Ameredev, a Texas-based oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin, has been fined over $40 million by New Mexico State agencies for alleged violations of air quality regulations. EMNRD Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst emphasized that they are pursuing the maximum penalties allowed by law in this case according to NM Political Report.
“Ameredev willfully ignored basic tenets of New Mexico’s Oil and Gas Act that have been on the books since 1935, not to mention the state’s nation-leading rules to prevent climate pollution that ban routine venting and flaring,” New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst said in a press release, according to NM Political Report. “Today we’re pursuing the maximum penalties EMNRD is allowed to assess by law. If the legislature had not imposed caps on EMNRD’s penalty authority, the fine would be much higher.”
According to NM Political Report, Texas-based oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin, Ameredev II, LLC and Ameredev Operating, LLC, has been fined over $40 million by state agencies for allegedly violating air quality regulations. The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) stated that the company released "significant excess emissions" of five regulated air pollutants from five facilities in Lea County. As a result, both the NMED and the state's Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department have initiated separate enforcement actions against Ameredev according to NM Political Report.
“Ameredev is a Texas-based exploration and production company that exploited public health for profit,” Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a press release. “Ameredev’s management team have shown blatant disregard for our right to breathe clean air and now they must be held accountable.”
Ameredev has received an order from NMED demanding that it immediately halt any excess emissions and obtain permits that accurately reflect its equipment and operations at various sites. Additionally, Ameredev is required to engage an independent auditor approved by NMED to evaluate all its facilities in New Mexico. The company is also obligated to undertake initiatives aimed at reducing excess emissions. NMED has imposed a fine of over $40.3 million on Ameredev, with the funds being directed to the state's general fund according to NM Political Report.
“The violations we identified at the sites show ignorance of the law or at worst willful disregard by the company for environmental regulations and our regulatory program,” NMED Air Quality Bureau Compliance & Enforcement Section Chief Cindy Hollenberg, who was also a member of the site investigation team, said in the press release according to NM Political Report. “This action sends a strong message to this company and to the oil and gas industry as a whole that we take compliance seriously.”
New Mexico's Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) has issued a notice of violation to Ameredev, proposing a fine of $2.4 million, but the press release highlights that EMNRD's authority to fine the company is limited.
Ameredev's five facilities under scrutiny have failed to comply with state law, as they lack the necessary infrastructure to transport gas to midstream pipelines. Consequently, Ameredev resorted to flaring over 3.2 million thousand cubic feet of natural gas, resulting in the release of carbon dioxide equivalent to heating approximately 16,640 homes for a year, according to NMED. Furthermore, these actions led to the emission of more than 7.5 million pounds of excess hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds according to NM Political Report.