$1M in Fines for Clean Water Act violations in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska

Mid-America Pipeline Company LLC (MAPCO) and Enterprise Products Operating LLC of Houston have agreed today to pay a civil penalty of more than $1 million to the U.S. to settle violations of the federal Clean Water Act related to three natural gas pipeline spills in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.  As part of a consent decree, in addition to paying the $1,042,000 civil penalty, the companies have also agreed to undertake various measures aimed at reducing external threats to their pipeline, enhance their reporting of spills, and spend at least $200,000 to identify and prevent external threats to the pipeline involved in the spills.  The companies will have to spend $200,000 to relocate, cover, lower or replace pipeline segments; install new remote shutoff valves; install new physical protections, such as fences or concrete barriers; and install other new equipment, structures or systems to prevent spills from reaching navigable waters.

Three spills had occurred along MAPCO's West Red Pipeline (operated by Enterprise).  In March 2007, a rupture near Yutan, Nebraska, caused the discharge of approximately 1,669 barrels of natural gasoline directly into an unnamed ditch and Otoe Creek.  In April 2010, a rupture near Niles, Kansas, caused the discharge of approximately 1,760 barrels of natural gas directly into an unnamed ditch, Cole Creek, Buckeye Creek and the Solomon River. And in August 2011, a rupture near Onawa, Iowa, caused the discharge of approximately 818 barrels of natural gas directly into the Missouri River.

BP Agrees to Add $400M+ in Pollution Controls at Indiana Refinery Plus $8M Penalty

DOJ and EPA announced today that BP North America Inc. has agreed to pay an $8 million penalty and invest more than $400 million in state-of-the-art pollution controls and cutting emissions from its petroleum refinery in Whiting, Indiana.  The settlement is in response to a complaint that alleges violations of the Clean Air Act related to construction and expansion of the refinery, as well as violations of a 2001 consent decree with the company that covered all of BP's refineries and was entered into as part of EPA's Petroleum Refinery Initiative.  The agreement imposes some of the lowest emission limits in refinery settlements to date, enhancing controls on wastewater containing benzene, and providing for an enhanced leak detection and repair system.

Negotiations included several environmental groups, including Save the Dunes, the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Hoosier Environmental Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Law and Policy Center, as well as state and federal environmental enforcement agencies.

The Whiting Refinery has a refining capacity of approximately 405,000 barrels per day, and is the 6th largest refinery in the United States.