"Northern Pennsylvania Gas Explosion Was Out of Regulatory Reach"

"Houses trembled a half mile away when a natural gas explosion rattled a compressor station near Springville, a hotbed of Marcellus Shale development in northern Pennsylvania. Just two hours after the March 29 blast, a gas safety inspector from the state Public Utility Commission was on the scene to begin an investigation into possible violations of gas safety rules. But he did not get far."

"The PUC shut down its examination last week after determining the station was in a rural area - and thus outside its regulatory reach.

'It's not in our jurisdiction,' said Jennifer Kocher, a PUC spokeswoman. 'There's nothing we can do.'"

Joseph Tanfani reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer April 8, 2012.