Pa. DEP ads disclaimer to gas drilling data

Pa. DEP ads disclaimer to gas drilling data by Associated Press, November 13, 2012, Wall Street Journal
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has added a disclaimer to its Marcellus Shale natural gas reporting webpage. The agency now tells visitors to the website that it can’t guarantee the “accuracy, completeness or timeliness” of production data that companies submit. The change came after several experts in the oil and gas industry criticized DEP in August for not clearly telling the public that one of the state’s largest natural gas producers submitted unusable data for a biannual report. As a result, the statewide production totals at first appeared to be far lower than they actually were. A DEP spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the change. In most states companies report production every month, but Pennsylvania law only requires biannual reporting.