FRESNO, CA. - The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has reached separate agreements with Occidental of Elk Hills (OXY) and VIntage Production (Vintage) California for administrative civil liabiliy penalties totaling $476,784.
The penalties are for discharging oilfield fluids into unlined pits in violation of a Central Valley Water Board order (CVWB).
The order only permitted that certain types of fluids could be discharged.
Both companies have agreed half the settlements will serve as an administrative penalty with the other half to be used for supplemental environmental projects.
An investigation by the CVWB determined that OXY and Vintage discharged non-drilling fluids to unlined sumps next to OXY and Vintage oil wells in Kern County between Jan. 1 2012 and Nov. 15 2013.
Prosecutors argued the disharging posed a threat to groundwater quality and that the two companies violated California Water Codes for unpermitted discharges of wastewater.
"Discharges of oilfield wastewaters to unlined pits must be done in compliance with our existing orders and with the Tulare Lake Basin," said CVWB assistant executive officer Clay Rodgers. "We continue to be concerned that similar discharges may have occured elsewhere in the Central Valley and are working to ensyure that discharges of oilfield-derived wastes are in compliance with the Basin Plan and protective o water quality."
The CVWB is a California state agency responsible for the preservation and enhancement of water quality.