EPA settles pair of pollution cases in Utah's Uinta Basin

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced settlements with Canadian-based Crescent Point Energy U.S. Corp. and Houston, Texas-based EP Energy Co. resolving alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act at oil and gas production facilities in Utah’s Uinta Basin.

The Crescent Point settlement requires the company to pay a civil penalty of $3 million for violations of requirements to control volatile organic compound emissions from storage tanks at 30 previously owned oil and gas production facilities. The EP Energy settlement resolves similar violations across 246 production facilities and requires the company to pay a civil penalty of $700,000, take extensive measures to ensure future compliance and implement a $1.2 million mitigation project to install pollution controls at facilities.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Both settlements were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The state of Utah was a co-plaintiff in both actions.

“These settlements reflect our commitment to protecting Utah’s air quality and the health and well-being of communities across the Uinta Basin, an area that does not meet federal clean air standards,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker.  “These actions will secure compliance at hundreds of tank facilities, reduce hundreds of tons of ozone-forming pollutants every year, and fund significant clean air projects across the state. EPA will continue to work with the state of Utah and the Ute Indian Tribe to ensure oil and gas production sources are operating within the law to improve air quality and community health.”

The $3 million Crescent Point civil penalty will be split evenly between the United States and the state of Utah. Crescent Point has agreed to deposit $1.2 million of the $1.5 million civil penalty owed to Utah into the state’s Environmental Mitigation and Response Fund for air quality-related projects across the state. The $700,000 EP Energy civil penalty will also be split evenly between the United States and the state of Utah, with $280,000 of the $350,000 owed to Utah, with interest, going into the Environmental Mitigation and Response Fund.{/mprestriction}