October 12, 2010 (Associated Press). A set of proposed regulations to modernize safety in Pennsylvania's booming natural gas industry and force drillers to disclose the chemicals they use cleared a first procedural hurdle Tuesday. By a 14-1 vote, the Environmental Quality Board passed a proposal to update regulations that govern well construction and water use so they also address deeper and higher pressure drilling on the vast Marcellus Shale reserve. The Independent Regulatory Review Commission and legislative committees still need to approve the proposal.
"In many ways, these rules are long overdue because they are addressing problems we experienced even before the first Marcellus well got here," said John Hanger, who heads the Department of Environmental Protection.
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