Plains Pipeline to Spend $41 Million to Prevent Oil Spills Across 10,000 Miles of Pipeline (HQ)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and the Justice Department announced that Plains All American
Pipeline and several of its operating subsidiaries have agreed to
spend approximately $41 million to upgrade 10,420 miles of crude
oil pipeline operated in the United States. The settlement resolves
Plains’ Clean Water Act violations for 10 crude oil spills in
Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and requires the company to
pay a $3.25 million civil penalty.
“In the last year alone, transportation
pipelines released more than two million gallons of oil into the
environment, posing a serious threat to human health and natural
habitats,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
“These spills - and the recent pipeline spill in the
Kalamazoo River - remind us that we must be diligent in our
enforcement efforts and work to ensure that companies are meeting
their environmental obligations.”
“The Justice Department is committed to
strong enforcement of our nation's laws in order to protect human
health and the environment,” said Ignacia S. Moreno,
Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s
Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement
will result in the enhancement of safety measures that will
significantly reduce the risk of future pipeline leaks and harm to
the environment.”
Between June 2004 and September 2007, more than
273,000 gallons of crude oil were discharged from various pipelines
and one tank owned and operated by Plains, some of which entered
navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. The 10 spills ranged in
size from 2.5 barrels to 4,500 barrels and most were caused by
pipeline corrosion.
As part of the agreement, Plains, based in
Houston, must take steps to replace or install corrosion control
equipment, perform pipeline inspections, assess the integrity of
newly acquired pipelines, improve leak detection practices and
capabilities, and provide proper training for personnel. In
addition, Plains must ensure that all breakout tanks used to
replace or substitute existing tanks that relieve pipeline surges
have adequate capacity to contain such surges and are properly
located within secondary containment.
The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to
discharge oil or hazardous substances into waters of the United
States or adjoining shorelines in quantities that may be harmful to
the environment or public health. The $3.25 million penalty will be
deposited in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The funds
will be used to finance federal response activities and provide
compensation for damages sustained from future discharges or
threatened discharges of oil into water or adjoining shorelines.
Oil spills are known to cause both immediate and long-term harm to
human health and ecosystems, including the suffocation of wildlife
and the contamination of nesting habitats
According to recent pipeline spill reports, in
the last year, more than 50,000 barrels (2.1 million gallons) of
oil spilled from transportation pipelines across the nation. EPA's
enforcement responses to spills that affect waters of the United
States under the Clean Water Act are critical to ensure that
responsible companies are penalized for the spills and are required
to take appropriate actions to reduce the potential for future
spills.
The consent decree, filed in the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of Texas, is subject to a 30-day
public comment period and approval by the federal
court.
More information on the settlement:
www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/cwa/plainspipeline.html
