Natural Gas Drilling Rules Get a Review from State Officials

New York, NY —

New York officials are reviewing the rules on natural gas drilling. The industry could pump billions of dollars into the upstate economy. But an incident in Pennsylvania illustrates the risks. WNYC's Ilya Marritz explains.

REPORTER: People with experience in gas drilling say it's all about expecting the unexpected. On New Year's Day, a slab of concrete covering a drinking water well was hurled into the air in rural Pennsylvania, south of the New York border. No one was hurt. Tests showed the explosion was probably caused by methane gas. Officials think it seeped into the water well from one of the new natural gas wells in the area. Mark Carmon is with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

CARMON: What we need to know is how did this happen and how to prevent it from happening in the future.

REPORTER: The gas wells in that part of Pennsylvania are similar to those that have been proposed in the Catskills and Southern Tier of New York.

For WNYC, I'm Ilya Marritz