Current:Home > ContactJudges orders Pennsylvania agency to produce inspection records related to chocolate plant blast -BrightFuture Investments
Judges orders Pennsylvania agency to produce inspection records related to chocolate plant blast
Johnathan Walker View
Date:2025-04-10 21:46:31
Pennsylvania utility regulators must turn over inspection records to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the federal agency’s probe into a fatal explosion at a chocolate factory last year, a federal judge ruled this week.
U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner sided Tuesday with the federal safety board in its dispute with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which had refused to produce inspection and investigation reports for UGI Utilities Inc.
UGI is a natural gas utility at the center of the probe into the March 24, 2023, blast at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading. The powerful natural gas explosion leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people. Investigators have previously said they are looking at a pair of gas leaks as a possible cause of or contributor to the blast.
State utility regulators had spurned the federal agency’s request for five years’ worth of UGI inspection records, citing a state law that protects “confidential security information” about key utility infrastructure from public disclosure, even to other government agencies.
The utility commission offered federal investigators a chance to inspect the reports at its Harrisburg office or to sign a nondisclosure agreement, but the safety board refused and then issued a subpoena.
The safety board said the records are vital to its investigation because they include state utility regulators’ assessment of the condition of UGI’s pipelines, as well as leak or odor complaint investigation records for the gas utility. The agency argued that federal regulations entitled it to the state investigation records.
“These reports are also vital to determine whether the commission conducted oversight of UGI’s pipeline system in compliance with federal regulations,” federal prosecutors, representing the safety board, wrote in their March 29 petition asking the court to enforce the subpoena.
In its response, the state agency pointed out that federal investigators had already obtained some of the requested records from UGI itself, and argued in a legal filing that federal law does not automatically preempt conflicting state laws.
Conner gave utility regulators seven days to produce the subpoenaed documents, but said they could do it in a way that complies with state law.
“From the beginning, the PUC has underscored a commitment to assist the NTSB with this investigation — while also complying with the Commission’s legal obligation to safeguard confidential security information,” said Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, a spokesperson for the utility commission.
He said the judge’s decision was made as a result of discussions between the two agencies.
An NSTB spokesperson declined comment. The federal investigation into the blast is ongoing.
About 70 Palmer production workers and 35 office staff were working in two adjacent buildings at the time of the blast. Employees in both buildings told federal investigators they could smell gas before the explosion. Workers at the plant have accused Palmer of ignoring warnings of a natural gas leak, saying the plant, in a small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, should have been evacuated.
Palmer was fined more than $44,000 by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to evacuate. Palmer denied it violated any workplace safety standards and contested the OSHA citations.
veryGood! (48)
Related
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- Love Blue Bell ice cream? You can vote for your favorite discontinued flavor to return
- Toyota recalls 145,000 Toyota, Lexus SUVs due to an airbag problem: See affected models
- Texas Roadhouse rolls out frozen bread rolls to bake at home. Find out how to get them.
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Princess Anne, King Charles III's sister, hospitalized with concussion
- 5 people killed, teen girl injured in Las Vegas apartment shootings; manhunt ends with arrest
- A co-founder of the embattled venture capital firm Fearless Fund has stepped down as operating chief
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Taylor Swift appears to clap back at Dave Grohl after his Eras Tour remarks
Ranking
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Judge strikes down Montana law defining sex as only male or female for procedural reasons
- Rip currents have turned deadly this summer. Here's how to spot them and what to do if you're caught in one.
- Bear euthanized after injuring worker at park concession stand in Tennessee
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Travis Kelce reveals how he started to 'really fall' for 'very self-aware' Taylor Swift
- Massachusetts Senate debates bill to expand adoption of renewable energy
- Bear euthanized after injuring worker at park concession stand in Tennessee
Recommendation
Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
Explosion at homeless encampment injures, hospitalizes LA firefighter responding to flames
Why the stakes are so high for Atlanta Hawks, who hold No. 1 pick in 2024 NBA draft
Why Argentina's Copa America win vs. Chile might be a bummer for Lionel Messi fans
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Vanderpump Rules Star Lala Kent Shares Pregnancy-Safe Skincare, Mom Hacks, Prime Day Deals & More
2024 Tour de France: How to watch, schedule, odds for cycling's top race
Star witness in Holly Bobo murder trial gets 19 years in federal prison in unrelated case