AP report indicates high-risk oil & gas wells not prioritized

An Associated Press review released last year indicates that 4 in 10 new oil and gas wells near fragile watersheds and national forests go uninspected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Data obtained by the Associated Press in June 2014, reveals that the BLM has been overwhelmed by a surge in a new drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”  The fracking technique has resulted in the government agency to not adequately inspect some of the country’s highest priority oil and gas wells.

The BLM is responsible for maintaining 100,000 oil and gas wells on public lands.  Of these wells, 3,486 are considered high priority wells.  During fiscal years 2009 to 2012, 1,400 of those high priority wells were not federally inspected.  In Wyoming, 632 wells went uninspected.  50% of high priority wells in South Dakota and 1 in 6 high priority wells in Pennsylvania went uninspected.
For more information about the Bureau of Land Management visit: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/oilandgas/Hydraulic_Fracturing.html

Source:
Yen, Hope. “US fails to inspect many new higher-risk oil, gas well.” Associated Press. June 17, 2014.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recovery Month supports addiction treatment programs and services

F or twenty-three years Americans have celebrated the month of September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.   The purpose of Recovery month is to educate Americans about mental health services and addiction treatment programs that can help people struggling with substance abuse.   Recovery month also raises awareness about specific challenges that people in recovery face.   Although drug and alcohol addictions are complex problems with the correct treatment and support people who struggle with these addictions can recover. In a Presidential Proclamation On August 31, 2012, President Barack Obama declared September 2012 as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.   In his proclamation Obama said: “Over the past 3 years, we have worked to strengthen substance abuse prevention and treatment programs, and to support Americans in recovery… Drug and alcohol abuse continue to take a tragic toll on millions of lives across our country.   Yet, while more remai
Read more

The Life and Art of Allan Rohan Crite

Image
The Boston Public Library was one of three locations in the city of Boston to display the art work of longtime Bostonian and artist Allan Rohan Crite. Beginning in the fall of 2007 until February 3, 2008, the BPL, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists exhibited collected works of art from Crite’s storied career in The Life and Art of Allan Rohan Crite: 1910-2007 . Funded in part by the Boston Public Library Foundation, the exhibit offered onlookers a view into Crite’s lengthy artistic career. When I visited the exhibit on January 19, 2008, over fifty collages, drawings, paintings, and sketches adorned the Wiggins Gallery in the McKim Building of The Boston Public Library. Crite was born on March 20, 1910, in Plainfield, New Jersey. In that same year, his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Crite would later make Boston his home as an adult. Over the course of his distinguished career he promoted visual art as a lecturer, p
Read more

Political legislation brings attention to US Dental Care Crisis

A ccording to a report created by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) there is a national crisis in American dental care.   On June 7, 2012 Cummings and Sanders – the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, introduced legislation to address the inefficiencies in the American dental care system.   Approximately 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance.   ¼ of American adults 65 and older have lost all of their teeth.   More than 75% of American adults over 30 have gum disease.   Additionally, about 17 million low-income children do not go to the dentist every year. On June 26, 2012, PBS aired a documentary about the U.S. dental care system on the investigative news program FRONTLINE .   The 50 minute documentary, Dollars and Dentists , analyzes current economic trends and patient access in the dental care industry.   The documentary is a joint investigative piece by FRONTLINE and the Center fo
Read more