Go behind the scenes with managing editor Jamie Smith Hopkins and reporter Kiley Bense as they discuss how Pennsylvania is failing to track toxic oil and gas waste, while the amount sitting in landfills grows every year.

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.

Read the story: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19...

Explore ICN’s reporting on fracking waste: https://insideclimatenews.org/project...

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