Federal gas and oil inspection and enforcement programs still lag the pace of energy development, according to a report released by the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC).

WORC, which claims the money spent on inspections and the number of inspections conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) were too low in 1999, acknowledged some improvement in BLM inspection and enforcement programs since then — but said the programs “have barely kept up with oil and gas permitting and drilling.”

According to the report, six BLM field offices in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming conducted just 15% of required environmental inspections of wells near areas of special environmental concern or with a history of noncompliance in 2007.

“They’re no longer falling behind, but they haven’t begun to close the gap,” said Peggy Utesch, chair of WORC’s oil and gas team. “BLM needs more resources to ensure that federal oil and gas resources are developed in an environmentally responsible manner that protects the interests of landowners, communities and taxpayers.”

WORC called on congress to fully fund the BLM’s inspection and enforcement program and said BLM should strengthen its national inspection and enforcement strategy.

“We’re not sure where they got their numbers,” said Mary Apple, a BLM spokesman from the bureau’s Billings, MT, field office. “We’re glad that they point out improvements we’ve made, but we don’t really have any other response at this point.”

WORC is a regional network of grassroots community organizations with members in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming.

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