A settlement with the Williams Companies Inc., its subsidiaries and its successor to reduce volatile organic compounds, methane and other pollutants emissions and improve leak detection and repair at 15 natural gas processing plants.
The settlement was announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Alabama, Colorado, West Virginia, Wyoming and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, according to an April 20 news release.
“EPA continues to deliver cleaner air through rigorous enforcement of the Clean Air Act,” EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield said in the release. “Leaks from valves, pumps and connectors at natural gas processing plants and emissions from compressor stations are a significant source of harmful air pollution. We will continue to hold these companies accountable and work to reduce these unlawful emissions into the atmospheres.”
According to the release, the settlement follows allegations the Williams Companies violated the Clean Air Act by failing to comply with leak detection and repair requirements which led to excess emissions of harmful pollutants including volatile organic compounds, causing the formation of ground-level ozone and the powerful greenhouse gas known as methane.
The plants affected by the settlement are in Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming, the release said. The settlement, which has been lodged with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and now faces a 30-day public comment period, will reduce ozone-producing air pollution by roughly 696 tons per year and greenhouse gases by 29,350 tons annually.
The companies will spend about $8.5 million, and Williams will pay a $3.75 million civil penalty, according to the release. The companies will complete two project to lessen the impact from past violations.
“It is important that facilities comply with Clean Air Act requirements to ensure that people in the surrounding communities are able to enjoy healthy air quality,” EPA Region 4 Administrator Daniel Blackman said in the release.
