The U.S. faces a crisis in the enforcement of rules governing the oil and gas industry. The shale gas and shale oil boom has brought an expansion of oil and gas activity unseen in many parts the country since the 19thcentury. Unfortunately, as this report shows, states are dangerously unprepared to oversee current levels of extraction, let alone increased drilling activity from the shale boom.

Battles over rulemakings can be intense – stakeholders spend considerable effort to influence the process whenever regulations are created or revised. They do so because they believe that rules matter – that after the rules are created, the government will enforce them. This report reveals, in the case of state oil and gas rules, that is simply not true.

Based on their own data, every state we studied fails to adequately enforce regulations on the books.

CLICK HERE to download the Executive Summary of this report.

CLICK HERE to download the full report (125 pages).

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Office of Oil and Gas Management is responsible for overseeing “the safe exploration, development, and recovery of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas reservoirs in a manner that will protect the Commonwealth’s natural resources and the environment.”

DEP recently quadrupled the size of its enforcement staff to 130 employees, 65 of whom are inspectors. In 2012, the number of inspectors was reported to be 83. While these increases are necessary, they are not sufficient in light of the rapid increase in wells and related facilities. Even with increased staff, DEP does not adequately enforce existing oil and gas regulations:
•    Tens of thousands of active wells are not inspected every year.
•    The number of oil and gas violations continues to in-crease, and some operators have a chronic problem with non-compliance.
•    Enforcement actions are insufficient to deter violators—violators are now more likely than ever to go unpunished.

CLICK HERE to download the report on PA.