Cambridge, OH November, 10 (The Oklahoma Post) –
The US Department of Justice has released updated information regarding the settlement agreement between Utica Resources Operating LLC (URO) and the Federal Government for pollution in Ohio. URO has agreed to a settlement of alleged Clean Air Act violations at URO’s oil and gas production sites in Ohio. The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division headed the investigation of the company’s horizontal shale plays in farm-rich eastern Ohio. The area has proven to be an expensive endeavor for oil and gas producers as the wells’ resources are depleted quickly and more financial investment is made into new waste disposal sites than into the local economy. Ohio has only 2,160 permitted Utica wells to go with just 40 permitted Marcellus wells.
See the entirety of the release below.
Utica Resource Operating Agrees to Pay $1 Million Penalty and Mitigate Past Excess Air Pollution at Oil and Gas Production Wells
Settlement Will Reduce Climate Harming Methane by 940 Tons and CO2 by 4,429 Tons
United States today announced that Utica Resource Operating LLC (URO) has agreed to a settlement resolving alleged Clean Air Act violations at URO’s oil and gas production well facilities in Ohio. The settlement addresses URO’s failure to capture and control air emissions from storage vessels and to comply with associated inspection, recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Under the terms of the settlement, URO will complete a $1.5 million suite of injunctive relief at 15 well pad facilities to come into compliance with the Clean Air Act and the facilities’ operating permits; implement mitigation measures at many of the wells owned by URO, and pay a penalty of $1 million. The injunctive relief includes a multi-step compliance program to review the current design of each storage vessel system and then make necessary design improvements to ensure that vapors will not be released to the environment during operations.
“This settlement not only requires URO to pay a significant civil penalty, it also requires pollution reductions to offset the effects of the company’s past violations,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “These mitigation measures will reduce the emission of harmful volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases into the environment.”
“Utica Resource Operating’s failure to control emissions from its facilities in Guernsey, Morgan and Washington Counties placed our fellow citizens in harm’s way,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “Today’s settlement, which includes a significant fine, will require URO to comply with the Clean Air Act, and further reinforce the Department of Justice’s commitment to take aggressive action to protect the citizens of this country. We will continue to hold entities who violate the nation’s environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act, accountable for their actions. My office is committed to keeping our citizens safe.”
“The uncontrolled air emissions from these well facilities were creating poor air quality for residents of Ohio,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s agreement not only requires the company to resolve their outstanding pollution violations, but also take measures to control their methane and carbon dioxide emissions, which are significant contributors to climate change.”
The settlement also requires URO to invest approximately $1.5 million in equipment upgrades and retrofits. These mitigation measures will further reduce pollution at URO well pads to offset past excess emissions from URO’s violations. In total, the improvements will result in estimated annual reductions of 307 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOC), 940 tons of methane and 4,429 tons of carbon dioxide. VOCs include a variety of chemicals that may cause adverse health effects, while methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.
The EPA found widespread problems with uncontrolled VOC emissions from oil and wastewater storage vessels during inspections of 11 URO well facilities in 2019. These emissions came from pressurized gases venting through imperfectly sealed access hatches on top of the storage vessels, pressure relief devices and combustors. After learning of other violations relating to inspections, recordkeeping and reporting, EPA issued a notice and finding of violation to URO on Aug. 14, 2020.
The settlement terms are included in a proposed consent decree that the Department of Justice filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. It is available on the Justice Department website at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
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End Press Release
View the original transcript on the Official Department of Justice Website
HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH DOJ
Criminal Enforcement
If you would like to file a complaint alleging a violation of the criminal laws discussed above, you may contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is responsible for investigating allegations of criminal deprivations of civil rights. You may also contact the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) in your district. The FBI and USAOs have offices in most major cities and have publicly-listed phone numbers.
You can find your local office here:
https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us
Civil Enforcement
If you would like to report a violation of the Police Misconduct Statute, Title VI, or the OJP Program Statute, contact the Justice Department at civilrights.justice.gov
(Writing by Robbie Robertson; Editing by Robbie Robertson)
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