NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT NEWS

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) entered into a settlement agreement and stipulated final compliance order with CCI San Juan, LLC (CCI) to resolve alleged statutory, regulatory, and permit violations at the company’s San Juan River Gas Plant near Farmington.

CCI was cited for illegally emitting more than 1.6 million pounds of pollutants, including hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds between October 2016 and November 2018.

“The Environment Department is 100% committed to holding polluters accountable,” said NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney. “We will vigorously pursue civil enforcement to the maximum extent the law allows.”

Pursuant to state law, the $950,000 penalty will be reverted to State of New Mexico’s general fund. The general fund is the primary state fund from which the ongoing expenses of state government are paid.

Failure to comply with emissions limits results in emissions of harmful levels of air pollutants that can impact public health and the environment, including contributing to the formation of ground-level ozone and other hazardous air quality conditions.