Houston-based Plains Pipeline ordered to pay $44 million+ for oil leaks

[caption id="attachment_11120" align="alignleft" width="195" caption="T. Boone Pickens"][/caption]

Editor - Another oil giant is in trouble in Texas, fined $41 million to improve leak
detection practices, enhance pipeline oversight and prevent leaks, as
happened in four states.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. has

been ordered to make sure it doesn't violate, as it had over the period
June 2004 to September 2007 6,510 barrels of crude oil that was
discharged from various pipelines into navigable waters and shorelines
of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas.In addition to having
to pay $41 million for clean up and remediation, the Houston-based
company has to pay another $3.25 million in civil penalties.

There were 10 spills during this period that ranged in size from 2.5 barrels to

4,500 barrels and most were caused by pipeline corrosion.

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, as noted by the Department of
Justice.

The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge oil or hazardous
substances into or upon waters of the United States or adjoining
shorelines in quantities that may be harmful to the environment or
public health.

When an oil company violates the Clean Water Act, the penalty is deposited
in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and used to pay for
federal response activities and to compensate for damages when there is a
discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil or hazardous
substances to waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.

“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.”

"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."

As part of the agreement, Plains must take steps to enhance corrosion
control, enhance pipeline leak detection 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.  

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 these
spills and required to take appropriate actions to reduce the potential
for future spills.

T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oil-man and spokesperson for natural gas, said on the Larry King
Live show  the oil and gas industry has an excellent
record with virtually no oil spills.  In Louisiana, prior to
the explosion of 4/20, there had been 4 oil spills in the 3 weeks before
the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill began in the Gulf, with the disaster continuing to take a heavy toll on people and wildlife of the region..