EPA v. XTO ENERGY, INC

Case summary

U.S. DOJ LODGED A CONSENT DECREE RESOLVING A CIVIL ACTION AGAINST XTO ENERGY, INC FOR A VIOLATION OF SECTION 301(a) OF THE CWA. THE U.S. ALLEGES THAT POLLUTANTS WERE UNLAWFULLY DISCHARGED INTO WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES. ON NOVEMBER 16, 2010, A PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION INSPECTOR VISITED XTO'S MARQUARDT NATURAL GAS WELLPAD AND WASTEWATER STORAGE FACILITY LOCATED IN HUGHESVILLE, LYCOMING COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AND OBSERVED AN OPEN VALVE ON A 21,000 GALLON BAKER TANK THAT WAS DISCHARGING FLOWBACK FLUID AND PRODUCED FLUID ONTO THE GROUND. THE TANK WAS CONNECTED TO 56 OTHER BAKER TANKS AND THE PADEP INSPECTOR ALSO OBSERVED EVIDENCE OF PRIOR DISCHARGES FROM FIVE NEARBY TANKS. XTO ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 150 BARRELS (6,300 GALLONS) TO 1,366 BARRELS (57,373 GALLONS) OF FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED FLUID WERE RELEASED. SAMPLING BY XTO DEMONSTRATED THAT POLLUTANTS FOUND IN FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED FLUID SUCH AS STRONIUM, CHLORIDE, BROMIDE, BARIUM, AND TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS, WERE PRESENT IN A NEARBY SPRING AND TRIBUTARY 19617 AT ELEVATED LEVELS FOR ROUGHLY 65 DAYS. THE SPRING AND TRIBUTARY ARE WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND EMPLY INTO SUGAR RUN WHICH FLOWS INTO MUNCY CREEK, WHICH FLOWS INTO THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER. THE UNITED STATES AND XTO ENERGY INC HAVE AGREED TO SETTLE THIS MATTER FOR A CIVIL PENALTY. IN ADDITION, DURING THE NEXT THREE YEARS, XTO WILL IMPLEMENT AN ESTIMATED AMOUNT IN INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AT XTO'S UNCONVENTIONAL 57 MILLION POUNDS OF POLLUTANTS FOUND IN FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED FLUID FROM THE ENVIRONMENT. XTO WILL BE REQUIRED TO USE BEST EFFORTS TO RECYCLE FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED FLUID IN EPA REGION III, AND HAS COMMITTED TO RECYCLE NO LESS THAN 50% PER YEAR OF THESE FLUIDS FROM ITS PENNSYLVANIA UNCONVENTIONAL GAS EXTRACTION ACTIVITIES. WHEN DISPOSING OF THESE WASTEWATERS, XTO WILL ONLY UTILIZE FACILITIES CAPABLE OF ACCEPTING SUCH WASTEWATERS WITH A FEDERALLY-ENFORCEABLE NPDES PERMIT LIMITING TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS IN TREATED EFFLUENT IN 500 MILLIGRAMS PER LITER PER MONTH OR LESS. WITH REGARDS TO ITS FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED FLUID TANKS IN THE REGION, XTO HAS AGREED TO INSTITUTE WIDESPREAD TANK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT WILL ENSURE THAT ADEQUATE SECONDARY CONTAINMENT IS IN PLACE FOR ALL TANKS DURING COMPLETION AND PRODUCTION, THAT EACH TANK IS EQUIPPED WITH A MEANS OF HIGH-LEVEL SHUTDOWN AND UTILIZES REMOVE MONITORING OR ALARM NOTIFICATION IN CASE OF A SPILL, THAT FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED FLUIDS ARE NOT STORED IN OPEN PITS, LAGOONS, OR OTHER SURFACE IMPOUNDMENTS, AND THAT TANKS ARE ADEQUATELY SECURED. THIS RELIEF WILL REQUIRE THAT XTO IMPLEMENT CONSISTENT PRACTICES THROUGHOUT REGION III IN ORDER TO PREVENT SIMILAR SPILLS IN THE FUTURE AND TO ESTABLISH A MODEL FOR BEST PRACTICES FOR PROTECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIORNMENT IN THE HYDRAULIC FRACTURING INDUSTRY. THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA WILL ALSO BE EXECUTING AN ADMINISTRATIVE CONSENT ASSESSMENT FOR CIVIL PENALTY RESOLVING VARIOUS CLAIMS RELATED TO THE NOVEMBER 16, 2011 INCIDENT FOR A PENALTY CONCURRENTLY WITH THE LODGING OF THIS CONSENT DECREE. THE PROPOSED CONSENT DECREE IS SUBJECT TO A 30 DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.

Defendants (1)

• XTO ENERGY, INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• MARQUARDT 8537H & 8494H WELL PAD

  301 MARQUARDT RD, HUGHESVILLE, PA, 17737

  Registry ID: 110055478718

Statutes cited

• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• XTO ENERGY, INCentered 2013-09-18

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $100,000

Timeline (7 milestones)

• 2011-09-30Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2011-10-03Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2013-07-18Complaint Filed With Court
• 2013-07-18Final Order Lodged
• 2013-09-18Concluded
• 2013-09-18Final Order Entered
• 2017-09-13Enforcement Action Closed