Published: August 26, 2008 10:35 am      

EPA violations pose no public threat

VELMA — Failure to monitor valves at a Velma natural gas plant has led to enforcement action driven by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Tulsa-based Atlas Pipeline Mid-Continent LLC owns and operates Velma Gas Plant, which since November 2007 has been in non-compliance with air quality standards, according to Environmental Protection Agency reports.

The violations, which are in the process of being resolved, do not pose a threat to Velma or surrounding communities.

Valves in the Vapor Recovery Unit at Velma Gas Plant have not been monitored on a monthly basis for leaks, OKDEQ spokeswoman Skylar McElhaney said.

Monitoring the valves is required under the New Source Performance Standard, which mandates leak detection and repair (LDAR) be performed on applicable equipment.

“They (Atlas) had apparently added some components to their facility and they had not been monitoring those components monthly as they are required to do,” McElhaney said.

Clint Duty, Velma Business Unit vice president, said in a written statement to The Banner that an internal audit in November 2007 led the company to interpret that “certain existing equipment at Velma, which had not been part of the LDAR activities, should be added to the program and (the company) took the appropriate steps to achieve compliance.”

A sixth-month report to the OKDEQ included the added valves on those process units, Duty said.

“Since the submission of the information, Atlas has worked closely with the OKDEQ to resolve the issue. The OKDEQ and Atlas have agreed on the best resolution for this issue. There is now only paperwork that needs to be completed before the issue can officially be closed.”

Specific details on the resolution and enforcement action were not available because “ongoing enforcement actions are confidential,” the OKDEQ reported.

Atlas acquired the Velma Gas Plant in 2004 and has since spent more than $15 million in updating equipment to increase efficiency and reduce emissions, Duty noted.

LDAR monitoring has been performed at the facility since it came under Atlas’s umbrella four years ago.