Report Claims Little Oversight of Workplace Safety in State's Oil Industry

Thursday, September 29, 2016 | 0

Oil and gas industry regulators have no authority to punish companies for workplace safety violations and they don’t share accident reports for safety officials, according to a report by the Denver Post.

State law explicitly prohibits the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from imposing workplace safety laws. Instead, that is handled by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

According to the Post, federal data shows 51 deaths in the state’s oil and gas industry between 2003 and 2014. But just 18 of those were reported to the state’s oil and gas commission.

Even when injuries or fatalities are reported, the Post reports that the commission’s role is to focus on environmental safety hazards, not workplace safety. 

Unlike Colorado, states including Wyoming and West Virginia have taken steps to supplement federal oversight of the oil and gas industry.

Wyoming in 2011 created a position for a state occupational epidemiologist to investigate deaths in the oil and gas industry. West Virginia has a special commission that does the same thing.