Pa. Auditor Cites Flaws In Gas Drilling Regulation

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Strained by the rapid expansion of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania and limited resources, environmental regulators have failed to adequately monitor well safety or to provide clear and timely information to citizens, the state's elected auditor said Tuesday. Eugene DePasquale released a performance audit report that says the Department of Environmental Protection lacks a clear policy on the timeliness and frequency of inspections of the thousands of wells and does not routinely verify information the industry provides about waste disposal. The more than 150-page report, which covers a four-year period ending in 2012, says the DEP does a poor job of communicating with citizens who file complaints about drilling-related water problems and lacks a reliable system for tracking complaints. It also criticizes the DEP for its lack of transparency in making information about individual wells easily accessible. Christopher Abruzzo, Corbett's DEP secretary, defended the department's performance in a written response that was included in DePasquale's report. A 2012 law that represented the first overhaul of Pennsylvania's oil and gas laws in more than three decades took effect near the end of the audit period and made significant changes in the department's regulatory authority over the natural gas industry, Abruzzo said. "To a great extent, the audit report reflects how the Oil and Gas Program formerly operated, not how the program currently functions," he said.