The following summary is from one of sixty-six Clean Water Act Prosecutions in Louisiana since 1990

An company operating oil and gas wells from platforms and barges in the bayous of south Louisiana was convicted in a federal district court for negligent violation of the Clean Water Act. 

The defendant operated three facilities in consistently poor condition.  The court received evidence of corroded pipes and oil spills left to emulsify on the decks of the working platforms and barges.  Witnesses on the waterways reported visible sheen on the water around the operations, prompting and inspection by Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality c.  In June 2008, LDEQ personnel documented the oil leaking from the defendant’s facilities into the waterways.

Further, the court heard evidence that the defendant had been operating its oil production and storage activities without an LDEQ permit, without an Emergency Response Plan or Spill Prevention and Control Plan for the facilities. LDEQ inspectors attended the site in Feb 2008, finding the facilities in “extremely poor condition with pools of oily water and emulsified oil on the deck, as well as ample evidence of extensive corrosion and leaks. The required spill response equipment was either missing or defective.”

A catastrophic leak finally occurred in May 2008 that ran unchecked for two days before responders got booms out to contain the spill.  The oil slick and rainbow sheen extended for two miles downstream in this instance.

Federal fines: $557,000; Probation: 12 months