By Edward Welsch, Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2010
CALGARY (Dow Jones)--Canadian natural gas company EnCana Corp. (ECA) pleaded guilty to the deaths of 55 birds at its plants in Colorado and Wyoming, and agreed to spend more than $3 million on bird protections in those states.
The violations over four years came from waterfowl and owls that died after coming into contact with uncovered natural gas reserve wells and waste water pools contaminated with hydrocarbons, the Colorado Justice Department said in a release. The wells and pools were located in EnCana's natural gas facilities in the Piceance Basin in Colorado, and in the Sweetwater, Sublette and Lincoln counties in Wyoming.
EnCana's U.S. unit, EnCana Oil & Gas Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act in a Colorado federal court on Thursday, and agreed to pay $200,000 in fines that will go to the federal North American Wetlands Conservation Fund.
EnCana spokesman Doug Hock said the company has spent more than $3 million on bird-protection measures at its plants in the two states since the incidents occurred, and is also planning to pay for bird-protection measures at its shale gas facilities in Louisiana and Texas.
Hock said the bird-protection measures include bird radar devices that will notify the company of the presence of birds, tank covers, netting and "bird balls"--plastic balls that float at the top of tanks that prevent waterfowl from landing.
-By Edward Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 403-229-9095; edward.welsch@dowjones.com
