Natural gas companies drilling in Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale region accumulated 3,355 violations in the four years from 2008 through 2011, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonprofit organization, PennEnvironment.
More than 70 percent of the violations likely posed a direct threat to the environment, as opposed to violations that involved filing deadlines or paperwork, for instance, the organization said.
It identified the operators with the most violations as Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. (412); Chesapeake Appalachia LLC (393) and Chief Oil and Gas, LLC (313).
