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AP SANTA FE, June 30 (Xinhua) — New Mexico oilfield and air quality regulators announced an unprecedented state fine on Thursday against a Texas oil and gas producer, accusing it of ignoring local pollution reporting and control requirements , burning a large amount of natural gas. natural gas in a prolific energy-producing region in the southeastern part of the state.
The New Mexico Department of the Environment announced a $40.3 million fine against Austin, Texas-based Amedev for allegedly causing overdose in 2019 and 2020 from the burning of five facilities near the town of Jarl in Leah County, New Mexico. emission. Regulators have raised concerns about excessive releases of a number of pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, that are linked to climate warming or known to cause serious health problems.
The agency claimed that when Ameredev drilled for oil and gas, he failed to transport the gas through pipelines as required by state law. The agency said in a statement that the company was accused of burning natural gas beyond limits or without authorization in 2019 and 2020, with excess emissions equal to the pollution produced by heating 16,640 homes for a year.
Open flaring, or “flaring,” of natural gas is often used as a control measure to avoid direct emissions to the atmosphere and requires a permit to estimate flaring.
“They’re not at all adhering to what’s represented in the permit. … They’re saying they’re going to capture 100 percent of the gas and send it to the sales pipeline,” said Cindy Cindy, chief of the Compliance and Enforcement Section at the New Mexico Department of the Environment’s Air Quality Bureau. Cindy Hollenberg said.
Representatives for Amedev and his parent company could not immediately be reached for comment by phone or email on Thursday.
Separately, the state oilfield regulator issued a violation notice to Ameredev and proposed a $2.4 million fine for a series of regulatory violations at one of the company’s wells. It accused Amedev of failing to submit required production and gas waste reports.
“Such reports are critical for operators to demonstrate compliance with (New Mexico’s) waste rules, which are themselves an important part of New Mexico’s climate change policy,” the Department of Energy, Mines and Natural Resources said in a statement.
“Other required reports have been submitted but are unacceptably late.”
Energy, Mines and Natural Resources Minister Sarah Cottrell Propst said her agency was seeking the maximum penalty.
Sanctions can be disputed administratively and ultimately appealed to the courts.
The Environment Ministry has ordered the company to cease all excess emissions and seek a permit that accurately reflects its operations, to be verified by an independent auditor.
Holenberg said the sanctions stemmed from an anonymous phone call by a citizen about an open-air flare caused by a natural gas flare. That led to an on-site inspection in late December 2019 of a storage tank facility that receives crude oil from the well, she said.
“None of the facilities were allowed to fire, but every single one was,” Holenberg said in an interview. “Each site is different from what they represent.”
Sophisticated oil-drilling techniques have unearthed vast amounts of natural gas from New Mexico’s Permian Basin stretching into parts of Texas. But existing pipelines don’t always have enough capacity to collect and transport the gas.
The state oil and gas regulator recently updated regulations to limit venting and flaring at oil production sites to reduce methane pollution and provide some allowances for emergencies and mandatory reporting.
Recent changes by the state Department of the Environment focus on oilfield equipment that emits pollution that causes smog, particularly volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a syndicated news feed, the latest staff may not have revised or edited the body of content)
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