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A scathing audit has revealed that Utah's oil and gas regulators have failed to enforce environmental and safety rules for decades, allowing spills to go unremediated, putting public health at risk and leaving taxpayers on the hook for more than $1 million in cleanup costs. Notably, though regulators identified many instances in which standards were violated, they could not identify a single fine ever issued against an oil and gas operator in the last 24 years.
While state inspectors issued numerous notices of violation, or "NOVs," requiring oil and gas operators to correct environmental and safety violations within 30 days, the average time for actually correcting those violations averaged nearly three years. The audit noted, "Some industry operators are aware of the lack of consequence associated with NOVs and have used negligence to their advantage. Receiving an NOV, or several NOVs, with no consequences may become a competitive advantage for noncompliant operators who cut corners."
In one instance, regulators issued a notice requiring a drilling wastewater facility to replace the liner on a pond, or reclaim it altogether, within 30 days. Regulators never followed up, and three years later the wastewater pond leaked into local water sources. Such a lack of enforcement is a major problem in a state with more than 16,000 active oil and gas wells, and particularly notable given Utah's push to transfer national public lands into state management.
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No one would accuse Idaho of being far-left environmentalists, but earlier this year that state’s largest utility made a bold announcement: they’re committing to move to 100% clean energy by 2045.”
