Petroleum company ordered to pay $5.5 million for violations of Clean Air Act
Sep 30, 2024, 6:00 PM
An Ovintiv facility in the Uintah Basin. The petroleum company has entered a settlement requiring it to pay a multimillion dollar fee and take corrective action to reduce dangerous emissions. (Ovintiv)
(Ovintiv)
WASHINGTON D.C. — In a major environmental case, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday a settlement with Ovintiv USA Inc., a major petroleum company, for violations of the Clean Air Act. The total settlement comes out to more than $16 million, with $5.5 million as a civil penalty paid out to the United States and the state of Utah.
Consistent regulation violation
The settlement resolves violations that occurred at 22 facilities across the Uintah Basin, including on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.
The United States and the state of Utah had jointly filed this civil lawsuit against Ovintiv for failing to comply with legal requirements connected to air emissions. The lawsuit states that Ovintiv violated federal and state requirements to capture and control of air emissions as well as requirements to comply with inspection, monitoring and recordkeeping.
Ovintiv’s failure to comply led to illegal emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), which aggravate respiratory issues, the lawsuit says. People with asthma are especially affected by VOCs.
The settlement
In addition to the civil penalty, the settlement requires Ovintiv to take corrective action at over 139 of its facilities. According to the announcement by the DOJ, these corrective actions will “eliminate over 2,000 tons of VOC emissions annually.”
The required changes will also eliminate large amounts of methane emissions. The DOJ estimates the methane reduction would have a similar impact to removing 13,000 gasoline cars from the road.
The total price tag for these required projects comes out to more than $10 million.
Looking at a broader picture
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division called this case “a win for the environment and for consumers.”
“The work required under the consent decree will significantly reduce the amount of gas Ovintiv facilities vent into the atmosphere,” Kim said. “And return some of that gas to the sales pipeline where it can be sent to productive use.”
This settlement is part of an initiative by the EPA to mitigate climate change through enforcing compliance to emission regulations.
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