As per the settlement, the company has agreed to pay $20,000 in civil penalties and up to $235,000 toward funding and maintaining two regulatory air monitors in the Uintah Basin.
EPA Denver Enforcement director Mike Gaydosh said the settlement will help to continue the much-needed air monitoring capacity on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation that will help inform the management of air quality in the region.
"The company has worked cooperatively with EPA to appropriately resolve these violations," Gaydosh said.
According to the agency, prior to 2009 the company failed to control hazardous air pollutant emissions from the Blue Bell plant and failed to implement a program for leak detection and repair, in violation of the Clean Air Act.
In 2010, the Blue Bell Gas plant was modified into a natural gas compressor station, which is now known as the Blue Bell Compressor station.
El Paso will also continue to fund two ambient air monitoring stations on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation with the intention of reporting data to the EPA’s national database.
