Gov. Corbett received an update Friday from the Department of Environmental Protection on the status of the gas well fire in Greene County and subsequently released the following statement:
“Our focus right now is making sure workers and first responders are safe, and we are concerned about the potential loss of life,” said Corbett. "Yesterday, I directed Secretary of Department of Environmental Protection Chris Abruzzo and other executive level DEP staff to get to the site and assist authorities in managing this incident. State authorities have also been in touch with the company to work together and resolve immediate needs. I have also directed Secretary Abruzzo to work with the appropriate state, county and local authorities and create a multi-agency investigation after this incident concludes. We need to determine exactly what happened and how we can learn from it.”
The governor reiterated his commitment to continuing to work with the General Assembly on enhancing safety standards for both residents and workers. In 2012, Gov. Corbett signed Act 9, the Unconventional Well 911 Emergency Response Act. This Act requires operators to maintain a unique GPS coordinate address at each well site, as well as develop an emergency response plan to be kept on file with DEP, PEMA and the county emergency management agency.
