The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced three separate settlements with natural gas processors that will require the companies to pay a combined $9.25 million in civil penalties and make improvements at 25 gas processing plants and 91 compressor stations.
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These settlements will reduce harmful air pollution and improve air quality in 12 states, including in communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and in Indian Country.
The states of Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, are also settling claims against the companies.
When fully implemented, the combined settlements with The Williams Companies, MPLX and WES DJ Gathering fka Kerr-McGee Gathering will reduce ozone-producing air pollution by an estimated 953 tons per year and greenhouse gases by 50,633 tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent, including methane.
This reduction equates to taking 11,267 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles off the road for one year. The settlements, lodged simultaneously in the Federal District Courts of Colorado and Utah, resolve allegations that the companies violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control laws.
The settlements address allegations that The Williams Companies Inc., MPLX LP and WES DJ Gathering violated federal and state clean air laws related to leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements for natural gas processing plants at various facilities that they own and operate across the nation.
These facilities emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hazardous air pollutants such as benzene and formaldehyde, and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, according to the complaints filed against the companies.
VOCs are a key component in the formation of smog or ground-level ozone, a pollutant that irritates the lungs, exacerbates diseases such as asthma, and can increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
NOx reacts with VOCs in the presence of sunlight to form ozone. Children, people with respiratory illness, the elderly, and those working or exercising outdoors have a higher risk of being harmed from breathing ozone.
Under the settlements, the companies will spend approximately $16 million combined on injunctive relief requirements. To minimize emissions at the natural gas processing plants, the defendants will install and operate new technologies, as well as improve and expand existing control techniques.
These commitments include installing equipment that leaks less, conducting audits, reviewing compliance with leak detection and repair requirements, and repairing leaking equipment faster.
The companies will improve staff training for leak detection and repair at their facilities, and they have agreed to use optical gas imaging technology at their facilities to improve the visual detection of leaks and quickly repair them.
Finally, The Williams Companies, MPLX and WES DJ Gathering will implement additional projects to mitigate the harm caused by the excess emissions resulting from their violations of the CAA. ■