Lack of Oil & Gas Industry Oversight by the State
Utah made it to the national news again, and not in a good way. UPHE is mentioned in a story by Bloomberg news about the scandalous lack of oversight of the oil and gas industry by the Utah state agency, DOGM, tasked with keeping an eye on their operations, limiting fugitive emissions, and cleaning up their messes.
Brian Moench, president and founder of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, an environmental group in Salt Lake City, said “it’s almost inconceivable” that the lack of fines was due to perfect drilling technique or other efforts by the oil and gas industry to reduce emissions.
This is emblematic of the far too cozy relationship that the oil and gas industry has enjoyed with the state, literally for decades.