Marathon Oil was fined $241.5 million on Thursday, July 11, by the United States government for what it said were air quality breaches at its North Dakota oil and gas facilities located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
Marathon Oil is reportedly the 22nd biggest oil producer in the country. In the oil and gas sector, the corporation ranks seventh in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Unprecedented Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations
According to CBS News, authorities announced that Marathon Oil will have to pay an unprecedented civil penalty of $64.5 million for violations of the Clean Air Act at stationary sources. Facilities such as this may have systems for storing oil and gas.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the settlement will decrease pollution by more than 2.3 million tons since the corporation is obligated to cut emissions from facilities harmful to the climate and public health. This action is expected to cost the firm an additional $177 million.
Federal authorities have said that to significantly reduce hazardous emissions from more than 200 plants in North Dakota, stringent compliance procedures must be implemented. Marathon Oil must also get licenses that include legally binding emissions restrictions for its production facilities on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and any future activities in North Dakota.
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