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Washington County, Pennsylvania, which drives the Greater Pittsburgh Region in energy production and commercial development, continues to increase its leadership position among Southwestern Pennsylvania counties in terms of economic growth and job creation.

To emphasize this growth, the Washington County Board of Commissioners were joined recently by a capacity crowd of over 250 Washington County business leaders at the Hilton Garden Inn/Southpointe hotel to highlight 84 economic development projects that account for over $350 million in capital investment in Washington County during the past year.

These projects were also complemented by over $73 million in additional investments the county has made over the past nine years through the Washington County Local Share Account-a fund capitalized by gaming revenues. These total investments are being leveraged by an additional $208 million in public and private resources.
“Washington County has been truly exceptional in the Greater Pittsburgh Region in creating new economic growth, energy development and commercial expansion,” stated Larry Maggi, Chairman of the Washington County Board of Commissioners. “In 2015, our business community announced $355,233,735 in new business investment which will account for an additional 786 created/retained jobs in Washington County. This tremendous growth in business investment and job creation was driven by numerous sectors of our economy-energy, commercial/retail development, hospitality and manufacturing. We are proud of that success especially in creating new jobs for our residents,” Chairman Maggi commented.

Commissioner Maggi also pointed to Washington County’s continued leadership in the energy sector despite a slowdown in the industry. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the county led the state in the number of unconventional well permits issued with a total of 361 of the 2,078 issued in 2015. This activity resulted in the county moving up from fourth place at the end of 2014 to third place in the state for permits issued since 2005.

Also, Washington County led the state in the number of unconventional wells drilled in 2015 with 160 of the 1,070 wells drilled across the state. This activity restored the county’s position as the leading county in Pennsylvania for unconventional wells drilled since 2005.

“Our success in the energy sector, even with the downturn, has enabled many of our residents to find new opportunities and jobs. In fact, seven of the state’s top shale gas producers, ranked by MCF of natural gas produced statewide, are located in our county: Range Resources Corporation, Rice Energy, CONSOL Energy, Noble Energy, WPX Energy, Chesapeake Energy and EOG Resources,” Commissioner Maggi stated.

Commissioner Maggi further stated that the county’s growth is being driven not only by energy, but by a variety of sectors. “There is no question that the energy sector has been a tremendous economic driver for Washington County over the past decade. However, every industry experiences economic cycles and we need to ensure that our county is well-positioned to weather these cycles by encouraging a diverse county economy. Our positive economic growth, new jobs and low taxes have many people in our country wanting to share our energy and experience our success,” Commissioner Maggi commented.

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