A federal judge ruled this week that Pennsylvania’s utility regulator must turn over inspection records to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the agency’s investigation into a fatal chocolate factory explosion last year. I put it down.
U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Connor on Tuesday sided with the federal safety commission in its dispute with the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, which refused to produce an inspection and investigation report against UGI Utilities.
Explosion at Pennsylvania’s RM Palmer Chocolate Factory leaves 2 dead, others missing and others injured
UGI is a natural gas company at the center of the investigation into the March 24, 2023 explosion at the RM Palmer plant in West Reading. A powerful natural gas explosion destroyed one building, severely damaged another, and killed seven people. Investigators previously said they were looking into a pair of gas leaks as possible causes or contributors to the explosion.
Pennsylvania’s public utility regulator must turn over inspection records to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of a federal investigation into a fatal chocolate factory explosion. (Fox News)
State utility regulators have removed five years of UGI inspection records from federal agencies, citing a state law that protects “sensitive security information” about major utility infrastructure from public disclosure, even to other government agencies. had refused the request.
The Public Utilities Commission offered federal investigators the opportunity to inspect the report at its Harrisburg office or sign a non-disclosure agreement, but the safety commission declined and issued a subpoena.
The safety commission said the records are critical to the investigation because they include state utility regulators’ assessments of the condition of UGI’s pipelines and the gas company’s investigation of leak and odor complaints. Stated. The agency argued that federal regulations give it the right to obtain state investigation records.
“These reports are also important to determining whether the commission conducted its oversight of UGI’s pipeline system in accordance with federal regulations,” federal prosecutors on behalf of the safety commission said in a court summons. wrote in a March 29 petition seeking enforcement of the petition.
In their response, state officials noted that federal investigators had already obtained some of the requested records from UGI itself, and that federal law does not automatically preempt conflicting state laws. the claim was made in a legal filing.
Conner gave utility regulators seven days to file the subpoena, but said it could be done in a manner consistent with state law.
“From the beginning, the PUC has emphasized its commitment to assist the NTSB in this investigation, while also adhering to the commission’s legal obligations to protect sensitive security information,” said Nils Hagen, a spokesman for the U.S. Commission. Frederiksen said.
He said the judge’s decision was made after consultation between the two agencies.
An NSTB spokesperson declined to comment. A federal investigation into the explosion is ongoing.
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Approximately 70 Palmer manufacturing staff and 35 office staff were working in two adjacent buildings at the time of the explosion. Employees at both buildings told federal investigators that they smelled gas before the explosion. Workers at the plant have accused Mr. Palmer of ignoring warnings of a natural gas leak and say the plant, located in a small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, should have been evacuated. There is.
Palmer was fined more than $44,000 by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to evacuate. Mr. Palmer denied violating workplace safety standards and disputed the OSHA citation.
