Kinder Morgan to Pay $316,000 Over 2 Wyoming Plants

Federal regulators say Kinder Morgan Upstream LLC has agreed to pay $316,000 for violating risk management plan provisions at its natural gas plants in Casper and Douglas, Wyo.

The Environmental Protection Agency said the company has agreed to establish new operating procedures, improve equipment maintenance, and perform tests to reduce the possibility of accidental releases of hazardous chemicals at both facilities.

Kinder Morgan says it has taken all necessary corrective actions to address the 2011 EPA violations it received to ensure such issues don’t occur again.

The Clean Air Act requires facilities with hazardous and flammable substances above certain thresholds to develop risk management plans. EPA inspectors say Kinder Morgan hadn’t adequately implemented those regulations at the Casper and Douglas plants.