Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell announced Jan. 28 that the state’s Department of Environmental Protection will add personnel and strengthen regulations to protect water quality as the oil and gas industry grows.

“The actions I am announcing today … are about decisive, progressive protections for the people of Pennsylvania,” Rendell said. “As I’ve said all along, we want to encourage the development of this resource because it’s a tremendous economic opportunity for the state, but we will not allow that to happen at the expense of our environment.”

PADEP will hire 68 new personnel to ensure proper operation in the industry, Rendell said. This follows the addition of 37 inspectors and permitting staff in 2009.

The additional personnel will be funded from money generated by new and more expensive permitting fees that were instituted in 2009 — the first increase since 1984.

And the department will amend the state’s oil and gas regulations to more clearly define the industry’s responsibility for gas migration.

Specific measures will include requiring casings of Marcellus Shale and other high-pressure wells to be tested and constructed with oilfield-grade cement, Rendell said, as well as clarifying the industry’s responsibility to restore or replace fouled water supplies and requiring operators to notify DEP and local emergency responders immediately of gas migration problems.

The new regulations will be offered for public comment on Jan. 29 before going through DEP’s formal rulemaking process.