Oil and gas producer to pay millions to US and New Mexico to remedy pollution concerns

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Texas company has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the federal government and the state of New Mexico to address air pollution concerns in the largest oil and gas producing region in the United States. The agreement with Apache Corporation was announced Tuesday. The company will pay $4 million in penalties and will spend more than $5 million on preventative measures to reduce emissions at its wells in the Permian Basin, which spans parts of New Mexico and Texas. Federal and state regulators have been ramping up efforts to bring companies into compliance using on-the-ground monitoring, flyovers and satellite imagery to detect Clean Air Act violations.