Colorado’s oil and gas regulator is investigating two consulting firms over what it calls falsified laboratory and field data submitted on behalf of three of the biggest oil producers in the state.
The allegations raise questions about how much both state and federal regulators rely on the energy industry to self-report its own pollution and emissions data.
Julie Murphy, director of the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, said at a special meeting last week that falsified data appeared on forms tied to the remediation of 350 oil and gas sites in Weld County, in the heart of the Denver-Julesburg Basin. She said the alleged changes affected issues ranging from work dates to lowering the amount of benzene, arsenic and other toxic chemicals found in soil samples.
The potentially falsified data was first flagged to the regulator in July, Murphy said, and the agency realized the scope of the alleged issues in early October. The 350 sites in question included locations of spills, well closures and well-plugging jobs.
