Texas oil company agrees to fine for Wyoming spill
CHEYENNE, WYO. (AP) — A Texas oil company has agreed to pay a $115,000 fine after spilling almost 20,000 gallons of wastewater and crude in western Wyoming.
Federal officials said the 2018 spill by Merit Energy Company of Dallas came after a pipeline broke at a battery of oil tanks northwest of Thermopolis, Wyoming.
Some of the spilled water and oil reached Grass Creek, a tributary of the Big Horn River.
An Environmental Protection Agency Investigation found that the company did not have an adequate emergency response plan in place as required under the federal Clean Water Act.
