The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced a $400,000 settlement with Halliburton Energy Services that includes $180,600 for environmental projects to reduce air pollution at Los Angeles area schools.
The payment settles claims that the multinational oil and gas company operated a fleet of diesel trucks in violation of the Clean Air Act, according to the EPA.
The company will also spend $75,000 on air quality improvements in the San Joaquin Valley, and will pay a $154,400 civil penalty, according to regulators.
Federal officials made the announcement at Van Deene Avenue Elementary School near Torrance, joined by officials from the California Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Los Angeles Unified School District to highlight the air filtration systems being installed to protect students’ health.
Halliburton, headquartered in Houston, operated 61 heavy-duty diesel trucks in California from 2012 to 2014 without the required soot filters and failed to verify compliance with the Truck and Bus Regulation for its hired motor carriers, the EPA said.
“This ground-breaking settlement takes aim at a major source of road pollution in a state burdened with some of the worst air quality in the nation,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Transport companies must comply with California’s rule to cut the pollutants that lead to higher asthma rates for children and more emergency room visits for heart and lung illnesses.”
—City News Service