Spyglass gas well permits revoked

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - State regulators have revoked a company’s permits for 40 natural gas wells near Buffalo.

The wells have been idle for seven years as the company, Spyglass Cedar Creek, has struggled financially. The Rapid City Journal says the state Board of Minerals and Environment also directed the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to calculate the maximum civil penalty that may be issued, which could reach millions of dollars.

The board gave Spyglass until Jan. 15 to post a $200,000 bond to avoid the permit revocations, a deadline the company missed. The DENR’s Mike Lees says that trying to recover civil penalties from Spyglass might be like “squeezing blood from a turnip.”

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com