Kansas regulators struggle with record-high 22K abandoned oil, gas wells

EUDORA — Judith Wells brought her car to a slow crawl on a gravel road in Douglas County.

She wasn’t marveling at the beauty of nature or the toil of modern farmers. Nor was she drawn to the sprinkling of lovely rural homesteads.

She was intent on consuming details of crude pooling at the base of a pump jack within shouting distance of Little Wakarusa Creek. Nearby, within the same field, a second jack was surrendering enough thick black oil to scar another slice of ground.

It is the kind of discovery fueling Wells’ mission to convince the oil and gas industry to adhere to state laws, regulations and rules when extracting or depositing energy-related materials in Kansas. It is a quest that put her in conflict with the Kansas Corporation Commission, which is responsible for oversight of the energy sector.

Read more: https://www.cjonline.com/news/20190622/kansas-regulators-struggle-with-record-high-22k-abandoned-oil-gas-wells
(Topeka Capital-Journal)