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River Parishes Oil Company Fined for Violating the Clean Water Act

Release Date: 08/06/2009
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Anthony Suttice at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – August 6, 2009) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined the River Parishes Oil Company of Norco, Louisiana, $1,800 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 on Airline Highway in Norco, Louisiana, revealed the facility had no SPCC plan and inspection reports were not maintained for three years as required by regulations. Personnel working at the facility had no training on the operation of equipment to prevent discharges, no training on discharge procedure protocols and spill prevention briefings were not scheduled and conducted periodically. The inspection also found inadequate secondary containment and mobile storage containers were not positioned to prevent discharged oil from reaching nearby waterways. As part of an Expedited Settlement Agreement with EPA, the facility has provided certification that all identified deficiencies have been corrected.

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/aug2009.html