Two oil and gas companies settled lawsuits with the Environmental Protection Agency this week, agreeing to pay Utah over $1 million in civil penalties for alleged air quality violations in the Uinta Basin.
Through the settlements filed in U.S. District Court in Utah, the two companies — Canada-based Crescent Point Energy and Texas-based EP Energy — resolved allegations that they violated the federal Clean Air Act by not controlling the emission of volatile organic compounds from storage tanks at some of their facilities in northeastern Utah.
“These settlements are a victory for communities in the Uinta Basin and across the State of Utah,” said Larry Starfield, acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
David Gowland, director of environmental, social and governance for Crescent Point Energy, said in a statement that the company had agreed to its settlement with the EPA after a dispute “relating to differing interpretations of the Clear Air Act and the Utah Air Conservation Act.
“We subsequently sold our assets in 2019 and are no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the facility,” the statement continues. “Crescent Point is committed to ensuring compliance with any and all regulations and strives to meet or exceed legislative requirements as part of our commitment to environmental stewardship.”
Attempts to reach EP Energy for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.
The Ute Indian Tribe, which conducted onsite inspections at EP Energy facilities with the EPA, did not reply to an email requesting comment. Neither did the mayor’s office in Vernal, the largest city in the Uinta Basin.
According to the American Lung Association, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gases emitted into the air from products like paint, adhesives and pesticides, as well as processes like oil and gas extraction and processing, and some of them can cause cancer. Such pollutants can irritate the lungs as well as make people more susceptible to respiratory diseases like pneumonia and bronchitis, an EPA news release states.
According to the settlement, Crescent Point Energy will be required to pay a civil penalty of $3 million, which will be split evenly between the U.S. and Utah. EP Energy will be required to pay a civil penalty of $700,000, which also will be split between the U.S. and the state.
EP Energy plans to deposit $280,000 of the $350,000 owed to Utah, with interest, into the state’s Environmental Mitigation and Response Fund for air quality-related projects. Crescent Point also will be depositing $1.2 million of Utah’s share into the same fund.
The Uinta Basin “does not meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards established under the Clean Air Act for ground-level ozone,” the EPA stated in its release. The emission reductions implemented in accordance with the two settlements are expected to help with that.
EP Energy’s consent decree states the company will make improvements at 246 oil and gas facilities and spend $1.2 million to install pollution controls at 36 other facilities, reducing VOC emissions by 370 tons annually.
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