Processing drilling permits takes priority over protecting taxpayers from liability, GAO report says

[turbinetree]

U.S. taxpayers are being left on the hook for the costs of cleaning up after oil and gas companies.

MARK HAND JUN 6, 2018, 1:04 PM

The federal government’s oversight of oil and gas wells located on federal lands remains in disarray. According to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. taxpayers are often left to pay for the restoration of abandoned oil and gas well sites because companies improperly shut down their operations or are unable to cover the restoration costs.

The lack of attention to liability for oil and gas wells can be partly attributed to Congress failing to allocate sufficient funds to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Department of the Interior agency that oversees oil and gas drilling on millions of acres of federal lands, according to the report.

But in its report, the GAO also noted the BLM’s highest priority is processing new oil and gas drilling permits as quickly as possible, not enforcing corporate cleanup of drill sites. Taxpayers are then often forced to foot the bill for cleanup, a predicament that could have been avoided if the BLM had weeded out the financially struggling companies that would not have the financial resources to repair the damage they caused to the environment.

“BLM prioritizes processing drilling permits over well and bond adequacy reviews in part because the agency is required by statute to process drilling permits within 30 days of receiving a complete application,” the GAO explained in the report, released Tuesday.

https://thinkprogress.org/gao-report-recommends-changes-to-blm-oversight-e97b6a0f9236/

[ProudLib72]

1. Do you remember the Gold King mine spill in Durango CO a few years ago?

I was there when it happened. The EPA was blamed for it because they were trying to inspect the shoddy safety barriers that had been erected when the whole thing collapsed on them.

Now I know this isn't the same as an oil or gas drilling site that has been recently abandoned, but it does go to show the lack of responsibility of owners. That mine, over 100 years old, was sold half a dozen times since it was abandoned, and no one ever took responsibility for making it safe from spilling. These companies come in, drill (or mine), and leave without mitigating the damage they have caused. When a disaster occurs years down the road, they will always cast the blame elsewhere.