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Oil Company in Readsboro to Pay $15,000 for Violations of Oil Regulations

Release Date: 07/13/2005
Contact Information:

Contact: Sheryl Rosner (rosner.sheryl@epa.gov), EPA Office of Public Affairs, (617) 918-1865

For Immediate Release: July 13, 2005; Release # sr050706

A Massachusetts-based oil company has agreed to pay a $15,000 penalty to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it discharged oil from an unmanned facility in Readsboro, Vt. into a nearby river, and failed to comply with federal regulations related to the bulk storage of oil, in violation of the Clean Water Act.

According to a settlement agreement filed recently, the Rice Oil Company violated the Clean Water Act when it discharged 300 gallons of No. 2 heating oil from its facility on Oct. 24, 2003 into the Deerfield River, upstream of the Sherman Reservoir. None of the oil could be recovered from the fast-moving river.

The spill was reported to the National Response Center and a subsequent EPA inspection determined Rice did not have an adequate Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure plan at the time, in violation of the agency’s Oil Pollution Prevention regulations under the Clean Water Act.

Rice Oil is a mid-sized domestic corporation which operates a chain of full-service and/or self-service gasoline stations and heating oil delivery facilities.

In addition to the cash penalty, the company is correcting the deficiencies in its plan, and will complete improvements to the facility by mid-summer.

To learn more about oil storage requirements and EPA’s enforcement program visit: https://www.epa.gov/NE/enforcement/oilspills/index.html
Related Information:

Oil Spills/SPCC Enforcement
Clean Water Act