Featured
Environment Department announces record oil and gas violation settlement
A photo showed alleged flaring at a Ameredev facility in Lea County that officials say led to excess emission of pollutants into the air and a hefty fine.
Published
Modified
The New Mexico Environment Department on Monday announced it has reached a $24.5 million settlement with Ameredev II LLC, a Texas-based oil and gas company, over alleged air quality violations.
It is the department鈥檚 largest ever civil oil and gas violation settlement. The state says that $24.1 million of that settlement will go into the state鈥檚 general fund.
Ameredev flared more than 3,219,402 thousand cubic feet of natural gas from October 2018 to April 2020, according to the environment agency, when five company facilities extracted oil and gas but couldn鈥檛 accept or transport the gas to downstream processors.
The flaring released 7.6 million pounds of toxic gasses and compounds into the air, according to the Environment Department. The agency鈥檚 Environmental Protection Division issued a $40.3 million administrative compliance order, a way to address issues and order remedies, to Ameredev in June 2023.
鈥淭his settlement makes one thing crystal clear 鈥� companies that pollute our air will pay for circumventing New Mexico鈥檚 rules,鈥� Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 settlement is about penalizing the bad actors in an effort to protect communities from breathing harmful pollution.鈥�
The Environment Department鈥檚 Air Quality Bureau isn鈥檛 aware of any ongoing pollution at Ameredev facilities in the state, according to a Monday news release.
A spokesperson at Ameredev said the company hasn鈥檛 experienced excess emissions from flaring over the past four years because of investments in 鈥渧arious advanced technologies and operational enhancements.鈥�
鈥淭his is an issue we take very seriously. 鈥� We are pleased to resolve this legacy issue, and look forward to continuing to responsibly work with the State of New Mexico and regional stakeholders to support the state鈥檚 economic development as well as American energy security,鈥� the spokesperson said.
Ameredev also agreed to perform an independent, third-party compliance audit of operations in New Mexico, submit monthly reports of emission rates, conduct state-approved gas monitoring and submit or amend a battery permit application, according to the New Mexico Environment Department. Violations of the agreement will result in $2,000 daily penalties to the state鈥檚 general fund.
Environment Department Secretary James Kenney said in a statement the Ameredev settlement is a wakeup call to the oil and gas industry.
鈥淭he only option to avoid enforcement is to comply with state rules and permits,鈥� he said.
Kenney told the Associated Press that the flared gas would have been enough to have supplied nearly 17,000 homes for a year.
