This is a story from my colleague Rachel McDevitt about a report from DEP.

The report basically states, over a 5 year period, more than half of conventional oil and gas operators failed to report how much gas they pulled from the ground and whether their equipment is safe.

State law requires that conventional drillers report that information annually. Failing to do so could lead to fines, permit suspensions or even criminal charges. But a lack of state resources means many operators have been able to ignore the rules with no consequences.

DEP also found 3,000 newly abandoned wells during the review period. Abandoned wells leak the potent greenhouse gas methane, which contributes to climate change, and threatens peoples' health and safety.

Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association is disputing the report and says DEP is distorting the data. But they did not offer an example or evidence to support that.

It's a long, deep story and you can read the full version at the link above. no paywall or annoying ads.

Good thing we don't tax them...

When everyone dies in this state from cancer, at least we’ll know why…

according to the article it costs roughly 30,000 to close a well and PA is receiving 100million from Federal funding for precisely this problem. The companies that worked here should be responsible for the rest and they should begin closures immiedately.

Pathetic cash grab for the rich politicians here and for the owners and workers from other states to strip and rape our beautiful Pennsylvania of its resources is all this was in the end.

It's time to end this capitalist charade. All of your taxes feeds these rich fat fucks, and you get pissed on for it.

Yea it’s some crony capitalism for sure. I wish voters could get these fuckers out.

It’s probably cheaper to abandon the wells and eventually, possibly paying the fine than it is to properly remove and correct the land. I’m sure it’s a numbers game at its core.

I'm shocked a government run on greed and dark age fairy tales could allow something like this to happen.

I wish people in both parties could see that this effects all of us. The people have more in common than led to believe.

The state regulations dont have the teeth, or capacity, to handle this and control the problem. And yet PA continues to expand drilling, and in dangerously close vicinity to populated areas.

Hell, in Elizabeth Forward theyre putting a well next to the damn school

Who could've seen that coming

It's always cheaper. Just another thing that Pennsylvania citizens will have to front the bill to fix. First it was oil drilling and coal mining that we have to clean up. Next is natural gas wells.

When people think we need to keep opening up new areas for drilling, they need to wake up and see the wells abandon that are still functional.

[deleted]

Classic case of the fox watching the henhouse They're all morally bankrupt

This is so beyond fucked. Thanks republicans for “improving the economy” and destroying our land and water tables, you know, forever. So glad Texas oil tycoons made an extra dollar on our water table.

I did archaeology in the Allegheny National Forest for companies doing resource drilling years ago. We found so many rigs just left to rot out there. We reported them, and people just shrugged their shoulders like it wasn't their problem.

No one cared then, and they only care now because of how bad it's gotten. But none of the people that let it get to this point will be prosecuted.

Or require them to get permits.

For those wondering the escgp-3 permit is only required when you have 5 acres or more of disturbance for oil and gas exploration or gathering activities.

Going to leave a worse and more costly impact long-term on the state than coal production did.

And there won’t be any punishment for them either.

Simpsons strikes again

But people are wearing the wrong clothes!

The first year is the most productive - then it wanes and peters out.

Gotta protect all those career jobs.

I mean, if your from Louisiana or Texas, these are career jobs...

If it costs money to do the right thing, companies will only do it if it's explicitly required to do so. Even then, they won't do it unless the penalty is severe and they are likely to get caught. Oil and gas companies don't care about us or our land. We shouldn't treat them like they're doing us any favors when we hold the resources they want.

This exact episode popped into my head when Rachel was explaining conventional vs unconventional wells to me.

seeing all the Halliburton trucks in rural Western PA lately has been a great teachable moment for my newly politically aware 14 y/o son.

this March will be 20 years since these war profiteers got us involved in a pointless war in Iraq. now they are in my backyard extracting our resources and leaving another mess.