The Justice Department (DOJ) could step up its limited criminal enforcement efforts against unconventional oil and gas extraction — such as high-volume hydraulic fracturing — as the emerging industry sector could be ripe for violations given the remote location of some extraction sites and little federal focus on the sector, a top DOJ official says. However, one industry attorney cautions that any effort to ramp up enforcement against the sector for alleged violations — such as "midnight dumping" of oil and gas wastewater to surface waters without a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit — faces potentially significant obstacles, such as statutory exemptions covering the drilling sector.
展开▼
