Records sought in factory explosion

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 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 sign a nondisclosure agreement, but the safety board refused and then issued a subpoena.

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.

An NSTB spokesperson declined comment. The federal investigation into the blast is ongoing.