[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 8248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02339]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean
Water Act
On January 29 and 30, 2024, the Department of Justice filed a
Complaint under the Clean Water Act and lodged a proposed Consent
Decree with the United States District Court for the Western District
of Oklahoma in the lawsuit entitled United States of America v. Holly
Energy Partners-Operating, L.P., et al., Civil Action No. 5:24-cv-
00107.
The Complaint alleges that the defendants, Dallas, Texas-based
Holly Energy Partners-Operating, L.P., and Osage Pipe Line Company LLC,
are civilly liable for violations of section 309 and 311 of the Clean
Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319, 1321. The Complaint addresses the discharge
of about 300,000 gallons of crude oil from the Osage pipeline into
Skull Creek near Cushing, Oklahoma, on July 8, 2022. Osage Pipe Line
Company owns the 135-mile-long, 20-inch-diameter pipeline that
transports crude oil from a tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma, to the
HollyFrontier refinery in El Dorado, Kansas. Holly Energy Partners-
Operating is the operator of the pipeline.
The Complaint alleges the spill occurred when a segment of the
pipeline ruptured adjacent to Skull Creek about five miles north of
Cushing. From the point of the discharge, Skull Creek flows about three
more miles before entering the Cimarron River. The pipeline was
operating at the time of the rupture and discharged about 300,000
gallons (7,110 barrels) of crude oil into the creek. The land where the
rupture occurred, and the adjacent downstream parcel that the creek
runs through, are both allotment lands owned by members of the Sac and
Fox Nation.
Under the proposed Consent Decree, the companies will pay $7.4
million in civil penalties. The Consent Decree also requires the
defendants to perform corrective measures to remedy the violations. The
companies will be required to complete the cleanup and remediation of
the impacted area, improve their pipeline integrity management program,
provide additional training for all their control room operators,
expand their spill notification efforts for tribal governments with
land interests within the footprint of the pipeline, and submit
periodic compliance reports to the Environmental Protection Agency and
the Department of Justice.
The penalties paid in this case will be deposited in the federal
Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund managed by the National Pollution Funds
Center. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is used to pay for federal
response activities and to compensate for damages when there is a
discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil or hazardous
substances to waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division,
and should refer to United States of America v. Holly Energy Partners-
Operating, L.P., et al., D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-12810. All comments
must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the publication
date of this notice. Comments may be submitted by either email or by
mail:
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To submit comments: Send them to:
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By email............................ [email protected].
By mail............................. Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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Any comments submitted in writing may be filed in whole or in part
on the public court docket without notice to the commenter.
During the public comment period, the proposed Consent Decree may
be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. If you require assistance
accessing the Consent Decree, you may request assistance by email or by
mail to the addresses provided above for submitting comments.
Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-02339 Filed 2-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P