QEP Field Services, a provider of natural gas, will pay a $4 million fine and install air pollution controls because of violations of the Clean Air Act. The Colorado-based gas field services company will also establish a trust fund for environmental projects on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Northeastern Utah.
The Department of Justice said QEPFS, formerly Questar Gas Management, would reduce its emissions by removing outdated equipment at its compressor stations, installing additional pollution controls, and replacing the natural gas powered instrument control systems with compressed air control systems.
QEPFS’s compressor stations remove water and compress gas for transportation through pipelines. They are sources of air pollution, emitting hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which can increase the risk of asthma attacks and are significant contributors to the formation of ozone. The actions required in the settlement will eliminate approximately 210 tons of NOx, 219 tons of carbon monoxide, 17 tons of HAPs and more than 166 tons of VOCs per year.
The actions will also conserve 3.5 million cubic feet of gas each year, which in theory could heat approximately 50 U.S. households. The reduction in methane emissions – a greenhouse gas that is a component of natural gas – is equivalent to planting more than 300 acres of trees, according to EPA estimates. Quester has more than 900,000 natural gas customers in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
“Natural gas extraction projects help to fuel our economy, but also need to follow the nation’s laws,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
