Tell PA Leaders to Protect Natural Gas Development

Following a hearing in November 2025, the Pennsylvania House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee continues to accept public comments on House Bill 1946, which would impose stricter new setbacks for natural gas wells in the state.

An honest look at this legislation points to it being, as American Petroleum Institute Pennsylvania Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman describes, a "de facto ban on natural gas development" in the state.

Sign our letter below that we will submit to the PA House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee opposing this dangerous bill.

Dear Chairman Vitali, Chairman Rader, and Members of the PA House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee:

I stand with Pipeliners Local 798, other industry craftsmen and the growing number of Pennsylvania residents who are concerned about the implications of House Bill 1946 on the state's energy and economic future.

A key proposal in the bill is a required 2,500-foot setback from any water sources. This mandatory increased setback distance provides little to no environmental benefits given the current high safety standards that pipeline operators and contractors follow under both state and federal regulations. Act 13 of 2012 established proper setback distances in the state, and we see application to the natural gas industry in several other Pennsylvania state statutes, such as the Clean Streams Law, the Air Pollution Control Act and the Waste Management Act. The Department of Environmental Protection also currently carries strict requirements for both surface and subsurface activities.

A significant concern of mine is the bill’s impact on energy access and affordability. By prohibiting production from an area 25 times larger than currently protected areas, this directly restricts access to Pennsylvania natural gas. Knowing that more than half of Pennsylvania’s electric power flows from natural gas-fired power plants, this restriction would threaten energy reliability for families and small businesses across the region and add to the growing affordability crisis. 

Any restriction on energy development in Pennsylvania would be detrimental to the state's economy. This industry supports 93,000 direct natural gas and oil jobs – many of these going to members of Pipeliners Local 798. This is in addition to more than 306,000 jobs in related industries, including truck driving, manufacturing, hospitality and contracting. All this activity injects billions of dollars in the state economy, helping to support critical public services and improve the quality of life for all who call Pennsylvania home.

The state's industry is producing natural gas safely – and arguably more efficiently – than ever before. We need to prioritize a robust energy network to further this success, not impose unnecessary setbacks that inhibit it. This is why I urge you and your colleagues to oppose HB 1946 in its current state.

Sincerely,

[Signers below]

CC: House Majority Leader Matt Bradford

      House Minority Leader Jesse Topper

146 signatures

See who else has taken this action

  • Jason Smith

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Scott Thrasher

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Ethan Cole

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Kevin Groves

  • Bobby Radabaugh

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Kenny Landis

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Derrick Ring

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Brett Mason

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Clark Eastwood

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Timothy Thrasher

  • Tim Peterson

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Rob Spencer

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Matt Knight

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Walter Kennedy

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Jamie Shelton

  • Steven Shelton

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Bj Folmar

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Colin Stagg

  • Albert Pauley

  • Brandi Seegers

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Jimmy Dick

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Mickey Westerman

  • Arnell Malnar

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Jane Wilson

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Kacie Hughes

  • Rhonda Thurston

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Jared Showers

  • Blaine Cecil

  • Joseph Torres

    Pipeliners Local 798

  • Bradley Mullin