The Denver oil and gas company, long under pressure to fix what regulators said were multiple violations, including spills, has lost the ability to sell its product and could lose its license to operate if it doesn’t comply with all state rules in six months.
Other complaints against KPK were leaking flowlines, which carry oil and gas from wells; contaminated soil dumped on a field the company owns with a pond and wetlands nearby; and failure to turn in timely and accurate reports. However, the five-member commission agreed with the COGCC staff that KPK remained substantially out of compliance. The commission suspended all the company’s certificates of clearance, which means it can’t sell its oil or gas because it can’t move items off well sites.
The COGCC’s decision to end the compliance plan agreement, imposing the penalty and the loss of certificates of clearance will have profound negative consequences “for the people of Colorado, for K.P. Kauffman Co. Inc. and for our more than 150 employees and their families,” the company said in a statement.“I feel sick because for anyone who thinks this is an easy decision for us commissioners, it’s not.