Wolf administration to show how it’ll challenge gas industry

The coming days will provide the first glimpse at how Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration wants to regulate the natural gas industry.

Wolf’s Department of Environmental Protection is expected to release its plan next week to toughen rules over how the industry prevents methane leaks and how it stores toxic drilling wastewater in open-air pits.

Wolf’s nominee to head the department says Wolf wants the industry to succeed. But John Quigley also says Wolf was elected because he was viewed as a candidate that would best respond better to public concerns over the impact of drilling on health and the environment.

The president of industry advocacy group the Marcellus Shale Coalition says the industry is closely watching for the administration’s proposal to update regulations.