The U.S. EPA announced a proposed settlement with Citation Oil & Gas Corp. (Citation) of Houston, Texas, to resolve alleged violations of federal regulations intended to prevent oil pollution.
The Clean Water Act violations pertain to oil spill prevention requirements and Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations at Citation’s Park County, Wyoming, oil production facilities, according to the press release.
Citation will pay a civil penalty of $115,000 to resolve the alleged violations.
The proposed settlement resulted from EPA’s investigation of two spills at Citation facilities, reported the press release. The first spill occurred on Febr. 9, 2016, when the corporation eleased approximately 300 barrels of crude oil from its Embar 3 Facility into Buffalo Creek.
Buffalo Creek is a tributary of the Big Horn River. The second spill, which happened Aug. 21, 2019, released approximately 1000 barrels of produced water from its North Waterflood Station into Big Horn River.
"Companies that store oil have a responsibility to follow laws that protect the public and the environment," said Suzanne Bohan, director of EPA Region 8’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. "Due to the harm oil can cause when released to water resources and the environment, every effort must be made to prevent spills and to clean them up promptly once they occur."
EPA also discovered deficiencies in Citation’s SPCC plans for the North Waterflood Station and Middle Waterflood Station. The company corrected these deficiencies and submitted corrected plans, according to the EPA.
Federal oil spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rules specify requirements for businesses that store oil and prevent oil discharges that can affect nearby water resources.
This proposed Consent Agreement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final approval by the EPA’s Regional Judicial Officer. The public can access and comment on the Consent Agreement here.
