CHARLESTON, W.Va. –A proposed settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice, West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection, and Antero Resources Corporation resolving alleged Clean Air Act and West Virginia Pollution Control violations that involved the company’s oil and gas production operations in the Mountain State and Ohio was announced Friday afternoon.
According to a news release, the settlement states that Antero is going to undertake various projects to assess, modify, and improve monitoring and maintenance of vapor control systems at 242 of its oil and gas production facilities located in West Virginia and Ohio.
This comes after the company’s failure to comply with federal and state requirements to capture and control air emissions from oil and gas production within the state and Ohio. The EPA and WVDEP identified the alleged violations after field investigations conducted in 2017 and 2019.
“Today’s settlement demonstrates the Justice Department’s renewed commitment to common-sense, even-handed enforcement of the Clean Air Act,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson said. “I applaud Antero for taking responsibility to settle these important claims in a way that promotes the public interest and secures cleaner air.”
The company has also agreed to pay a $3.8 million civil penalty to be divided between the U.S. and West Virginia, a co-plaintiff in the case.
“The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia is proud to have partnered with the State of West Virginia in reaching this settlement,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Harvey said. “This settlement exemplifies how a reasonable application of the Clean Air Act can benefit citizens of West Virginia without posing an undue burden on continued oil and natural gas production.”
Antero will also have to ensure that its systems to control pollutants from atmospheric storage tanks are designed and properly operated and maintained and have an innovative automated response for when the required tank pressure or combustion control device pilot indicates that there may have been a release of VOCs in the atmosphere.
“This settlement demonstrates how coordinated enforcement among state and federal partners promotes accountability, reduces harmful emissions, and delivers meaningful environmental results,” WVDEP Secretary Harold Ward said. “The WVDEP and its Division of Air Quality thank everyone involved and are proud to finalize an agreement that brings cleaner air directly to West Virginians through the measures established today.”
You can read the complaint and proposed consent decree here.