Co-chairman of Hick’s oil task force leads company fined in violations

XTO Energy Inc., whose president leads the governor’s oil and gas task force, will spend $3 million as part of a settlement with the federal government to clean up damage to West Virginia water ways from the company’s construction activities.

The company, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), is supposed to restore eight areas where it illegally discharged sand, dirt, rocks and other material into streams and wetlands without a permit, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday. Fort Worth, Texas-based XTO also will pay a $2.3 million fine for violating the Clean Water Act.

In August, Gov. John Hickenlooper named XTO’s president Randy Cleveland as co-chairman of the 21-member task force. Hickenlooper has asked the task force to craft recommendations to reduce land-use conflicts related to the proximity of oil and gas facilities near homes, schools, businesses and recreation areas.

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XTO’s Western Division Headquarters is in Denver, and the company also has offices in Durango, Rifle and Trinidad.

“Many of the people on the task force have a direct conflict of interest,” said Gary Wockner, an environmental activist who has criticized the task force’s membership. “This particular example is of a company that is running outlaw operations in other states.”

“This incident just amplifies the concern about the integrity of this task force,” he added.

EPA said XTO discharged in three West Virginia counties material connected with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals deep underground to release oil and natural gas from shale. XTO discharged the material into water ways to build well pads, road crossings, freshwater pits and other facilities to produce natural gas.

XTO spokeswoman Suann Guthrie said the company has been working to restore the impacted areas.

“XTO voluntarily worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection in a cooperative and constructive manner concerning eight of its sites in West Virginia,” Guthrie said. “Our priority is, and will remain, to protect the environment and wildlife in areas in which we operate.”

The violations harmed almost 5,500 feet of stream and more than three acres of wetlands, according to state and federal authorities. The settlement requires the company to restore the water ways “wherever feasible” and monitor the sites to ensure a successful cleanup.

EPA said it discovered the violations from information provided by the state and also from federal inspections, and in 2011, the federal agency began issuing XTO compliance orders for violations at the sites. Since then, the company has worked with EPA to correct the violations.

The incident underscores the significance of work ahead of the task force to address growing concerns about fracking, said Sara Barwinski, a member of activist group Weld Air & Water and a member of the governor’s oil and gas task force.

“This news is one more piece of information that shows this kind of work is important,” she said. “If we can do a better job up front, then there’s not the need for these kinds of settlements.”