State inspectors mark dozens of oil drilling for safety violations, leaks and task-over -citizenaccess.org

Lecks.

Task.

Incorrect fire fighting walls.

These are just a few of the complaints about registered oil sources that have been submitted to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in the past three years.

About 14,000 wells work in Illinois. In Illinois, around 30,000 inspections of oil drilling and 3,000 enforcement measures will take place every year, as state records prove. State inspectors for the Department of Natural Resources carry out these oil drill inspections, which are regulated according to state laws.

Documents received by the Law on Freedom of Information show that from January 1, 2022 to April 10, 2025, at least 150 complaints regarding problems such as potential dangers, environmental hazards or orphaned fountain from January 1, 2022 to April 10, 2025 were submitted.

Common forms of oil-well complaints include symptoms of non-compliance, well-being and environmental safety. All three complaint forms work to ensure that oil and gas activities are carried out responsibly and safely.

A little more than half of the 142 complaints submitted were about fountain examination. In the past 3 years, at least 50 complaints have been submitted by state inspectors for non -compliance, which made almost 40%. Less than 10% of the symptoms were with the environmental protection regulations.

Overall, inspectors such as contaminated soil reported, not productive wells and damaged river lines.

In Illinois, which has a small part of the overall fountain in the USA, has still produced 3.75 billion barrels of oil since the 1900s. In 2023, the USA had 918,068 oil producing fountains across the country.

All oil drilling companies in Illinois have to be approved by the state to drill.

In order to protect the environment and drinking water from contamination, for example, class II injection holes must be properly created and installed. These types of wells are used to place extracted salt water back under the surface of the earth, and if not properly managed, these fountains can cause leaks, blowouts and dolines.

The oil drilling is regulated in public land as part of the Illinois Oil and Gas Act from 1970 and the 1991 oil and gas fountain.

The 1970 law works to preserve oil and gas resources by protecting the rights of individuals to common oil resources, prescribing proper distance and regulating holes and construction work. The 1991 law describes the procedures for the leasing states of oil and gas production.

Oil drilling can represent environmental risks, health risks

In the past 20 years, Illinois has produced over 7 million barrels of oil every year. A unique barrel oil corresponds to 42 gallons. Economically, the oil drilling in Illinois created 4,000 direct jobs and generated direct economic output of 3 billion US dollars each year, according to state records.

But oil drilling historically contributed to problems such as pollution, climate change and destruction of the habitat.

In addition to this problem, Illinois has at least 4,000 documented orphaned oil and gas wells. This fountain threatens the environment because of its ability to contaminate groundwater and to contaminate methane, a strong greenhouse gas.

The federal program for orphaned Well program offers a financing of 4.7 billion US dollars to remedy abandoned fountain on state.

Together with other states, Illinois received 25 million US dollars from the former administration of former President Joe Biden to close oil and gas wells.

The environment is not the only source of life affected by oil drilling.

A study published in GeoHealth, a program that is devoted to the further development of the earth and space science, showed that the effects of onshore oil bores have led to the death of over 700 people and have accumulated health damage over $ 7 billion annually.

Companies such as Exxonmobil and Marathon Petroleum play an important role in the oil production of Illinois.