Magellan Pipeline settles federal charges from spills in 3 states
Magellan Pipeline Co. LP settled federal charges that it violated the federal Clean Water Act in gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel spills in Texas City, Tex.; Nemaha, Neb.; and El Dorado, Kan., the US Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency jointly announced.
The Tulsa midstream company formerly known as Williams Pipe Line Co. LLC agreed to complete about $16 million of injunctive relief across its 11,000-mile pipeline system and pay a $2 million civil penalty, DOJ and EPA said. It now is a Magellan Midstream Partners LP subsidiary.
A complaint and consent decree filed on Jan. 19 in US District Court for Northern Oklahoma held Magellan Pipeline responsible for spilling a combined total of 5,177 bbl of petroleum products in three separate incidents:
• On Feb. 24, 2011, a Magellan-owned 18-in. products pipeline ruptured north of Texas City and leaked 482 bbl of gasoline that affected a local watercourse, Pierre Bayou.
• On Dec. 10, 2011, two Magellan refined products pipelines were struck by a third-party that was operating heavy machinery while attempting to clear a hedgerow in an agricultural field near Nemaha. About 650 bbl of diesel fuel leaked from one line, and 655 bbl of jet fuel and 1,529 bbl of gasoline leaked from the other, affecting a watercourse known as Jarvis Creek. Cleanup is still under way and will be completed as part of the proposed consent decree, DOJ and EPA said.
• On May 4, 2015, a Magellan-owned 10-in. products pipeline ruptured near El Dorado and spilled 1,861 bbl of diesel fuel, some of which affected a local watercourse known as Constant Creek.
DOJ and EPA said the consent decree, which is subject to a 30-day comment period and federal court approval, requires Magellan Pipeline to:
• Complete an ongoing spill cleanup effort in Nebraska.
• Institute an enhanced annual training program for its third-party damage prevention staff.
• Update and enhance company information resources concerning selective seam corrosion.
• Update its integrity management plan.
• Create a publicly accessible web site that will report information about certain types of pipeline releases and Magellan Pipeline’s responses to them.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
Nick Snow
NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.
