Less than a week after a natural gas well caught fire and exploded in southwestern Pennsylvania, energy giant Chevron has come under fire after sending out an apology letter to local residents... with a voucher for a large pizza and two-liter drink. The accident left one worker injured and another is missing and presumed dead.
Philly.com confirmed with the pizza parlor listed on the vouchers that the company did distribute about 100 of them. (UPDATE: Chevron has confirmed that it sent out the certificates. Read their full response below.)
And here's a transcribed copy.
Dear Neighbor,
We are sorry to have missed you. We wanted to provide you with a status update on the February 11 incident that occurred on Chevron Appalachia's Lancoe 7 H well pads in Dunkard Township and see if you had any questions or concerns that we could address.
Chevron recognizes the effect this has had on the community. We value being a responsible member of this community and will continue to strive to achieve incident-free operations. We are committed to taking action to safeguard our neighbors, our employees, our contractors and the environment.
If you have any concerns, please call our toll-free community line at 1-877-847-8408.
Thank you,
Chevron Community Outreach Team
Despite growing health concerns about fracking and its impact on local water supplies, President Obama has praised the boom in domestic natural gas production and his administration's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
UPDATE: 4:11 p.m. -- A Chevron representative told The Huffington Post that the company did send out the gift certificates to thank the community for their patience during the explosion and resulting fire. You can read their entire statement below.
The situation at the Lanco well site in Pennsylvania remains serious and teams are working around the clock to safely approach and shut in the well. There has been considerable construction activity adjacent to the site, resulting in increased traffic and congestion in the area. Recognizing that our neighbors have been affected by these activities, we are out in the community every day to listen to and address concerns. We have also offered a token of appreciation for their patience during this time, and our commitment to the community goes far beyond this and our outreach is ongoing.
Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of our missing colleague and we appreciate the strong support we have received from nearby residents as we work to respond to this incident in a safe manner.
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