• Home
  • About
  • Publications
  • Links
    • Drilling and Fracking
    • Resources
    • Stuff I Like
    • TX Progressive Alliance
  • Must See Videos
  • PSYOPS
  • Shale Survival
    • Before drilling starts
    • Tools
    • Medical
  • FAQ
  • Contact Me

Texas Sharon's Bluedaze

Fracking News

Report shows lack of enforcement & fines for fracking shale gas drillers

November 14, 2011 By TXsharon

They do not fear us or the regulators. The fracking Gasholes have no incentive to do things better because they are not held accountable. And, if you object to their misdeeds, they will employ some Psychological Warfare against you and your neighbors. Texans already knew that but it’s great to see in print.

Puny fines, scant enforcement leave drilling violators with little to fear
Mike Soraghan, E&E reporter
Greenwire: Monday, November 14, 2011

Oil and gas drillers who pollute groundwater, spill toxic chemicals or break other rules have little to fear from the inspectors and agencies regulating the surge in American petroleum production.

A Greenwire review of enforcement data from the largest drilling states shows that only a small percentage of violations result in fines, and the fines that are levied often amount to little more than a rounding error for billion-dollar companies.

In Texas, 96 percent of the 80,000 violations by oil and gas drillers in 2009 resulted in no enforcement action. West Virginia, a state with 56,000 wells, issued 19 penalties last year. And Wyoming, the center of Rocky Mountain energy, collected $15,500 in fines in 2010.

Check out the interactive map to see how your state ranks.

UPDATE: This report features our beloved Mrs. Burns.

You can see the video of ExxonMobil employees duct taping the pipeline HERE.

About Sharon Wilson

Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.

  • Mail
  • |
  • Web
  • |
  • More Posts(5116)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Mike H. says

    November 14, 2011 at 6:35 pm

    “Earlier this year, Elizabeth Ames Jones, then a member and now chairwoman of the Texas Railroad Commission, told a U.S. House committee her agency is “the gold standard,” as she argued against federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing.

    But a comprehensive review by a Texas legislative agency last year described the Railroad Commission’s regulation of oil and gas production and its enforcement as unfocused and lax.”

    If they are the gold standard, I hate to see a bad regulatory agency! The duct tape on the produced water pipeline is an all time classic. Even the most hardened shills gulp when they see those pictures.

Stalk TXsharon

Recent Posts

  • Register for the worldwide premier of Uncovering the Permian Climate Bomb
  • Update: Chris Faulkner > IT Guy > Frack Master > Felon
  • French Energy Giant Total Declares War on Texas Toddlers
  • Hydrocarbon odors during oil and gas drilling
  • MSNBC and TXsharon in the Texas fracking zone
  • Blowout: Inside America’s Energy Gamble

Like Earthworks on Facebook

Categories

Archives

All work © Sharon Wilson. No works may be shared copied in full without permission. Bluedaze: Drilling Reform. Site Design by Sumy Designs. Powered by those who advocate for a safe and healthy environment.