Fed govt acknowledges gaps in oil well inspections

AZ Central: WASHINGTON — The federal agency tasked with managing oil and gas development on Wednesday acknowledged it needed to do more to improve oversight of drilling, pointing to a lack of funding as reasons it failed to inspect oil and gas wells it considers potentially high risks for water contamination.

Jeff Krauss, a spokesman with the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, noted that his agency has worked hard to keep up with the nation’s energy boom, which has included the increased use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a drilling technique that environmentalists fear could spread chemicals to water supplies.

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