ExxonMobil to pay $6.1 mln for spill
AN ExxonMobil Corporation subsidiary has been charged with violating the criminal provisions of the Clean Water Act in connection with a 2006 spill of about 15,000 gallons of diesel oil into the Mystic River from ExxonMobil’s oil terminal in Everett, Mass.
ExxonMobil Pipeline Company has signed a plea agreement in which it will pay a total monetary payment of more than US$6.1 million and agree to have the Everett terminal monitored by court appointed observer. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
The spill occurred, essentially, because of poor maintenance. The company was aware that a particular valve in it delivery pipeline system was not closing properly. This defect was the cause of the spill.
The US Department of Justice says: “ExxonMobil’s negligent failure to provide adequate resources and oversight to the maintenance and operation of the Everett terminal was a direct cause of the spill.” As part of its plea agreement, ExxonMobil has agreed to pay the maximum possible fine of $359,018 (twice the cost of the clean up), the clean up costs of $179,634, and a community service payment of $5,640,982 to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act fund to be used to restore wetlands in Massachusetts.
Fine monies from the prosecutions in the Buzzards Bay oil spill case and the recent Overseas Shipholding Group prosecution were directed into this fund where they were, and are continuing to be, used in wetlands restoration projects in Massachusetts. ExxonMobil further agreed that for the next three years, the Everett facility will be monitored by an court-appointed official and will be subject to a rigorous environmental compliance programme.