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companies which own and operate a pipeline that broke and spilled
260,000 gallons of crude oil into the Kentucky and Ohio rivers
in January 2005 has agreed to pay $2.57 million in fines.
According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Lexington,
Mid-Valley Pipeline Co. and Sunoco Pipeline LP will pay $1.4 million
to the federal government and $1.7 million to the state of Kentucky.
Mid-Valley owns the line and Sunoco operates it.
The companies have already paid the federal government $234,000
for clean-up efforts and have spent $9.5 million on the cleanup
on their own. They will pay the state $120,000 as reimbursement
of clean-up efforts and will donate an additional $230,00 to a
nonprofit environmental group. The specific group has not been
selected, but it will be in Kentucky.
The pipeline broke early on the morning of Jan. 26, 2005, when
a weld failed on the 22-inch line where it crosses the Kentucky
River just north of Perry Park. Originally, it was thought that
about 63,000 gallons had been spilled and that the spill could
be contained before the oil reached the confluence with the Ohio
River, 17 miles away.
Because of the magnitude of the spill from the line which was
originally laid in 1950, that wasn’t possible, resulting
in harm to hundreds of water birds as well as some beavers who
lived along the rivers.
Much of the oil clumped, as a result of the low water temperatures,
making it easier to catch in booms strung across the river, but
some of the oil still made its way farther down the river than
was anticipated.
Components of the oil were detected in the water supply in Louisville
three days after the spill.
Emergency personnel were called in after residents along the river
reported a gaseous smell. They found that the 22-inch steel pipeline,
buried 25 feet underground, had ruptured about 50 feet from the
riverbank on the north side. Those calls, however, came several
hours after the break, allowing a significant amount of oil to
spill into the river before detection. It was some time after
the company was made aware of the spill before state regulators
were notified.
While the break occurred along the river near Perry Park, the
line runs from Longview, Texas, to Lima, Ohio, and carries crude
oil.
As a result of the spill, a state task force on pipeline safety,
The Kentucky Pipeline Safety Committee, was put in place. It has
met four times. In addition, Mid-Valley and Sunoco will be holding
training exercises with state and federal officials to learn the
best responses in case of a future spill.
The public has 30 days to comment on the settlement. The agreement
can be found online at www.usdoj.gov/ enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
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