SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A legislative audit says Utah’s oil and gas division has not carried out state-mandated oversight allowing more than 100 noncompliance cases to go unresolved and lack of environmental contamination cleanup at waste disposal sites.
The audit released Tuesday says the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining failed to prioritize inspections or keep records according to agency policy.
Officials say the division has also left taxpayers on the hook for about $1 million in reclamation costs for abandoned wells.
Officials say the division falls under the Department of Natural Resources and is tasked with maintaining regulatory oversight of 193 oil and gas operators at over 16,000 wells and 29 waste disposal facilities.
Division executives say changes are already underway including reducing the unresolved cases backlog from 105 to 33 cases.
