A major oil and gas producer in the Permian Basin reached a settlement with an environmental advocacy group over emissions at one of the company’s extraction facilities located near Carlsbad.
WildEarth Guardians alleged that Occidental Petroleum Company subsidiaries violated Clean Air Act requirements at the Turkey Track Central Tank Battery and Gas Sales Compression Facility in Eddy County.
The company agreed to install emission control technology at the Turkey Track site and will invest $5.5 million in reducing emissions at facilities in southeast New Mexico. The company also agreed to pay $500,000 in civil penalties to the U.S. Treasury and $500,000 to support air quality and public health projects in southeast New Mexico.
“Today’s agreement is a major step forward for accountability to clean air and public health in New Mexico,” Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians, said in a press release. “We’re pleased that Oxy has agreed to make these major operational changes and resolve excess emissions. This is an unprecedented agreement, effectively raising the bar for the oil and gas industry and setting the example that the cost of pollution should no longer be shouldered by people and communities.”
