Hohenstein, Chester community rally against Philadelphia LNG Export Task Force plan
Rep. Joseph C. Hohenstein August 22, 2023 | 1:54 PM
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22 – State Reps. Joe Hohenstein, D-Phila., and Carol Kazeem, D-Chester, and environmental justice organizations and concerned residents of Chester held a news conference at Lathem Hall on Widener University campus following a Philadelphia LNG Export Task Force public hearing.
The task force met for a public hearing on its plan to promote a liquefied natural gas processing plant and export terminal in the Delaware River. Zulene Mayfield, chairperson of Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, and Stefan Roots, a Chester City Council member, testified during the hearing for everyone who would be negatively impacted by the task force’s plan.
Hohenstein, Kazeem, Mayfield and Roots spoke during the news conference, along with Earl Wilson, president of the Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition in Philadelphia, and Shawmar Pitts, co-managing director of Philly Thrive, Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, who were both denied participation in the public hearing by the Republican chair of the task force.
“This task force has been, in my opinion, inadequate in upholding its duty to ensure that the facts are transparently displayed and that a representative proportion of the commonwealth’s voices and opinions on the matter have been heard, which is unfortunate as it was authorized by the legislature and is being paid for with taxpayer dollars,” Hohenstein said.
A video of the news conference can be accessed here.