States rarely punish companies for oil wastewater spills

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — In April 2013, a malfunctioning oil well in the countryside north of Oklahoma City caused storage tanks to overflow, sending 42,000 gallons of briny wastewater hurtling over a dike, across a wheat field and into a farm pond.

Environmental activists and groups representing landowners contend the lack of punishment helps explain why the industry hasn't done more to prevent spills, and shows regulators' deference to oil and gas producers.

Williams Production Co. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, had a series of wastewater releases from coal-bed methane gas production between 2006 and 2010 in Wyoming's Powder River Basin that eroded rangeland and polluted surface waters.

In the 2014 fiscal year, only about 3 percent of 62,385 oil and gas rule violations discovered during inspections, such as oil and wastewater spills and inadequate sign postings, were referred for enforcement action, according to one state report.

The state's Sunset Advisory Commission, a legislative oversight panel, has called for taking a harder line to provide more deterrence of spills and other oilfield violations.

Since early 2013, the agency has proposed $2,575,000 in fines but collected only $203,112.