Oil and gas wells not inspected by regulators, says report by Earthworks

More than 66,000 active wells weren’t inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2011, according to a new report by Earthworks, a non-profit organisation.

The report said that regulators in Pennsylvania are failing to inspect tens of thousands of oil and gas wells even once a year and that many companies cited for violations were not charged.

However, state officials say they’re inspecting most new wells in the Marcellus Shale region.

DEP spokeswoman Katherine Gresh said the agency inspected 78% of new shale gas wells in 2011 and that older conventional wells usually operate for decades without problems.

Gresh said that failing to note the major differences between old and new wells "is comparing apples to oranges and misleading the public."

Earthworks said the number of inspections done have not met the DEP’s own guidelines, even for new wells, reports The Associated Press.

The Marcellus Shale formation uses hydraulic fracturing and there is a worry contaminated wastewater from the process can leak from faulty well casings into aquifers.

Earthworks staff attorney Bruce Baizel said, "There’s at least a quarter of all new wells that aren’t getting inspected. We still think that’s not good enough."

Gresh said that a 1989 DEP document states that the agency intends to inspect wells "at least once during each of the phases of siting, drilling, casing, cementing, completing, altering and stimulating a well."

The number of inspections per well has risen from 5.3 in 2009 to more than 10 in 2012, according to Gresh, who also added that policies and regulations were upgraded in addition to significant field personnel staffing increases.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group, said the Earthworks report is biased.

Marcellus Shale Coalition spokesman Patrick Creighton, said, "In 2009, Marcellus Shale producers supported a well permitting fee increase which helped double PA DEP’s regulatory staff at no taxpayer expense" adding the report made "false claims, contrary to the facts and readily available data in an effort to grab a headline and spread fear."

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Image: The US Environmental Protection Agency federal headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo: Coolcaesar.