Oil Regulators Found Hundreds of Wells Violating Oklahoma Rules. Then They Ignored Their Findings.
AI Summary
An Oklahoma Corporation Commission project, "Source of Truth," identified nearly 600 oil and gas wells operating illegally due to excessive wastewater injection pressures or volumes. The project, initiated five years ago to create a comprehensive database of over 11,000 wells, also revealed over 1,400 older wells operating without any injection limits. The "Source of Truth" project was initiated because the agency's databases were riddled with contradictory or missing information. Despite identifying these violations, state regulators allowed the wells to continue operating, missing an opportunity to enforce their own regulations and potentially prevent purges and groundwater pollution. The findings, obtained through public records requests, highlight a pattern of underregulation within the state's oil and gas industry.
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