Pennsylvania is ground zero for the fracking boom. It’s increased natural gas production there 37-fold since 2008. That production generates a lot of waste, but the state’s ability to track it has failed to keep up.
A decade ago, regulators promised to improve reporting standards for the waste, which can include radioactive material, heavy metals and carcinogenic chemicals. But a new Inside Climate News investigation found huge discrepancies in state records, making it hard for Pennsylvania to enforce regulations around spills, leaks, transport and dumping on roads or in public waterways. “It could be dumped right next to somebody’s house and they would not even know,” a former state regulator told ICN.
Kiley, who’s been digging into this issue all through 2025, explains what happens to oil and gas waste in Pennsylvania, what it means for residents, and the consequences of having so few guardrails.
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Thank you,
Kiley Bense
Reporter, Pennsylvania
Kiley Bense covers climate change and the environment with a focus on Pennsylvania, politics, energy, and public health. She has reported on the effects of the fracking boom in Pennsylvania, the expansion of the American plastics industry, and the intersection of climate change and culture. Her previous work has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, the Believer, and Sierra Magazine, and she holds master’s degrees in journalism and creative writing from Columbia University. She is based in Pennsylvania.
