AUSTIN, Texas (April 16, 2018) - The GPA Midstream Association today honored ONEOK with the Environmental Excellence Award during the association’s 97th annual GPA Midstream Convention.

Companies must complete an extensive application in response to the award’s criteria for company projects that demonstrate initiative and leadership in managing their environmental affairs in midstream sector activities. Members of the GPA Midstream Environmental Committee review each application and select the award winner.

In early 2015, subsidiary ONEOK Hydrocarbon Southwest, which operates the Mont Belvieu 1 natural gas liquids fractionation facility in Texas, received a renewed permit required by the Clean Water Act, and that permit established more stringent total suspended solids permit limits. The ONEOK facility realized that a modified filtration and purification system was necessary to manage its water source from the Trinity River to comply with these new limits.

After considering and testing a number of filtration systems, ONEOK came up with a solution that now serves as a model for other facilities, making it possible for others in similar situations to reduce more than 90 percent of total suspended solids.

“Our Environmental Committee looks at a number of criteria when reviewing award applications, and ONEOK’s stood out because the project was innovative, it made a significant contribution to protecting and improving the environment, and the contribution to environmental quality is measurable,” said GPA Midstream Vice President of Government Affairs Matthew Hite. “ONEOK Hydrocarbon Southwest is one of the first fractionation facilities in the surrounding area to implement this new system, and we commend them for coming up with a solution that can be applied to other companies and facilities and further improving the environment in which midstream facilities operate.”

ONEOK also received the Environmental Excellence Award in 2016 for replacing compressors and associated equipment at the company’s Antioch, Okla., compressor station, to increase reliability of the station, minimize safety events and decrease ONEOK’s environmental footprint.

“ONEOK’s continued efforts are impressive and a testament to our members’ commitments to reducing their environmental footprints,” Hite said. “We are pleased to recognize ONEOK’s accomplishments with its second Environmental Excellence Award.”

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