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Kerr-McGee Clean Air Act Settlement

WASHINGTON - Kerr-McGee Corp. will spend $18 million on pollution controls in the first comprehensive settlement under the Clean Air Act that will reduce harmful emissions and conserve natural gas at production facilities across Utah and Colorado. The control measures and operational improvements are expected to reduce annual emissions of air pollutants by more than 2,500 tons in Utah and more than 3,000 tons in Colorado, the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

Today's settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, addresses alleged violations discovered at several of Kerr-McGee's natural gas compressor stations located on the Uinta and Ouray Indian Reservation near Vernal, Utah, and in the Denver Julesburg Basin near Weld County, Colo. Kerr-McGee self-disclosed a number of the violations, and has worked cooperatively with federal and state regulators to resolve them. In addition to implementing pollution controls, the agreement requires Kerr-McGee to pay a $200,000 penalty, and spend $250,000 on environmental projects to benefit the areas in which the violations occurred.

"Conserving energy and cutting greenhouse gases is a powerful two-punch combination. This settlement will save enough natural gas to heat 7,200 homes per year and reduces the impact on climate change equivalent to the planting of more than 60,000 trees," said Granta Nakayama, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

For additional information, contact:

Pam Mazakas
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2242A)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460-0001
(202) 564-4028
mazakas.pam@epa.gov

Ron Rutherford
Western Field Office
12345 W. Alameda Parkway, Suite 214
Denver, Colorado 80228
(303) 236-9515
rutherford.ron@epa.gov

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