Published: August 14, 2024 |

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The initial results of nine months of continuous air emissions monitoring at natural gas well sites and compressor stations in southwestern Pennsylvania indicate that CNX natural gas development poses no public health risk. CNX Resources released the results in its first Radical Transparency™ assessment report.

Through the Radical Transparency™ program — a first-of-its-kind public-private collaboration announced with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration in November 2023 — CNX committed to sharing real-time continuous air emissions monitoring data, enhanced water quality testing results, disclosure of chemical usage, and additional waste reporting at well sites and midstream infrastructure in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Since the collaboration began, more than 100,000 data measurements have been collected and transparently reported via CNXRadicalTransparency.com, with additional measurements added to the dataset by the hour.

While still in the initial phase of the program, CNX has committed to expanding Radical Transparency™ to cover all unconventional CNX operations, providing hundreds of thousands of additional data points across the company’s operational footprint.

Importantly, the air quality data is collected by an independent third party and fed simultaneously to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), CNX, and the public in contrast to disputed results from previous NGO- and industry-funded studies.

“The initial results and ongoing monitoring from our Radical Transparency program indicate that natural gas development done the CNX way is safe and inherently good for the communities where we operate. We call on our industry peers to join us in these important efforts to ensure that public policy in Pennsylvania is driven by directly-measured data and facts instead of agendas and speculation,” said Nick Deiuliis, CNX Resources president and CEO.

“Our findings also expose the flawed nature of the oft-cited University of Pittsburgh Health Study and its highly suspect results that are used by NGOs to spread unchecked disinformation about natural gas development. While these are only the initial results, and the data collection is continuous and ongoing, we can say definitively that Radical Transparency is the superior path forward when setting public policy,” added Deiuliis.

“Because of an already robust regulatory framework in Pennsylvania, our unique collaboration with state government, and CNX development practices, we are producing the most responsibly sourced natural gas molecule anywhere in the world right here in southwestern Pennsylvania. Better yet, residents now have direct and real-time access to measured environmental data from sites, rendering reliance on third-party innuendo obsolete,” concluded Deiuliis.

Air quality measurements during pad construction, drilling, completions, flowback, and production phases of natural gas development have been captured by the effort to date. In addition, CNX also reports the chemicals used in the natural gas production process. The results through the initial months of the program show that emissions from responsible CNX natural gas development measured to date fall well below science-based air quality standards that are designed to protect the public from negative health effects resulting from emission of PM2.5 and BTEX. There have been no sustained high levels of any significance of PM2.5 or BTEX at these sites during any phase of development measured to date.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Particulate Matter (PM2.5) concentrations were below NAAQS standards at all sites and were well below levels observed within regional urban environments.

• Measured concentrations of BTEX are well below minimum risk levels at all sites.

• While other studies, including the Pitt Health Study, have used loose and highly dubious statistical associations collected miles from gas operating sites, CNX’s Radical Transparency program collects on-site data (500’ perimeter to the wellbore), which would be the most concentrated reading of any air emissions from the site, as emissions decrease with distance due to dispersion.

CNX has also agreed to supplement the scope of data collected via its continuous monitoring program by providing PADEP with unprecedented access to air and water quality monitoring from construction through the production phase of two future, to-be-constructed CNX development sites. This expanded data set, in collaboration with PADEP, will allow for in-depth independent verification of air emissions monitoring across the sites’ entire development lifecycle.

“With more than 100,000 on-site measured data points accumulated to date, the true impacts of responsible natural gas development on the local environment are becoming clearer to all, and initial indications are very promising. But we are just getting started and more needs to be done; Pennsylvanians deserve more data and more locations to be included within the Radical Transparency framework,” said Deiuliis.

“Success is defined by three simple goals: Radical Transparency is the accepted standard for the natural gas industry; residents and communities have direct access to measured data; and energy policy follows the data from the effort. Achieving these goals renders speculation, innuendo, and guesswork obsolete,” added Deiuliis.

CNX Resources is a premier, low carbon intensive natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company centered in Appalachia, one of the most energy abundant regions in the world. With the benefit of a 160-year regional legacy, substantial asset base, leading core operational competencies, technology development and innovation, and astute capital allocation methodologies, they responsibly develop resources and deploy free cash flow to create long-term per share value for shareholders, employees, and the communities where they operate.

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