BP Amoco Fined for Clean Water Act Violations

BP Amoco has agreed to pay a $804,700 civil penalty for violating the Clean Water Act by dumping over 162,000 gallons of oil into the Marais des Cygnes River in Osawatomie, Kan. The accident disrupted the city's water supply for over a month.

The discharge occurred in January 1994 and was caused by a break in a pipeline owned at the time by the ARCO Pipeline Company – now part of BP Amoco. It may take years for an ecosystem to recover from the damage caused by such spills, according to EPA.

BP Amoco also agreed to spend at least $145,300 on a supplemental project involving reconstruction improvements to the city's water intake.

The case was investigated by EPA's Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan.

Source: EPA