Regulations work
In reading the article, “DEP: Pa. produced record amount of natural gas in 2015,” in the Aug. 2 edition of the Observer-Reporter, I was struck by the difference in the number of violations between conventional and unconventional wells.
Conventional wells only need to report their production data and well integrity annually, while unconventional wells must report monthly. Interestingly, violations for noncompliance with reporting are 40 times higher for conventional operations as for unconventional – 3,363 versus 83. Furthermore, conventional wells, which are also less stringently regulated than unconventional wells, had more than twice as many compliance violations in 2015 as unconventional wells. It appears as though regular and consistent reporting required by regulation is working for the parts of the unconventional industry that are currently regulated, and that additional safeguards could likely yield similar results.
We have heard from Gov. Tom Wolf and the Department of Environmental Protection about new rules demanding better control of methane and toxins leaked into our air during fracking and related operations, but progress appears to have greatly stalled since January. As Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas, we must demand that the administration make progress. Without rules, we can only expect careless conduct that could lead to more pollution.
Rena Moore
Canonsburg