IPS agreed to pay a $140,000 fine and make a $22,000 payment to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation for ecological studies and remediation of Boggy Creek in Atoka County, according to federal officials.
IPS will also serve two years' probation, perform an environmental compliance program at a cost of $38,000, and train employees in hazardous-waste handling and spill-response procedures.
IPS was working at a natural gas well site on May 24, 2007, when a tank leaked corrosive hydrochloric acid onto the bermed surface of the well site, which was already flooded after heavy rainfall. Rather than properly removing the acid-polluted rainwater, IPS supervisor Gabriel Henson drove a company truck through the earthen berm, discharging the rainwater and the acid into Dry Creek, a tributary of Boggy Creek, the statement said.
On July 20, Henson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act and is awaiting sentencing. He faces up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
"As hydraulic fracturing occurs with increasing frequency across the country, companies and individuals involved in those operations must adhere to the laws that protect human health and the environment and level the playing field for responsible businesses," said Ignacia S. Moreno, an assistant attorney general for the Justice Department.
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source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (Smith, 10/11)
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