Natural gas company reaches settlement with EPA over Weld County leaks

State and federal authorities announced Monday a settlement reached with a Denver-headquartered natural gas producer that requires the company to improve leak detection, strengthen repair practices at eight facilities in Weld County.

DCP Operating Company LP and five other subsidiaries of DCP Midstream LP will also pay a $3.25 million fine, according to a joint press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Colorado. 

The settlement was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver. It alleged DCP violated leak detection and repair requirements in state and federal clean air laws. 

"Leaks from equipment like valves, pumps, and connectors are a significant source of harmful air pollutants," stated Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division in the press release. "Enforcement actions like this are critical to improving air quality, particularly in places facing air quality challenges like Weld County."  

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The Denver Metro/North Front Range nonattainment area, which includes Weld County, was reclassified as "serious" in its non-compliance with Clean Air Act standards in December 2019. The nonattainment area was established in 2008 as "moderate" for the higher levels of measured ground-level ozone, a condition the EPA attributes in large part to volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted by leaking equipment. 

Under the settlement, DCP has agreed to strengthen its leak detection and repair practices at the Greeley, Kersey/Mewbourne, Platteville, Roggen, Spindle, O'Connor and Lucerne natural gas processing plants, as well as the to-be-constructed Bighorn natural gas processing plant, as stated in the press release. DCP will also install additional pollution reduction measures at the Kersey/Mewbourne natural gas processing plant. Specifically, DCP will install a dry seal recompression system on two turbines. This project will cost an estimated $1.15 million and is expected to reduce VOC emissions by 26 tons per year and methane emissions by 375 tons per year, per the press release.

"EPA continues to deliver cleaner air through the rigorous enforcement of the Clean Air Act," stated EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. "This settlement will reduce emissions of over 288 tons of volatile organic compounds and 1,300 tons of methane from production areas near northern Colorado communities, a majority of which are disproportionately impacted by pollution."  

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DCP Midstream bills itself as a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest natural gas producers and processors in the country.

Jeanette Alberg, Public Affair Manager for DCP Midstream, told CBS4 Saturday that the company began improving its leak detection technology three years ago, not only to the plants cited in the EPA agreement but to all of its processing facilities. The company, she said, has also reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 16% as of the end of 2020 (from a 2018 baseline measurement). The company hopes to reach goals of 30% by 2030 and net zero by 2050, she added. 

Albert also provided a statement from DCP Midstream:

"The settlement agreement resolves an administrative enforcement matter with the EPA and the State of Colorado and is also in line with our commitment to responsible environmental management and sustainability.

"We believe that agreeing to institute a comprehensive and enhanced leak detection monitoring and repair program at all of our Colorado gas processing facilities is consistent with our ongoing efforts to reduce emissions within our company footprint and is a positive outcome for all of our stakeholders. Implementing this enhanced program will also provide DCP, and federal and State regulators, with more information regarding advanced leak detection and repair techniques and further reduce ozone precursors and other emissions in the northern front range.

"These actions will require dedicated resources and significant effort to implement, which we are prepared to make and have built into our operating costs for these facilities. As always, DCP remains dedicated to operational excellence, continuous improvement, and is actively working to reduce emissions across our company footprint."