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| Bradford County, PA Sept 2012 |
While New Yorkers debate the safety of hydrofracking, state
regulatory reports show problems with conventional oil and gas drilling. According
to AP reporter Mary Esch, reports by NY regulators “reveal thousands of
unplugged abandoned wells and other industrial problems that could pose a
threat to groundwater, wetlands, air quality and public safety.”
Two days ago Walter Hang, president of the Ithaca-based firm,
Toxics Targeting, released documents and a video highlighting some of those shortcomings.
The big question, he wonders, is whether the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) is equipped to regulate hydrofracking.
At the heart of the problem is the lack of inspections – and
state inspectors. A July report by Earthworks found that oil and gas well
inspections occur too infrequently and too irregularly; fines are inadequate;
lack of data prevents public scrutiny of DEC's oversight; and citizen
complaints seem to be ignored.
DEC has proposed, in the SGEIS, that if high-volume hydraulic fracturing is
used to drill wells in NY, drilling permits will be issued only to the extent
that the department can review and oversee activities and adequately inspect
well pads and enforce regulation. But their 15 or so inspectors can’t even keep up with wells already in production.
From 2001 – 2010 the number of oil and gas well inspections
decreased by more than 1,000 per year. In 2001 the Division of Mineral
Resources conducted one inspection per 2.6 active wells. By 2010 they were only
able to conduct one inspection for every 4 active wells. During that same decade,
the number of active wells increased by 1,000 – leaving 76% of New York’s
active wells uninspected.
The low fines don’t seem to deter companies from taking
shortcuts and polluting the soil and water. In 2006 only 12 enforcement cases
resulted in penalties, and the fines are generally less than $2,000 per case.
Low penalties certainly won’t deter violators and can’t even begin to
compensate those harmed by methane migration and brine spills.
The way I see it, there is no way on God's green Earth that the DEP or anyone else will be able to adequately keep tabs on future wells. This notion is absurd on the face of it. Absolute nonsense.
ReplyDeleteWell stated, Sue. Given this information, how could anyone argue that we will have adequate, or even meaningful, protection from the DEC?
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