Fined a Third Time for Violating the Clean Water Act

The Environmental Protection Agency (USA) has fined Denbury Onshore, LLC, of Alvin, Texas, $16,600 for violating the federal Clean Water Act.

In 2012, the EPA inspected the company’s Central Treating Station oil storage facility in Montgomery County, Texas, and found that the company had failed to develop and implement a Facility Response Plan (FRP) as required by federal regulations. The Clean Water Act requires oil storage facilities that have a storage capacity of one-million gallons or more to develop and implement an FRP to demonstrate a facility’s preparedness to respond to a worst case oil discharge. The facility’s drainage area travels to Crystal Creek, a tributary of the San Jacinto River, and the facility has a storage capacity of over three million gallons.

In 2011, the company was fined $13,905 for a 7,560-gallon oil spill into Crystal Creek and $19,927 for a 14,700-gallon oil spill in July 2012.

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of oil or a hazardous substance into or upon the navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines in such quantities that have been determined may be harmful to public health. The EPA is charged with enforcing the Act and ensuring that human health and the environment are protected from harmful impacts of these violations.