XTO Energy Inc., the Houston based oil and gas company with field offices in Oklahoma City and Elk City has wrapped up alleged Clean Air Act violations with the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The settlement involves the company’s oil and gas operations on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The government accused XTO of failing to adequately design, operate and maintain vapor control systems on its storage tanks at oil and natural gas well pads resulting in emission of volatile organic compounds.
The company has agreed to pay a $320,000 civil penalty and will spend at least $450,000 to fund an environmental mitigation project on the reservation. XTO also agreed to ensure the adequacy of its vapor control systems and improve its operation and maintenance practices.
“This settlement will reduce harmful air pollutants, benefiting the health of residents of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation as well as those living in surrounding communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.
XTO’s oil and natural gas production operations in North Dakota use storage tanks to store the produced oil and produced water. The oil and water are stored at separate well pads before being transported by pipeline or truck.
The case stemmed from EPA inspections and information requests in 2015 that found violations related to VOC emissions from the produced oil and produced water storage tanks.