Thank you for your article “State environmental board maintains permit renewals for two Penn Township gas wells” (June 22, TribLive). My wife and I live within a half-mile of these proposed Drakulic site unconventional wells.

The article states that “The site is tucked in among housing developments, and about 3,000 people live within 1 mile of the property, according to Environmental Hearing Board documents.” How are the 3,000 people that live within 1 mile of these wells going to be safely evacuated if there is a well explosion/fire? All the woods here could fuel a fire. In the Belmont County, Ohio, well explosion/fire in 2018, approximately 100 people within 1 mile had to be evacuated by door-to-door notification.

I have been trying for 10 years to find out without success from various officials what the emergency evacuation plan is for our neighborhood. Pennsylvania 25 Pa. Code 78a.55 requires that an operator of an unconventional well shall develop and implement an emergency response plan for each well site. Our community needs to be informed of the evacuation plan for a Drakulic site unconventional well explosion/fire.

Larry Irr

Trafford

The writer is a chemist.

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