WASHINGTON – The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Marathon Oil Company Thursday, resolving Clean Air Act violations at the company’s oil and gas production operations on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

The settlement requires Marathon pay a civil penalty of $64.5 million, the largest ever for violations of the Clean Air Act at stationary sources, which include facilities such as oil and gas tank systems. Under the settlement agreement, Marathon will implement extensive compliance measures to achieve major reductions in harmful emissions from more than 200 facilities across the state.

“This historic settlement – the largest ever civil penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act at stationary sources – will ensure cleaner air for the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and other communities in North Dakota, while holding Marathon accountable for its illegal pollution,” said

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. The complaint alleges Marathon failed to obtain required preconstruction and operating permits. The complaint also alleges failure to comply with storage tank design, operation and maintenance requirements at 66 facilities on Fort Berthold.

While Marathon is the nation’s 22nd largest producer of oil based on 2022 data, it is the seventh largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry. A large portion of these emissions come from flaring, an industry practice that combusts but also releases methane, a climate super-pollutant. The work Marathon will do under this agreement will result in the equivalent of more than 2.25 million tons of reduced carbon-dioxide emissions over the next five years, similar to the amount of reductions achieved by taking 487,000 cars off the road for one year. The settlement will also eliminate nearly 110,000 tons of volatile organic compound emissions.

The agreement requires Marathon to invest in extensive compliance measures estimated to cost $177 million, much of which will be expended by the end of 2024. The settlement requires

Marathon to obtain permits with federally enforceable emissions limits at production facilities on Fort Berthold and in future operations in North Dakota.

Compliance measures also include flare monitoring, periodic infrared camera inspections and implementation of storage tank design requirements.

These actions will significantly reduce harmful health-related emissions from 169 existing facilities on state land and on the Fort Berthold Reservation, as well as at new facilities built in North Dakota.