2023 The Williams Companies, Inc. Clean Air Act Settlement Information Sheet

(Washington, DC – April 20, 2023) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the States of Alabama, Colorado, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality announced a settlement agreement with The Williams Companies, Inc. and seven related Williams entities (Williams), and Harvest Four Corners, LLC (Harvest) that will strengthen air pollution controls at 15 natural gas processing plants located in Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, West Virginia, Wyoming, and on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. 

• Overview
• Violations
• Injunctive Relief
• Pollutant Reductions
• Health Effects and Environmental Benefits
• Civil Penalty
• Comment Period
• Contact

Overview of Company

The Williams Companies, Inc. is a publicly traded company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma that handles 30% of the natural gas in the United States. Harvest Four Corners, LLC is Williams’ successor at the Ignacio Gas Plant on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Williams’ and Harvest’s operational assets include natural gas processing plants that extract natural gas liquid products such as ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, and natural gasoline from unprocessed natural gas.   

Violations

The United States, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the States of Alabama, Colorado, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality have filed a complaint against Williams and Harvest for violations of the Clean Air Act and analogous state air pollution control laws at 11 natural gas processing plants in Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Wyoming, and on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.  

Williams and Harvest failed to comply with multiple volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant emission control requirements under several New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants applicable to natural gas processing plants, including failure to comply with Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) requirements, failure to comply with enclosed combustor testing, and failure to control VOC emissions from open ended lines and pressure relief devices. Williams also failed to comply with the NSPS for synthetic organic chemical manufacturing distillation units and NSPS requirements applicable to hot oil process heaters and storage tanks at certain natural gas processing plants covered by the settlement. Williams and Harvest also violated provisions of their Clean Air Act construction and operating permits related to operation of a flare at the Ignacio Gas Plant on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.

Injunctive Relief

Williams and Harvest have agreed to the following elements of injunctive relief at the 15 natural gas processing plants covered by this settlement: (1) comply with NSPS Subpart OOOOa; (2) implement an LDAR Program that will bring facilities into compliance with LDAR regulations, and which includes measures to mitigate the environmental harm caused by the alleged noncompliance; (3) comply with NSPS Subpart NNN applicable to distillation units at the Conway, Harrison Hub, Moundsville, Opal, and Paradis Gas Plants (Williams only); (5) implement fugitive leak monitoring for all equipment, including fin fan heat exchangers, using optical gas imaging technology; (9) implement nitrogen oxides emission monitoring measures to comply with NSPS Subpart Db requirements applicable to large hot oil heaters at the Harrison Hub and Paradis Gas Plants (Williams only); and (9) amend relevant permits to incorporate consent decree requirements that will survive the decree’s termination.  

To mitigate the environmental harm caused by its alleged noncompliance, Williams has agreed to perform equipment leak monitoring and repair leaks at 80 compressor stations in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming that are not otherwise subject to leak detection and repair requirements. Harvest has agreed to mitigate the harm caused by the alleged violations at the Ignacio Gas Plant on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation by evaluating its flare equipment and, if necessary, installing new monitoring equipment to ensure optimal flare performance and control efficiency.

The settlement’s injunctive relief is valued at over $8.5 million.

Pollutant Impacts

When fully implemented, EPA estimates that the settlement will result in emission reductions of over 696 tons per year of VOCs and 1,174 tons of methane.

Health Effects and Environmental Benefits 

VOCs contribute to smog and to sensory irritation symptoms, allergies and asthma, and neurological and liver toxicity. Certain VOCs are also known carcinogens. NO_x emissions contribute to smog as well as acid rain, particulate matter, water quality deterioration, and visual impairment. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is the primary component of natural gas and substantially contributes to climate change. Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Through the implementation of the settlement’s injunctive relief, Williams and Harvest will improve air quality in Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, Wyoming, and on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.  

Civil Penalty

The proposed decree requires Williams to pay a $3,750,000 civil penalty.

Comment Period

The proposed settlement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.  Information on submitting comments is available at the Department of Justice website.

Contact Information

Timothy Sullivan, Attorney
Air Enforcement Division
Office of Civil Enforcement
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1595 Wynkoop Street (MC 8MSU)
Denver, Colorado 80202
(303) 312-6196
[email protected]