Tulsa pipeline company agrees to pay $2 million fine as part of EPA settlement
TULSA — A subsidiary of Tulsa-based Magellan Midstream Partners LP has agreed to pay a $2 million civil fine and spend millions more as part of an agreement made public Thursday in a pollution lawsuit filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The lawsuit and proposed agreement, or consent decree, was filed by the EPA against Magellan Pipeline Co. LP over violations of the Clean Water Act linked to pipeline ruptures.
The lawsuit claims Magellan Pipeline violated federal law when four of its pipelines located in three states ruptured, spilling a total of 5,177 barrels of petroleum products into nearby waterways.
In addition to the civil penalty, the proposed consent decree calls for Magellan to complete $16 million of injunctive relief across its 11,000mile pipeline.
“This settlement holds Magellan accountable for multiple petroleum fuel pipeline spills that impacted waterways in three states,” John C. Cruden, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a written statement. “The terms of the agreement require Magellan to improve training of its staff and monitoring of its pipeline system’s integrity, and increase public transparency about leaks and responses.”
The lawsuit and proposed consent decree were filed on behalf of the EPA by the Justice Department in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The proposed settlement is subject
to a 30-day public comment period and court approval.
A Magellan spokesman said Thursday that the company has “worked cooperatively with all federal authorities involved in today’s filing.”
The company faced civil penalties of up to $7.5 million in connection with the violations of the Clean Water Act, according to the lawsuit.
Court documents filed in connection with the consent decree cite four separate pipeline ruptures, three of which occurred in 2011 in Nebraska and Texas. A fourth rupture occurred in 2015 near El Dorado, Kan., which is about 30 miles northeast of Wichita.
The Kansas spill occurred May 4, 2015, when a 10-inch pipeline ruptured, spilling about 1,861 barrels of diesel fuel. The fuel flowed into a creek that is a tributary of the Walnut River, which feeds the Arkansas River.
Two of the other spills occurred Dec. 10, 2011, and involved two separate, parallel pipelines near the southeastern Nebraska town of Nemaha.
The pipelines ruptured when an agriculture property owner struck them while performing excavating work with heavy machinery on the pipeline right of way. The work allegedly had been deemed safe to conduct by Magellan.
A 12-inch pipe that was damaged discharged about 655 barrels of jet fuel and 1,529 barrels of gasoline. A 10-inch pipeline that was also damaged, discharged about 650 barrels of diesel fuel. The fuel from the ruptured pipelines flowed into a nearby tributary of a creek, which flows into the Little Nemaha River, which in turn flows into the Missouri River, according to the lawsuit.
The fourth spill occurred Feb. 24, 2011, along an 18-inch pipeline that runs between Texas City and Pasadena, Texas.
The pipeline ruptured and spilled about 482 barrels of gasoline north of Texas City.
The gasoline from the Texas City spill flowed into a drainage channel which feeds a bayou that discharges into Moses Lake.
“Fuel spills have real and lasting impacts on clean water for communities,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Companies need to take the necessary precautions to make sure fuel is transported safely and responsibly. This settlement puts in place important pipeline safety and spillprevention measures that make this industry safer for communities.”
In addition to the $2 million civil penalty, Magellan has agreed to complete an ongoing spill cleanup effort in Nebraska, institute an enhanced annual training program for its thirdparty damage prevention staff, create a publiclyaccessible Web page that will report certain pipeline releases and the company’s responses to them and other measures together valued at $16 million.