, equity, and inclusion; administration and human resources; and, of course, monitoring and evaluation.
We identify four key programmatic goals:
- Stop fossil fuel activities and infrastructure, including related petrochemical development
- Increase public understanding of the detriment that fossil fuels and plastics cause people and the environment
- Protect communities and ecosystems maltreated by fossil fuel and petrochemical operations
- Strengthen and build civic engagement and alliances working toward cleaner, safer energy solutions
These goals, and a thorough enumeration of objectives and tasks, are guided by ten principles:
- Respond to the needs of frontline communities
- Elevate environmental justice perspectives and human rights
- Reveal solutions and success stories
- Engage younger audiences in these critical matters
- Involve more nontraditional partners
- Emphasize ease of use and access to information on our online tools
- Aspire for substantive and lasting change
- Communicate and coordinate for effective collaboration
- Promote and advocate for data transparency
- Ground findings in data and scientific evidence
Together, they reinforce the aspirations of our new mission statement:
FracTracker Alliance maps, analyzes, and communicates the risks of oil, gas, and petrochemical development to advance just energy alternatives that protect public health, natural resources, and the climate.
The plan underscores our imperative to partner with groups that seek solutions through regulatory, legal, and legislative action and have our work contribute to the urgent collective effort to equitably decarbonize economies. It is a roadmap, providing focus, but flexibility to remain nimble and responsive to ever-changing threats. We look forward to advancing the activities contained herein, measuring our progress, and most importantly, using our tools to expeditiously create a healthy energy paradigm. Please join us on this journey, and consider helping FracTracker to advance our work through your financial support.
By Brook Lenker, Executive Director, FracTracker Alliance
216 Franklin St, Suite 400, Johnstown, PA 15901
Phone: +1 (717) 303-0403 | info@fractracker.org
FracTracker Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit: Tax identification number: 80-0844297