By: Candi Hurst, West Virginia Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: February 28, 2025
About: EIS Docket ID No. DOE-HQ-2024-0082
To: U.S. Department of Energy
As both a mom of four as well as someone whose family has lived in West Virginia for many generations, I am profoundly interested in that which is in the best interests of my community. And I am deeply concerned about the implications the development of ARCH2 stands to have on our state.
In my time living in the Ohio River Valley, I saw chronic respiratory issues become alarmingly common in the area which coincided with the increase in oil and gas operations in the area. As a social worker, I saw families already struggling to make ends meet being disproportionately affected by health issues. It was very apparent that something was not right.
Since that time, the evidence has become increasingly clearer. Hundreds of scientific studies have shown the associations between shale gas development and serious health impacts for nearby residents. This includes respiratory problems, headaches, heart-related complications, mental health issues, and birth defects. The proposed ARCH2 hydrogen hub projects would add to the existing pollution burden from oil and gas operations and increase demand for more fracked methane.
Project proposals for the Appalachian hub include the Adams Fork facility in West Virginia that would produce ammonia from hydrogen. Leakage of ammonia is a concern as it is a toxic chemical that can impact the respiratory system and have other health impacts. The health risks and impact of hydrogen infrastructure on children and families living nearby, including NOx emissions, safety risks from inadequate or unsafe infrastructure, and cumulative pollution impacts, must be addressed when locating H2 facilities. All air quality impacts need to be carefully considered in an Environmental Impact Statement.
ARCH2 has shared that they may blend hydrogen into gas distribution lines (Project 5) and plans to blend up to 15% of hydrogen to gas distribution systems across OH and WV (Project 8). However, hydrogen-methane blending raises health, safety, and climate risks and there is no evidence that the existing gas pipeline network in the US can be safely used for hydrogen. Detailed analysis should be carried out by the Hub and shared publicly to assess the environmental risks of this Hub strategy as part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) currently being conducted by DOE.
Like all moms, my greatest desire is for my children to be safe and healthy. We should not have to worry whether the creeks our children play in or the water they drink is filled with toxic chemicals. We should not have to wonder if their lungs are inhaling harmful pollutants that could lead to asthma or other serious health conditions. The health of our children should never be a gamble. The risks are far too high, and the potential harm to our families is unimaginable.
Heading down the wrong path with hydrogen development would mean locking ourselves into a future of more petrochemicals, more fracking, more drilling, more air and water pollution, and more dangerous pipelines. When the emissions accounting is taken into consideration for blue hydrogen from all the sources, hydrogen deployment can have far greater impacts on climate and public health than previously thought.
This issue goes beyond politics and partisanship. We all want to do our part to create healthy, safe communities. But we also rely on our leaders and regulatory boards to step up and protect us. It is your responsibility to help ensure that we have a safe environment in which to raise our families.
I dream of a day when my future grandchildren will also want to call West Virginia home. I dream that they will play in the same creeks and parks, feeling safe and healthy. I call on our leaders to make that future a possibility. It starts by addressing the many safety concerns associated with ARCH2 and the climate-warming and health-harming pollution generated from the hub. We ask that these concerns and the future of the impacted region be taken into consideration. Families living near ARCH2 sites deserve transparency and to be able to raise their families in a safe, stable climate.