Company Pays $950,000 Fine for Oilfield Waste Dumping
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Wyoming-based company that illegally dumped oilfield waste in western North Dakota has paid the state more than $950,000 after the state Supreme Court affirmed the fine last month.
The Department of Mineral Resources says Black Hills Trucking paid $951,526 to the North Dakota Industrial Commission last week. It's the largest fine ever collected by the regulatory group.
The company earlier unsuccessfully appealed the fine to the North Dakota Supreme Court, arguing it already paid a $200,000 fine to the state Health Department for the same incident.
Black Hills Trucking was accused of illegally dumping saltwater near Tioga in February and March 2014.
The company is one of the businesses of the Casper-based True Companies.
Nearly all of the Industrial Commission fine will go into a state fund that's used to restore sites affected by oil and gas development.