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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Sept. 29, 2008
OIL FIELD EQUIPMENT IN KANSAS OPERATED IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL MIGRATORY BIRD ACT
WICHITA, KAN. – Apollo Energies, Inc., and Dale Walker doing business as Red Cedar Oil have been found guilty of violating the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren announced Monday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen M. Humphreys ruled that Apollo Energies and Walker failed to comply with federal law requiring them to secure oil field equipment to prevent migratory birds from becoming trapped in exhaust stacks and louvered openings.
The violations occurred after agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2006 conducted inspections of oil field heater/treaters and launched an outreach program aimed at educating oil producers about the federal law and methods for modifying equipment to prevent migratory birds from being killed. Producers were allowed until Jan. 1, 2007, to modify their equipment.
In April 2007, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent inspected a heater/treater in Barber County, Kan., operated by Apollo Energies. The agent found the carcass of a migratory bird called the Northern flicker in the equipment. Also in April 2007, an agent inspecting a heater/treater operated by Dale Walker in Barber County found the carcasses of two Northern flickers and one Eastern Bluebird in the equipment.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 15, 2008. Violations of the Migratory Bird Treat Act are misdemeanors with a maximum penalty of six months in federal prison and a fine up to $15,000 on each count.
Melgren commended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.
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