Corbett visits well site in Wysox Twp.

WYSOX TWP. - Tom Corbett found a gas drilling rig in Wysox Township Saturday noisy and dirty, but he wasn't complaining.

The state attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate was too excited about what he said the natural gas industry holds for Pennsylvania.

"They getting a little dirty doing this, but it's clean energy," he said.

While in Bradford County, he visited the Schoonover well site in Wysox Township with Chesapeake officials and government leaders.

At a drilling rig, Brian Grove, director of corporate development for Chesapeake, walked with Corbett as he showed him around and talked with him. The noise from the operations drowned out their voices for the others taking part in the tour.

"This is about the third drill site I've been on, and I think it's the future of Pennsylvania," Corbett said, when asked for comment after the tour. "It's a natural resource that we have here in Pennsylvania that we need. It's clean energy. It's going to provide a number of jobs for people not only in Bradford, but all across Pennsylvania, and a fair amount of income for the people who just live on the land and are getting the royalties and the lease payments. This is the future."

"We have to make Pennsylvania competitive with the rest of the nation, and really the rest of the world," Corbett continued. "This allows us to become competitive. We have to do other things like reducing the business taxes in Pennsylvania, more importantly reducing the spending in Pennsylvania."

When asked for comment, Grove said he talked to Corbett about the process of what the company does on site when drilling and the various levels of protection that are used "to keep anything that we do here from negatively affecting the environment." This includes, he said, "the multiple layers of spill protection and containment that we use here on site." Grove said he talked about Chesapeake's "commitment to being a leader in the industry" with "responsible, envrionmentally-friendly operations."

Among those taking part in the tour were county commissioner Doug McLinko and Sheshequin supervisor Eric Matthews, chairman of the county Republican committee.

After the visit, McLinko said he and Dan Meuser of Luzerne County, who also attended, worked to bring Corbett to Bradford County, saying he thought it was important to bring the attorney general and the possibly the next governor to the county. Matthews said supervisor John George from Rome Township was also on the tour.

McLinko said he, Corbett, and Meuser took a helicopter flight over the county Saturday morning, prior to the well site visit, to look at the well pads, drill sites, and other things related to the natural gas industry in the county.

McLinko said he talked to Corbett about the economic impact of the gas industry and also the challenges. He said what's going on in Bradford County with the gas industry isn't happening in other parts of the state to as much of a degree, and Corbett was interested in seeing this.

In addition, McLinko said Corbett doesn't support a severance tax for gas drilling.

"He has pledged no new taxes, which includes a severance tax," McLinko said.

McLinko said well over 100 people attended a reception and fund raising dinner at Towanda Country Club for Corbett at 5 p.m., which Corbett attended.

He said it went well, and Corbett gave a speech. "His main message was free markets and smaller, more efficient, and less costly government…competitive with the other top states."

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: [email protected]