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Martin Operating Partnership, LP Fined for Violating the Clean Water Act

Release Date: 03/31/2011
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Joe Hubbard at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(DALLAS – March 31, 2011) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined Martin Operating Partnership, LP of Beaumont, Texas, $48,700 for violating federal Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations outlined under the Clean Water Act. A federal inspection of oil storage and distribution terminals located at 10 Sulphur Plant Road and 1 Gulf States Road, in Beaumont, Texas, revealed the facilities’ SPCC plans did not conform to federal requirements, failed to describe procedures for the management of drainage from diked storage areas, and did not describe whether buried piping is present at the facilities, and if so, whether the piping is corrosion protected.

The inspection also revealed the terminals failed to construct all bulk storage tank installations to provide a secondary means of containment for the entire capacity of the largest single container plus sufficient freeboard for precipitation. The SPCC plans also failed to describe secondary containment at the truck and rail loading/unloading areas and did not address security components regarding master drain and flow valves and starter controls on pumps.

SPCC regulations require onshore oil storage and distribution terminals to provide spill prevention, preparedness and response to prevent discharges. The SPCC programs help protect our nation’s water supply. 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 is available at https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/mar2011.html