U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice, the State of Oklahoma, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the State of West Virginia announced a settlement agreement with MPLX LP (MPLX) and 11 of its subsidiaries that will strengthen air pollution controls at 20 natural gas processing plants located in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas and Oklahoma.
The settlement addresses alleged violations of federal and state clean air laws governing the control of emissions from equipment leaks, pressure relief devices, storage tanks, truck and railcar loading, combustion devices, and process heaters. As part of the settlement, MPLX will also perform Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs), install equipment to control volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from truck loading operations at two natural gas compressor stations, and pay a $925,000 penalty.
?This agreement will eliminate harmful air pollutants and create cleaner air for communities in six states,? said EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine. ?By improving air pollution control at 20 of their gas processing facilities, MPLX will reduce VOC emissions by more than 1,500 tons a year.?
Under the terms of the settlement, MPLX is expected to spend approximately $2.78 million to install and operate new technologies as well as improve and expand existing control techniques that minimize VOC emissi