Air and water permits have been issued for a second ethane cracker in the region. This one in eastern Ohio is a little more than an hour's drive from Pittsburgh.
People with existing respiratory and/or cardiovascular conditions, children and the elderly should limit their outdoor activities until further notice.
The new rule would eliminate federal protections for about 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s streams. Only major navigable waterways, tributaries that run into them or adjacent wetlands along with some lakes will be covered by the Clean Water Act.
Some 30 people who cleaned up the ash have died with ailments that can be linked to exposure to toxic elements of coal ash, and more than 250 are sick or dying.
