Fishing Companies to Pay $400,000 for Pollution Claims
Challenge Fisheries LLC, Quinn Fisheries Inc., Charles Quinn II, and Charles Quinn III have agreed to pay a total of $414,000 in civil penalties and to perform fleet-wide improvements and other compliance assurance measures to resolve federal Clean Water Act claims stemming from oily bilge discharges from the commercial fishing vessel Challenge, and a related fuel oil discharge in August 2017 in New Bedford Harbor, Mass., the Department of Justice and the Coast Guard announced.In its complaint filed Monday, along with the lodging of a consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the United States alleges…
Fishing Company Charged Over $1 Mln in Oil Spill Penalties
Tri-Marine Management Co., Tri-Marine Fishing Management and Cape Mendocino Fishing (Tri-Marine) have agreed to pay $1.05 million in civil penalties and to perform fleet-wide inspections and other corrective measures to resolve claims stemming from an October 2014 oil spill in American Samoa and related violations of spill prevention regulations, the Department of Justice and the Coast Guard announced today. In its complaint, filed today along with the lodging of a consent decree in the U.S.
US, ATP-IP Reach Settlement over Unauthorized Oil Discharges
Under a settlement agreement with the United States, ATP Infrastructure Partners, LP (ATP-IP) will pay a $1 million civil penalty and perform corrective measures to resolve claims by the U.S. under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of unauthorized discharges of oil and chemicals from an oil platform into the Gulf of Mexico, announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). This is the first joint judicial enforcement action involving EPA and BSEE claims in response to alleged violations of both the Clean Water Act and OCSLA. The United States’ complaint, which was filed in February 2013, in the U.S.
Oil Spill Response in Seattle's Salmon Bay
The U.S. Coast Guard and Washington State Department of Ecology continue to oversee the cleanup and investigate the cause of an oil spill that appeared earlier this week in the Ballard Mill Marina, on Salmon Bay, along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The Coast Guard and Ecology received reports Monday morning of oil, accompanied by strong petroleum odors in the waters. No one has come forward to take responsibility for the spill, and the Coast Guard has utilized the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to hire Global Diving and Salvage to conduct the cleanup. The Coast Guard and Ecology have established a unified command to plan and oversee cleanup work.
PVA Tells Members: Losses from Oil Spill May Be Compensable
The Passenger Vessel Association reminded its members on the gulf coast that economic losses from the BP oil spill may be compensable. As the spill continues and spreads, it may inflict harm upon PVA members in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. These members may be able to obtain compensation from either British Petroleum or the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990, enacted following the Exxon Valdez spill, provides that persons who suffer documented physical or economic injuries from an oil spill can be compensated for their damages. Payment will be made by either the “responsible party” (in this case…
Adm. Allen Approves Section of Louisiana Barrier Island Project
The National Incident Commander for the BP oil spill, Admiral Thad Allen, approved the implementation of a section of Louisiana’s barrier island project proposal that could help stop oil from coming ashore and where work could be completed the fastest—as an integrated part of the federal response to the BP oil spill. This step will save Louisiana the cost of construction for this section by integrating it with the federal government’s ongoing oil spill response—thus paving the road for payment by BP, as a responsible party, or the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
USARC Calls for Arctic Oil Spill Research
The U.S. Arctic Research Commission believes that the U.S. needs a robust research program to address spill response in broken ice, as shipping moves into the Arctic Ocean and offshore oil drilling - in several Arctic nations - moves forward. Mead Treadwell, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, prepared testimony for the August 20 field hearing in Anchorage of the U.S. Senate's Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Treadwell told the committee that, contrary to laws passed by Congress after the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster in 1989, a significant national oil spill research program does not exist, nor is one planned to fit the special needs of the Arctic. It was anticipated that the U.S.
Authorities Investigate Spill in LA Harbor
The U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) are conducting a joint investigation to determine the cause of an estimated 210 gallon diesel fuel spill into Los Angeles Harbor late Thursday night . Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach received the report of a diesel sheen at berth 240 in the Port of Los Angeles. The Coast Guard immediately responded to the location to conduct an investigation and locate the source of the discharge. The initial investigation did not reveal a source or responsible party. The Coast Guard accessed the Federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and hired Patriot Environmental Services to conduct the $50,000 clean up operation.
