Marcellus Shale - Gas Wells

The Associated Press

WATERVILLE — Former Gov. Tom Ridge is helping a natural gas industry group unveil what it calls a set of guiding principles representing a commitment to Pennsylvania communities.

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Former Governor Tom Ridge gives the keynote address at the Luzerne County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner.

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Ridge is an adviser for the Marcellus Shale Coalition, which advocates for companies drilling into the lucrative reserve of natural gas deep underground much of Pennsylvania.

He attended a discussion Friday at a state forest resource management center in Waterville, where the coalition unveiled its "Commitment to the Community" principles.

It was billed as an industry-wide roundup of best practices by gas drillers in the state.

Ridge and others were also invited by Anadarko Petroleum to visit natural gas drilling sites and related facilities in the Sproul State Forest north of Lock Haven as an example of how the principles were being used.