Rep. George: Gas Well Incident
Underscores Need for Better Oversight
State Rep. Camille "Bud" George of Clearfield County, chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said the incident at a Marcellus Shale gas-drilling site in Clearfield County underscores the need for Pennsylvania to update its environmental safeguards. "Local and state officials did a wonderful job responding to a very dangerous situation that fortunately did not cause any injuries or deaths," said Rep. George, D-74 of Clearfield County. "I have said for many months that extraction of any natural resource comes with risks and costs and I only wish I had not been proved correct so quickly and so close to home." Rep George said that he was informed that workers lost control of the new well at about 8 p.m. Thursday after encountering gas under very high pressure. Gas and a reported 1 million gallons or more of brine, including fracking fluid, escaped from the EOG Resources well drilled off McGeorge Road in Lawrence Township. Emergency ma...