Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. (BP, C-P and Exxon) target of eight federal actions

[Blue_In_AK]

http://www.adn.com/2010/05/29/1300356/alyeska-target-of-8-federal-actions.html

SAFETY REGULATIONS: Company faces fines topping $1 million.

By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
[e-mail]

The operator of the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline is the target of eight pending federal enforcement actions that add up to more than $1 million in unpaid fines.

Most of the enforcement actions the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has taken against the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. have been pending more than two years. Alyeska is owned by an oil company consortium led by BP, Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil.

The cases all involve alleged violations of federal pipeline safety regulations.

Some allegations involve paperwork errors and inadequate procedures. But others are based on safety violations that were discovered after a pipeline accident, such as a spill or fire.

Still other cases involve alleged violations of the rules for monitoring and fixing corrosion in the pipeline that carries crude from the North Slope oil fields to the tanker port in Valdez. The oil in the pipeline accounts for about 10 percent of U.S. oil production.

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The case involving the $263,000 pending fine is a prime example of how long a case can drag out.

In 2005, pipeline inspectors reviewed Alyeska records and found the two alleged corrosion prevention violations.

In 2006, the pipeline agency proposed a $350,000 fine for the two violations. Alyeska contested the allegations and the size of the fine. The pipeline agency held a hearing on the matter in 2007 and issued its ruling in January 2010. In its ruling, the agency reduced the penalty to $263,000.

Alyeska petitioned for reconsideration of the ruling. The company argued that the fine should be cut more and that some of the agency’s findings were incorrect.

This March, the agency mostly denied Alyeska’s petition and upheld the fine.

The status now: Alyeska said it has paid $90,000 and is contesting the rest of the fine.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/05/29/1300356/alyeska-target-of-8-federal-actions.html#ixzz0pR0jyzII

Good luck to Gulf residents in your justice-seeking attempts. I'm not hopeful. :(