DEP Puts More Drilling Information Online

The Department of Environmental Protection has improved the drilling information available on its website. As the Scranton Times-Tribune reports, users can now view individual inspection reports online. That’s something Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission recommended.

At the heart of the new site are several data tools that will be updated automatically and nearly immediately rather than manually by a DEP staff member every month or so. For the first time, visitors to the new compliance database will find details for every inspection, not just those that uncover a violation at a well site.
The compliance database, which takes the place of what DEP spokesman Kevin Sunday called a “cumbersome” but “workable Marcellus Shale Excel spreadsheet,” also presents years of enforcement information in one place.
“You can check out an operator and get a look at how they’ve performed over the last few years, how much they’ve paid in penalties, what the violations were,” he said. “This is one standard format that definitely improves our transparency and our communication.”

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