The term “responsible energy development” is synonymous with protecting the environment. But what happens when state regulators enforce fines that operators never pay because they’ve become insolvent?

There’s no responsibility. The state is left holding the bag – on the hook for costs to properly plug abandoned wells and reclaim the sites. The bonds that operators pay to secure drilling permits rarely cover the costs of remediation.

For example, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission recently fined now-defunct PetroHunter Operating $313,000 for abandoning its responsibilities for wells and surface facilities in Rio Blanco County. Commission staff don’t expect the fines to be paid. The $60,000 in financial bonding the company had posted will only cover a fraction of cleanup costs.

“Someone’s just going to pick up and leave and here we are stuck with the bill and the mess and the effort, so I wish there was a way that we could keep this from happening in the future,” Commissioner James Hawkins said.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.