State, Federal Inquiries Planned on Middletown Blast

Both state and federal investigations are planned into the causes of Sunday's explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant under construction in Middletown. Governor Jodi Rell says Federal Judge Alan Nevas will chair a panel of state agencies looking into whether all permits were obtained, whether there was sufficient supervisin and whether labor laws and safety measures were followed. A e a second panel to be headed by recently retired Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security James "Skip" Thomas will look at state and local permitting, building codes and construction oversight methods.

At the federal level, Representatives John Larson, Rosa DeLauro, and Joe Courtney say they've received a commitment from the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee to hold a Congressional hearing on the blast. The committee oversees workplace and employee safety issues. No hearing date has been set.