Marathon Oil pays $241.5 million to settle pollution case with US EPA, DOJ

Marathon Oil will pay a $64.5 million civil penalty in a settlement over Clean Air Act violations with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice.

The fine is the largest ever for violations stemming from stationary sources, which include oil and gas tank systems, EPA said in a release. Alongside the civil penalty, Marathon's settlement includes an agreement to invest $177 million of the company's money into compliance measures, much of which will be implemented by the end of 2024, to prevent future pollution at its more than 200 oil and gas facilities in North Dakota.

The EPA estimated that those new requirements and mitigation efforts would reduce volatile organic compounds by 21,812 tons per year and 451,449 tons per year of methane, respectively. The agency said 2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced over the next five years, the "equivalent of taking 487,000 cars off the road."

"Today's record Clean Air Act settlement is the most significant to date under EPA's climate enforcement initiative and makes clear that EPA will hold corporate polluters like Marathon accountable for violations that put communities and our futures at risk," assistant administrator David Uhlmann of EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said. "As a result of today's settlement, Marathon will dramatically cut its emissions of methane, a climate super-pollutant that is dozens of times more potent in the near term than carbon dioxide. EPA is committed to doing everything possible to limit climate change and promote a sustainable future."

The EPA's complaint alleges that Marathon violated the Clean Air Act at nearly 90 of its oil and natural gas facilities on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, which spans 980,000 acres and is home to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. It alleges Marathon failed to comply with multiple VOC emissions control requirements and protocols for oil and gas storage vessels, as well as failed to obtain permits under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program and the Clean Air Act's Title V permit program.

Marathon must install flow meters, temperature monitors and shut-in automation to track and stop flaring at all of its well pads on the reservation. It must also obtain permits that limit VOC emissions to less than 100 tons per year. It will also install a range of new cameras and monitoring equipment, and agree to periodic camera inspections, as well as implement new storage tank design requirements. One remediation requires the Houston-based oil and gas firm to purchase two infrared cameras for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Energy Division to use to "inspect facilities for illicit VOCs."

"The record civil penalty and extensive compliance measures, including an innovative cap on VOC emissions, set a benchmark for the Department's enforcement efforts at oil and gas production facilities," acting associate attorney general Benjamin Mizer said. "Those who are historically overburdened by pollution are the most at risk of being harmed by these emissions. The Justice Department is committed to enforcing laws such as the Clean Air Act to protect the health of everyone in the United States, including Tribal Nations and their members."

A Marathon spokesperson could not be reached for comment.