State regulators have proposed fining the Chevron-subsidiary Noble Energy $1.53 million for its role in a massive oil spill last April in Weld County. 

By far the largest spill in Colorado since at least 2015, a well operated by the company spewed more than a million gallons of oil, natural gas, polluted water and chemicals for nearly four days in rural Galeton, Colorado. A misty plume also contaminated crops, homes and an elementary school about a mile away. 

The proposed penalties announced Monday came after the Energy and Carbon Management Commission accused the company of violating six oil and gas regulations during a June 2025 hearing. 

Those include rules related to pollution, water quality standards and operating equipment safely.  Some of those violations carried fines as high as $15,000 a day. The largest penalty came for Noble’s failure to submit soil testing results to regulators within seven days. 

The announcement means that Chevron and Noble have agreed to settle those violations. The ECMC will now vote to approve the settlement and penalties, likely during a public hearing on March 18. 

“The fine imposed pursuant to the Administrative Order [of] Consent represents an important milestone in addressing and resolving the incident,” Chevron spokesperson Patty Errico said in a statement. 

In a report last year, Chevron said the spill resulted from human error — a contractor incorrectly assembled a bulky set of valves that controls oil and gas when it flows from underground. That error then dislodged a safeguard built into the well, allowing fluids to surge uncontrollably.

Those mistakes are exceedingly rare, according to the state. But their aftermath generated an incredible amount of waste that will take years to monitor and fully clean up.

As of late January, Chevron said in a report submitted to regulators that it had recovered more than 21 million gallons of liquid waste — oil and water mixed with chemicals, which could include contaminated creek water or water used to wash oil off of homes and buildings. 

That’s enough waste to fill more than 33 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Chevron also disposed of more than 79,000 cubic yards of impacted soil — enough to fill thousands of dump trucks. 

Chevron is responsible for paying for the clean-up, and has divided the spill into 317 individual tracts. Each of those parcels must be cleaned and tested before the state signs off on their clean-up. 

So far, only six parcels have been cleared by the state, with 200 more expected to be approved by June, according to the commission. But the rest of the parcels may take until 2030 to be tested and fully cleared.  

Noble initially disputed several of its alleged violations, and said that it had taken an “extraordinary response to the incident.” But the company ultimately agreed to settle with the commission and accept the fines. By agreeing to settle instead of further contesting the allegations, the company even received a discount — 10% off its total penalties. 

Chevron and Noble may also face potential lawsuits related to the spill, and other investigations by the state. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the spill. 

While the proposed fine is hefty, it’s a drop in the bucket for Chevron and unlikely to affect the company’s business in any meaningful way. The company has omitted mentions of the spill in recent investor reports. It also reported $2.8 billion in earnings during the last three months of 2025.