HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) – Governor Corbett today told township officials from around the state that he will not let natural gas drillers pollute Pennsylvania water, while reaffirming his stance against a tax on the industry.

Addressing the State Association of Township Supervisors in Hershey, Governor Corbett argued that Pennsylvania is in competition for jobs with other states  in the Marcellus Shale gas formation, “We are competing for that capital and those rigs.”

Tom McCaracken, a supervisor from Franklin Township, Fayette County, which has two gas wells, said he was impressed with Corbett’s speech but would have to give more thought to the governor’s rationale for not taxing drillers.

“I really don’t think it would scare them off (laughs), but I’d never heard that view before,” McCaracken said.

Corbett said he is open to the idea of fees on gas drillers to address the impact on local communities. The governor also said he won’t let drillers poison state waters but said safeguards have to be based on “science not emotion.”

Reported by Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio 1060