Mewbourne Oil Company has agreed to pay a $5.5 million penalty and to spend at least $4.6 million for projects to ensure 422 of its oil and gas battery pads in New Mexico and Texas comply with state and federal clean air regulations. These terms are in settlement of claims of unlawful operations alleged in a civil complaint filed today under the federal Clean Air Act and New Mexico state law. Mewbourne’s actions taken pursuant to the deal will eliminate more than 11,000 tons of harmful pollutants from the air each year.
“Good air quality is essential to the health of our communities, and we need to ensure that oil and gas facilities are properly designed, maintained and monitored in order to meet national standards,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We will continue to work to improve air quality and public health, including by holding oil and gas production operations like Mewbourne accountable for their violations of federal and state law.”
“Today’s settlement will eliminate 11,000 tons of harmful air pollutants annually and ensure that Mewbourne complies with the Clean Air Act,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The result will be cleaner, healthier air for communities in New Mexico and Texas.”
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