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U.S. SETTLES CLEAN AIR CASE WITH

WASHINGTON, D.C. The Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached a settlement with Texaco that requires the company to install new pollution control equipment at two of its oil field operations in Kern County, Calif.

The consent decree filed today in U.S. District Court in Fresno also requires Texaco to pay $568,000 in penalties under the Clean Air Act.

At the Kern River Oil Field, the United States alleged that Texaco drilled and operated 720 crude oil production wells without obtaining proper permits. The United States also alleged that between 1994 and 1996, apparently due to high maintenance costs, Texaco removed vapor recovery equipment from 5,030 wells without applying for a permit to do this until after completing the work.

The settlement filed today requires Texaco to install vapor recovery equipment on its shipping tanks. Texaco also has agreed to a schedule to install vapor recovery equipment on front-line surge tanks.

Texaco's other Kern County site in this action is the Midway-Sunset Oil Field. The United States alleged that Texaco failed to comply with regulations requiring vapor recovery controls on storage tanks. In the settlement, Texaco agreed to a schedule to install the required controls.

The Kern County portion of the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin has been designated as a serious non-attainment area for the EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards for certain pollutants, including ozone.

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