Texas Oil Regulators Fired for Trying to Actually Regulate

Texas Oil Regulators Fired for Trying to Actually Regulate
Saturday, 13 December 2014 12:20
By Kevin Mathews, Care2 | News Analysis

What happens to energy regulators that dare to do their jobs and try to actually regulate energy companies? They get fired.

That's the news according to a pair of Texas inspectors that monitored oil and gas operations in the state. Though each man worked separately, counties apart, their stories of being abruptly fired for following their job descriptions are troubling to say the least. Here are the stories that InsideClimate News turned up.

Fred Wright, a well inspector, was sacked 17 months ago. Multiple promotions and raises over his years as an employee indicated a job well done, as did his regularly solid performance reviews. The only slightly negative comments he received on these reviews seemed to reflect more poorly on the regulatory industry. Wright was cited twice for not understanding that there should be "exceptions" to the rules he was set to enforce. He also was formally chided for not having better relationships with the gas companies he was evaluating, as if being chummy would improve his job performance.

In a wrongful termination lawsuit, Wright alleges he was directed by superiors to approve of unsafe wells that weren't up to regulation with the hope and understanding that the companies would fix the faulty wells down the road. Wright didn't feel right signing off on this sort of thing, and as a result multiple companies filed complaints that Wright was difficult to handle. In other words, "He's actually trying to regulate us!"

More:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/27984-texas-oil-regulators-fired-for-trying-to-actually-regulate