Notice2024-03293
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 16, 2024
Issuing agencies
Justice Department
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 33 (Friday, February 16, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12381-12382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03293]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air
Act
On February 13, 2024, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed
consent decree with the United States District Court for the District
of New Mexico in the lawsuit entitled United States of America and New
Mexico Environment Department v. Apache Corporation, Civil Action No.
24-cv-00149.
In this action, the United States, on behalf of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, and the New Mexico Environment
Department filed a complaint alleging that Apache Corporation
(``Defendant'') violated the Clean Air Act, the New Mexico Air Quality
Control Act, their implementing regulations, and the Texas State
Implementation Plan at 23 of Defendant's oil and natural gas production
facilities in New Mexico and Texas by failing to comply with
requirements of the Federal New Source Performance Standards set forth
at 40 CFR part 60, subpart OOOO and OOOOa, and failing to operate its
facilities in accordance with applicable permits, namely, the New
Mexico General Construction Permit for Oil and Gas Facilities and the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Permit by Rule and Standard
Permit. The complaint seeks an Order enjoining Defendant from further
violating applicable requirements and requiring Defendant to remedy,
mitigate, and offset the harm to public health and the environment
caused by the violations and to pay a civil penalty.
Under the proposed settlement, Defendant agrees to pay a civil
penalty of $4,000,000 and to perform a project that will offset the
excess emissions resulting from the violations. In addition, the
settlement requires the Defendant to ensure ongoing compliance with all
applicable regulatory requirements at 422 of its oil and natural gas
production facilities in New Mexico and Texas. Specifically, the
settlement requires the Defendant to undertake a field survey to
identify and remedy any compromised equipment, to undertake a design
analysis to ensure adequate design and sizing of the vapor control
system, to install and operate extensive monitoring systems, to
implement a robust inspection and maintenance program, and to hire an
independent third party to verify compliance.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the proposed consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division,
and should refer to United States and New Mexico Environment Department
v. Apache Corporation, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-12523. All comments must
be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the publication date
of this notice. Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail:
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To submit comments: Send them to:
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By email............................ <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6b1b1e09080406060e051f460e0e18450e05190f2b1e180f0401450c041d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86f6f3e4e5e9ebebe3e8f2abe3e3f5a8e3e8f4e2c6f3f5e2e9eca8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a>.
By mail............................. Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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Any comments submitted in writing may be filed by the United States
in whole or in part on the public court docket without notice to the
commenter. During the public comment period, the proposed consent
decree may be
[[Page 12382]]
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: <a href="http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees">http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees</a>. If you require assistance
accessing the proposed consent decree, you may request assistance by
email or by mail to the addresses provided above for submitting
comments.
Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-03293 Filed 2-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 16, 2024.
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