! release!of!4!to!6!barrels!of!synthetic!oil\based!muds!(drilling!fluids)!due!to!operator! negligence,274! • unsafe!venting!of!gas,275! • leaking!of!hazardous!materials!from!a!surface!pit,276! • failure!to!follow!proper!procedures!during!construction!of!well!pad!and!access!roads,! including!erosion\control!procedures,277! • failure!to!report!a!spill,278! • spillage!of!brine!that!evaded!containment!structures,!flowed!off!the!well!pad,!and! entered!surface!waters,279! • contamination!of!groundwater!resulting!in!a!groundwater!sample!with!elevated! concentrations!of!barium,!iron,!manganese,!chloride!and!bromide,280! • spillage!of!an!oil\based!emulsifier!resulting!from!a!puncture!from!a!forklift;!this!site!also! had!holes!in!the!secondary!containment!structure,281! • failure!to!report!defective,!insufficient,!or!improperly!cemented!casing!within!24!hours! or!to!submit!a!plan!to!correct!the!problem!within!30!days,282! • discharge!of!25!gallons!of!drilling!mud!into!a!landowner’s!field,283! • spillage!of!production!fluids!into!a!creek!and!wetlands,284! • spillage!of!20!gallons!of!flowback!fluids!due!to!a!disconnected!hose!as!the!fluids!were! being!transferred!into!a!truck!for!transport!to!a!disposal!site,285! • failure!to!plug!a!well!upon!abandonment.286! It!should!be!noted!that!most,!but!not!all,!of!the!incidents!summarized!here!received!a!formal! Notice!of!Violation!from!the!Department!of!Environmental!Protection,!particularly!in!cases! where!the!violation!was!immediately!remediated.! ! Stepping!back!from!individual!regulatory!violations,!there!is!significant!variance!among!states! around!what!types!of!violations!most!commonly!are!reported!in!state!records,!as!can!be! •
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!Ibid,!Well!permit!115\20802,!violation!#637616,!April!19,!2012.! !Ibid,!Well!permit!115\20873,!violation!#644586,!July!12,!2012.! 276 !Ibid,!Well!permit!117\21148,!violation!#642082,!June!11,!2012.! 277 !Ibid,!Well!permit!081\20877,!violation!#636054,!April!2,!2012.! 278 !Ibid,!Well!permit!105\21722,!violation!#636634,!April!9,!2012.! 279 !Ibid,!Well!permit!081\20763,!violation!#644956,!July!24,!2012.! 280 !Ibid,!Well!permit!015\20081,!violation!#640800,!June!4,!2012.! 281 !Ibid,!Well!permit!115\20805,!violation!#642641,!June!21,!2012.! 282 !Ibid,!Well!permit!031\25404,!violation!#638187,!April!19,!2012.! 283 !Ibid,!Well!permit!015\22058,!violation!#636663,!April!10,!2012.! 284 !Ibid,!Well!permit!115\20191,!violation!#642390,!June!19,!2012.! 285 !Ibid,!Well!permit!115\20568,!violation!#644426,!July!19,!2012.! 286 !Ibid,!Well!permit!047\24478,!violation!#637149,!April!9,!2012.! 275
Chapter!4!–!Enforcement!of!State!Regulations!
66!