Oil company ordered to pay out nearly $10 million in fines after failing to suppress illegal pollutants: 'Should know better'

A major gas and oil company was recently fined almost $10 million for failing to divert illegal pollutants from entering the environment over two years.

What's happening?

Hilcorp Energy Company will pay $9.4 million in penalties for violating the Clean Air Act and New Mexico climate laws. According to New Mexico Political Report, the fines come after the company allegedly failed to control pollution while completing oil wells in New Mexico's San Juan Basin, including on Jicarilla Apache and Navajo Nation lands.

The fines stem from Hilcorp digging nearly 200 oil wells in New Mexico between August 2017 and August 2019. When completing 145 wells, the Department of Justice says Hilcorp failed to capture any planet-polluting gas released by the fracking operations. When completing the remainder of the wells, Hilcorp only captured a portion of the gas, directing it into flares to burn off the pollution.

The DOJ reports that the oil and gas company's actions during those two years resulted in the illegal release of thousands of tons of harmful planet-warming pollution into the atmosphere.

"Hilcorp is a large, sophisticated natural gas producer and should know better than to violate Clean Air Act requirements to capture and control gas produced as a result of fracking," assistant attorney general Todd Kim said in a press release. "We are committed to upholding the rule of law and holding industry accountable."

Compliance measures were also part of the settlement, which the DOJ stated will result in more than 113,000 tons of carbon pollution being removed from the Earth's air in the future. The DOJ says this compliance measure is the equivalent of "taking 24,000 cars off the road for one year."

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Hilcorp is also required to employ a third-party EPA-approved auditor to ensure that the company complies with national and state environmental laws in the future.

Why is this settlement important?

The DOJ reported that the case against Hilcorp is the first time the agency has addressed fracking standard violations in the Clean Air Act. While the settlement doesn't undo the environmental damage already caused by Hilcorp, it does send a message to other companies to take the Clean Air Act and state environmental laws seriously.

The settlement also specifically addresses violations on Indigenous lands, requiring Hilcorp to perform pollution-reducing actions on Native lands. That's especially important since Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable to fracking, with Native lands a battleground for environmental justice.

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But the settlement only addresses a portion of the problem. Fracking still is a major environmental issue even when air pollution standards are met.

Yale reported fracking can lead to loss of animal and plant habitats, species decline, migratory disruptions, and land degradation. Fracking can also lead to human health risks like increased risk of pregnancy complications, cancer, asthma, and more. And that's all before using the extracted oil as a dirty energy source.

What's being done to ensure companies comply with the Clean Air Act?

In recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency and the DOJ have ramped up their prosecution of Clean Air Act violations. The DOJ recently said it is dedicated to conducting "oil and gas investigations and aggressively enforce violations."

While that is promising news for the planet, plenty of businesses are still flying under the radar. That's why divesting from dirty energy is essential.

For those wanting to make an individual impact, it's essential to advocate for stricter pollution standards and support policies that hold dirty energy companies accountable. You can also reduce your personal reliance on oil and gas by choosing cleaner options wherever possible like taking public transportation or swapping to solar.