The

Honorable Curtis Jones, Jr.

Philadelphia City Councilman
Philadelphia City Council
City Hall Room 404
Philadelphia, PA 19107



Councilman Jones,

We are writing to express our surprise and dismay that your office plans on co-hosting a
tour of fracking infrastructure with the Marcellus Shale Coalition and several fracking
industry corporations.

You have been a vocal ally of the movement to protect Philadelphias water from opening
up the Delaware River Basin to hydraulic fracturing. You sponsored a 2011 City Council
resolution supporting a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin.
You spoke at anti-fracking rallies such as Shale Gas Outrage. Most recently, you co-hosted a
2014 City Council hearing on oil trains, and supported a resolution urging better safety on
oil trains coming through our city.

Councilman Jones, you have worked closely on the issue of fracking with Philadelphia-area
environmental groups for years. Why use your offices resources to promote an event with
the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group notorious for working to hide the impacts
of fracking from Pennsylvania voters, governmental officials, and scientists?

The trip also comes as Harrisburgs budget standoff risks shutting down social services
agencies and public schools. To be clear, we oppose making funding for fundamental social
programs contingent on more widespread fracking in the state, as the proposed fracking
tax would do. Social services critical to Philadelphians, such as schools and healthcare
clinics, require stable and adequate funding. But, we stand in solidarity with organizations
advocating for a fair funding formulate, in opposition to the corporate takeover of our state
government, chiefly orchestrated by Marcellus Shale Coalition.

We are concerned that your coordinated tour of fracking infrastructure will empower the
gas industry and their Republican allies in the budget debate beyond their opposition to the
fracking tax, and that inadequate funding for education and basic social services will
continue.

We urge you to remove your office as a sponsor of this tour, and to instruct your staff that
they should focus on serving your constituents in your Philadelphia office, rather than
spending the day with the industry front group responsible for undermining the health of
Philadelphias education system. In the stead of attending tomorrows tour, we encourage

you to meet with our leaders to discuss the health and safety issues posed by the expansion
of fracking infrastructure in Philadelphia.

Sincerely,


Sam Bernhardt
Senior Pennsylvania Organizer
Food & Water Watch
267-428-1903
sbernhardt@fwwatch.org