Hilcorp Energy Co. has been fined $9.4 million for failing to control methane emissions at its fracking sites in New Mexico, marking the first settlement related to such violations under the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency found that the company did not capture emissions from approximately 75% of its wells completed between 2017 and 2019. As part of the settlement, Hilcorp must implement new technology to mitigate emissions equivalent to taking 24,000 cars off the road for a year. Although the penalty was negotiated down after a five-year review, Hilcorp emphasized the violations occurred several years ago and it has since made operational changes to ensure compliance.
