A recent report released by the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) says federal officials have not adequately overseen
hundreds of thousands of wells used to inject toxic oil and gas drilling waste
deep underground.
The report cites inconsistency in handling safety inspections,
poor record keeping and failure to adjust guidelines to adapt to new risks
brought on by domestic drilling, and that injection wells are causing
earthquakes, per reports from Ohio to Oklahoma and Texas. There are also
concerns of potential water contamination as a result of the injection wells.
Currently, oversight of injection wells is delegated by EPA to
state agencies, but the GAO report says that EPA is inconsistent in its inspection of the state programs to ensure
that regulators follow the Safe Drinking Water Act and EPA guidelines. Since
the requirements are only at the state level and not federal, it is difficult
for EPA to take legal action.
