The so-called reserve pits are used during oil and gas drilling operations. Once a well is completed, companies are required to clean up the pit, and it must be covered with netting if it’s open for more than 90 days. None of the pits referenced in the charges were netted, but it’s unclear how many of them were open beyond three months, documents show.
The increasing number of dead birds has state officials debating whether to ban waste oil pits and require companies to recycle liquid drilling waste.
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
North Dakota’s environmental laws seem incredibly lax compared to what I’m used to in California…with the number of wells being put in it seems like the oil companies really dont have to jump through many hoops to do what they want. It is a bad situation out there, and I dont think much is going to be done about it until people’s drinking water gets contaminated or some of the local flora and fauna gets on the endangered species list.