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Lionel Harris Oil Company, Inc. Fined for Violating the Clean Water Act

Release Date: 02/11/2010
Contact Information: Dave Bary at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – February 11, 2010) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined Lionel Harris Oil Company, Inc. of Cushing, Oklahoma, $2,150 for violating federal Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations outlined under the Clean Water Act.

A federal inspection of a bulk storage facility located at 2609 North Little, Cushing, Oklahoma, revealed the facility had inadequate procedures to use if a discharge occurred, and the facility’s SPCC plan had not received a five-year review as required by federal regulations. Inspection and tests required by federal regulations were not in accordance with written procedures developed for the facility and were not maintained for three years. Personnel working at the site had no training on the operation and maintenance of equipment to prevent discharges, no training on discharge procedure protocols, no training on applicable pollution control laws, rules and regulations, and spill prevention briefings were not scheduled and conducted periodically.

The inspection also found the facility was not fully fenced and entrance gates were not locked and/or guarded when the site was unattended. Additional discrepancies noted inadequate secondary containment of storage areas, mobile or portable storage containers were not positioned to prevent discharged oil from reaching waterways and vehicle traffic was not warned of aboveground piping or other oil transfer operations. As part of an Expedited Settlement Agreement with EPA, the facility has provided certification that all identified deficiencies have been corrected.

SPCC regulations require onshore oil production or bulk storage facilities to provide oil spill prevention, preparedness and responses to prevent oil discharges. The SPCC program helps protect our nation’s water quality. A spill of only one gallon of oil can contaminate one million gallons of water.

Additional information on SPCC regulations is available at https://www.epa.gov/oilspill

More about activities in EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/feb2010.html