The U.S. government has failed to inspect thousands of oil and gas wells it considers high risks for water contamination and other environmental damage, congressional investigators have found.

A report, obtained by The Associated Press before its public release, by the Government Accountability Office highlights substantial gaps in oversight by the agency that manages oil and gas development on federal and Native American lands. Investigators said weak control by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resulted from policies based on outdated science and inadequate monitoring data.

"This report reaffirms our concern that the government needs to pay attention to the environment and protect public health and drinking sources from the risks of oil and gas development," said Amy Mall of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The congressional study said the BLM had failed to conduct inspections on more than 2,100 of the 3,702 wells that it had specified as "high priority" and drilled from 2009 through 2012. The agency considers a well "high priority" based on a greater need to protect against possible water contamination and other environmental safety issues.

The agency had yet to indicate whether another 1,784 wells were high priority or not.

The report said BLM has not reviewed or updated many of its oil and gas rules to reflect technological advances, as required by a 2011 executive order. They include guidance on spacing of wells, which the report said could help maximize oil and gas production.

The bureau acknowledged it had not updated its guidance on oil and gas drainage since 1999 or its guidance on mineral trespass — interference of drilling or mining activity — since 2003. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, largely came to prominence after the latest government regulations and comes with a different set of risks than conventional drilling.

The findings from the Government Accountability Office come amid an energy boom in the country and the increasing use of fracking. That process involves pumping huge volumes of water, sand and chemicals underground to split open rocks to allow oil and gas to flow. It has produced major economic benefits, but also raised fears that the chemicals could spread to water supplies.

President Barack Obama has praised increased U.S. oil and gas production for creating jobs and decreasing reliance on foreign oil, but at the same time, he's also committed to speed the country’s transition to clean energy.

To that effect, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz will be attending the 5th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in South Korea Monday. The CEM is an annual high-level meeting of ministers and other stakeholders from over 20 countries meant to accelerate the world’s switch to clean energy technologies.

In the coming months, the Obama administration is also expected to issue rules on fracking and methane gas emissions. Environmental groups say the administration needs to do more to guard against environmental damage.

But to industry groups opposed to government regulation of the oil and gas industry, the Bureau of Land Management has become a symbol of federal overreach and even its limited oversight is unwelcome.

The report makes clear in many instances that the BLM's failure to inspect high-priority oil and gas wells is due to limited money and staff. BLM officials said they were in the process of updating several of its policies later this year.

In response to the report, Tommy Beaudreau, a principal deputy assistant interior secretary, wrote that he generally agreed with the recommendations for improved state coordination and updated regulations.

Investigators reviewed 14 states in full or part: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The audit also said the BLM did not coordinate effectively with state regulators in New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah. North Dakota, second only to Texas in terms of oil and gas production, has seen energy and economic booms in recent years thanks in part to fracking.

Congressional investigators found the BLM did not monitor inspection activities at its state and field offices and thus could not provide "reasonable assurance" that those offices were completing the required inspections.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, an Associated Press investigation found the state received 398 complaints in 2013 alleging that oil or natural gas drilling polluted or otherwise affected private water wells. More than 100 cases of pollution were confirmed over the past five years.

 Jihadin wrote:
Jebus. BLM need a revamp. Is Ried hammering his appointee to get his crap together?

 LordofHats wrote:
Exactly why it's BLM's task also kind of wonks me. I would think this would better fall under the EPA (but then they have an even worse record of enforcing regulations).

 d-usa wrote:
It makes sense that the BLM would be approved with issuing permits for drilling on federal lands. Management of federal lands, and the resources on it, is their responsibility.

But It seems like inspection of these operations should be undertaken by an agency that is more in touch with this, maybe EPA or the Department of Energy. Who inspect off-shore wells? (not that they are the greatest example there...)

 Jihadin wrote:
Does a Park Ranger even know what to look for inspecting oil heads or monitoring those sites.

 Easy E wrote:
Regulation is only as good as the enforcement. I'm finding that enforcement in most areas is really, really bad.

However, we should just cut the funding and then privatize the inspections. Amirite guys!