Oil companies agree to pay $7.4 million for violating the Clean Water Act after crude oil pipeline ruptures

As part of the settlement, the two companies will have to take steps to complete the cleanup and remediation of the impacted area. In addition, the companies must improve their pipeline integrity management program, provide additional training for all their control room operators, and expand their spill notification efforts for tribal governments with land interests within the footprint of the pipeline. For context, Osage Pipe Line Company owns the 135-mile-long pipeline that transports crude oil from an Oklahoma tank farm to the refinery in Kansas, with Holly Energy Partners-Operating acting as the operator of the pipeline.

In a recent quote, Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said, “The pipeline spill in this case dumped nearly 300,000 gallons of crude oil, contaminating Skull Creek and severely hampering water quality and the aquatic environment in the creek. EPA and its federal partners are requiring the oil companies who caused the spill to restore Skull Creek, operate safely, and take steps to prevent future spills.”