PA DEP Reviews Its Shale Inspections
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
17 November 2011
By Don Hopey
State inspectors found 633 violations at Marcellus Shale drilling
sites during the first five months of this year, and were almost
three times more likely to find violations at drill sites in north
central Pennsylvania than in the southwest, according to a
Department of Environmental Protection report released Tuesday.
Improper storage, transportation, processing and disposal of
Marcellus Shale drilling waste, along with poor erosion and
sediment controls, were the leading categories, accounting for 162
of the violations. Only about 8 percent of inspections found
violations, but that percentage varied significantly from region
to region within the state.
The DEP said in a release that its goal in reviewing the
inspection data was to improve inspection, enforcement and
compliance consistency statewide.
"Our field staff does great work, but the review confirmed that
there were inconsistencies among our regions in how DEP applied
regulations and enforcement, and with how the violations were
reported," said Michael Krancer, DEP secretary.
As a result of the review, the DEP said its Office of Oil and Gas
Management is using a more detailed electronic inspection form in
all three regions of the state where Marcellus Shale drilling is
taking place and is developing additional training programs for
inspectors.
The DEP report said its water quality specialists performed 4,157
inspections of Marcellus Shale gas wells from Jan. 18 to June 24,
the first five months of the Corbett administration, and found 633
violations. But the department did not respond to requests to
provide data to show whether the number or rate of violations has
increased or declined compared to previous years.
According to the report, 269, or 9.86 percent, of the 2,727
inspections done in the north central region, which includes 45
counties in the eastern half of the state, found one or more
violations. But in the 10-county southwest region, 38 of 1,101
inspections found violations, a rate of 3.45 percent. In the
northwest, a 12-county region, 17 of 329 inspections resulted in
violation findings, a 5.1 percent rate.
Only 29.5 percent of the violations were cleared or moved to an
escalated enforcement action within a 14-day departmental deadline
for such action.
The report also found that 64 percent of inspection reports were
entered into the state's electronic database within seven days as
required by state policy, and 64.5 percent of the 189 "notices of
violations" met the 180-day deadline for closure, which is set to
ensure that enforcement actions are taken within a reasonable time
frame.
The DEP said it plans to increase inspection staff in each of its
oil and gas management offices and provide industry with more
compliance assistance.
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.