Skinner said he knew of at least four other reports of incidents related to flooding, including one in which the operator “took all the proper steps” to mitigate the release. He said the Shanks incident was the only one so far being reported to federal regulators.

A message left at the phone number for Shanks Drilling and Production Co. was not returned Thursday, and calls Friday indicated the phone number was disconnected.

“A release isn’t necessarily a violation,” Skinner said, adding there must be compounding factors to begin contempt proceedings. “The issue becomes ‘Are you cleaning it up right? Did you report it right?’ ”

He said it’s always the operator’s responsibility to contain a release and noted an incident in Wagoner County in which the operator, Endeavor Energy, immediately brought in containment booms and an environmental firm.

“They moved pretty fast on it, and they reported it to the NRC and took all the proper steps,” Skinner said. “We had that ... phoned into DEQ May 28, and it was handled by Friday last week.”

As for the release spurring the contempt proceedings, regulators haven’t been able to evaluate the situation firsthand.