[미국] ExxonMobil, 수질오염방지법 위반으로 벌금 부과

사법부와 환경보호국이 ExxonMobil Pipeline Company의 원유 유출에 대해 수질 오염 방지법 위반으로 140만 달러의 벌금을 부과하라고 밝혔다.

ExxonMobil은 2012년 4월 28일 수질오염방지법 311을 위반하고 2천800 배럴의 원유를 유출시켰다. 회사의 20·22인치 지름의 파이프라인이 파열되어 원유가 주변 지역으로 유입되고 지류로 흘러들어 갔다.

한편, ExxonMobil이 부과한 벌금은 기름 유출 대응과 파열된 파이프라인 교체 비용으로 사용된다. 현재, ExxonMobil은 루이지애나 환경보고 부서의 행정명령에 따라 정화 사업을 완료했으며 계속적으로 후속 조치를 취하고 있다. 또한, 미국교통국과 교통부 산하 파이프라인 및 위험물질 안전청의 교정조치에 따라 지속적으로 운영하고 있다.

the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that ExxonMobil Pipeline Company (ExxonMobil) has agreed to pay a civil penalty totaling $1.4 million for an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) stemming from a crude oil spill from the company's "North Line" pipeline near the town of Torbert, La., in 2012. 

The United States' complaint, which was also filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, alleges that ExxonMobil discharged at least 2,800 barrels (or 117,000 gallons) of crude oil in violation of Section 311 of the CWA. On April 28, 2012, ExxonMobil's 20/22-inch-diamater pipeline ruptured near Torbert, about 20 miles west of Baton Rouge, and crude oil spilled into the surrounding area and flowed into an unnamed tributary connected to Bayou Cholpe.

The penalty is in addition to the costs incurred by ExxonMobil to respond to the oil spill and to replace the segment of ruptured pipeline. ExxonMobil is completing cleanup actions pursuant to an administrative order issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The company also continues to do follow-up work and to operate under a Corrective Action Order issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The CWA makes it unlawful to discharge oil or hazardous substances into or upon the navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines in quantities that may be harmful to the environment or public health. The penalty paid for this spill will be deposited in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund managed by the National Pollution Fund Center. The Fund is used to pay for federal response activities and to compensate for damages when there is a discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil or hazardous substances to waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines.

[출처 = Water World / 2014년 8월 26일]