(United States) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice have announced a more than $16 million settlement with Ovintiv USA Inc. resolving Clean Air Act violations at the company’s oil and gas production facilities on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah and Utah state lands.
The settlement requires Ovintiv to pay the United States and the state of Utah a civil penalty of $5.5 million.
It also requires Ovintiv to implement extensive compliance measures to achieve major reductions in pollutants emitted from 139 of its facilities across the state.
The settlement resolves a civil suit, filed jointly by the United States and the state of Utah, alleging that Ovintiv failed to comply with federal and state requirements to capture and control air emissions and comply with inspection, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements from 22 of its oil and gas production facilities in the Uinta Basin.
These violations resulted in illegal emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which contribute to asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses. Additionally, greenhouse gases, including methane, were released in large quantities, contributing to climate change.
Along with the civil penalty, the settlement requires Ovintiv to take corrective action and mitigation projects estimated to cost over $10 million at 139 of its facilities that will eliminate over 2,000 tonnes of VOC emissions annually. It will also eliminate methane emissions equivalent to a reduction of over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, a reduction similar to taking nearly 13,000 gas powered cars off the road each year.
The settlement requires Ovintiv to invest in extensive compliance measures for the proper design of Ovintiv’s oil and gas facilities to capture all VOC emissions and send the emissions to an appropriate control device. Compliance measures also include periodic infrared camera inspections, enhanced maintenance requirements, and installation of storage tank pressure monitors at many facilities.
The settlement is part of EPA’s National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative, Mitigating Climate Change. This initiative focuses, in part, on reducing methane emissions from oil and gas and landfill sources. Like all of EPA’s national enforcement initiatives, this initiative prioritises communities already overburdened by pollution and other potential environmental justice concerns.
The complaint and proposed consent decree were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period.