Colonial Pipeline pays largest civil penalty in EPA history
Atlanta-based Colonial Pipeline Co. will pay a $34 million penalty and spend at least $30 million to improve safety to settle pollution charges for spilling 1.45 million gallons of oil and petroleum products in five states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The EPA said the $34 million payment is the largest civil penalty a company has ever paid to the agency.
The government found Colonial violated the Clean Water Act when the company's pipeline corrosion, mechanical damage, and operator error resulted in the release of approximately 1.45 million gallons of oil and other petroleum products. In one spill, more than 950,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the Reedy River in South Carolina.
The U.S. Justice Department said Colonial, operator of the world's largest pipeline for refined petroleum fuels, will upgrade environmental protection along its 5,500-mile pipeline stretching from Texas to New Jersey. Colonial pleaded guilty in 1999 to a criminal charge and paid a $7 million fine stemming from the spill in the Reedy River case.
Colonial's owners include Koch Industries Inc., ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Co., Shell Oil Co. and the Citgo Petroleum unit of Petroleos de Venezuela.
Colonial will be required to inspect the pipeline for corrosion and make repairs under the supervision of a monitor.
The EPA said it has recently taken action against several other pipeline companies for oil spill violations, including Olympic Pipe Line Co. and Shell Pipeline Co.