(AGENPARL) – lun 30 settembre 2024 Issued: Sep 30, 2024 (5:42pm EDT)
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Ovintiv USA to pay $5.5M penalty and upgrade oil and gas facilities in Utah to
resolve Clean Air Act violations
Compliance measures address violations at 22 facilities in Utah including on
Uintah and Ouray Reservation state lands within Uinta Basin
WASHINGTON (Sept. 30, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Justice 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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. Greenhouse gases, including
methane, were also released in large quantities, contributing to climate
change.
“This settlement reduces pollutants that contribute to ground-level ozone in
the Uintah and Ouray Reservation communities and beyond that are already
overburdened by health impacts from ozone,” said EPA Regional Administrator
KC Becker. “We are proud to bring a strong enforcement presence to areas
that are disproportionately impacted by air pollution released by the oil and
gas industry.”
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 tons of VOC emissions
annually. It will also eliminate methane emissions equivalent to a reduction
of over 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, a reduction similar
to taking nearly 13,000 gas-powered cars off the road each year.
“This case is a win for the environment and for consumers,” said Todd Kim,
Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and
Natural Resources Division. “The work required under the consent decree will
significantly reduce the amount of gas Ovintiv facilities vent into the
atmosphere and return some of that gas to the sales pipeline where it can be
sent to productive use.”
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 prioritizes
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. A copy of the complaint and the proposed consent decree are
available on the Justice Department’s Propose Consent Decree webpage.
More information on the settlement agreement is available in the agency’s
Ovintiv USA Inc. 2024 Clean Air Act Stationary Source Case Summary.
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