BISMARCK – The North Dakota Industrial Commission fined a Utah company $687,000 on Wednesday for violating state rules on saltwater waste disposal.
The complaint against Springville, Utah-based Redemption Energy LLC alleges the company built an underground saltwater injection well in McKenzie County on or about Sept. 14, 2012, but didn’t obtain a permit for it until Jan. 17, 2013, resulting in a $12,500 fine.
A state inspector also found saltwater-saturated cuttings contaminating topsoil at the site on March 15, 2013, and some of the contaminated soil was still present during another inspection on May 7, 2013, the complaint states. North Dakota law allows for fines of $12,500 per day, and the total fine for that violation was $675,000.
The state also incurred $3,143 in investigative costs that are being assessed to the company.
The commission will now try to collect the fines in district court.
ADVERTISEMENT
