Enduro Resource Partners, of Fort Worth, Texas, will pay $170,000 to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations resulting from the March 10, 2010 spill, which saw 7,000 gallons of crude discharged from a pipeline into a tributary of the Nowood River.

Texas company to pay $170K for 2010 oil spill in Big Horn County

Benjamin Storrow 307-335-5344, Benjamin.Storrow@trib.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it had reached a settlement with a Texas-based company over a 2010 oil spill in Big Horn County. 

Enduro Resource Partners, of Fort Worth, Texas, will pay $170,000 to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations resulting from the March 10 spill, which saw 162 barrels of crude discharged from a pipeline into a tributary of the Nowood River. 

“This settlement underscores the importance of EPA’s oil spill prevention requirements in safeguarding our rivers and streams,” said Shaun McGrath, regional administrator for the EPA‘s Denver office.

The settlement was complicated by a series of acquisitions following the spill.

Cottonwood Creek Inc. operated the oil gathering station, Bonanza Station, at the time of the spill. Cottonwood Creek sold Bonanza Station to Enduro Partners following the incident. And Hiland Partners, Cottonwood Creek's parent company, was acquired by Kinder Morgan earlier this year. 

The final agreement was signed by Kinder Morgan executives, but will see Enduro pay the fine, EPA officials said. Kinder Morgan is based in Houston. 

"This settlement relates to an oil spill that occurred on an asset that Kinder Morgan never owned or operated," said Sara Loeffelholz Hughes, a company spokeswoman. "Kinder Morgan never owned the asset, but because we purchased Cottonwood Creek as part of the Hiland acquisition earlier this year, we signed the settlement on behalf of Cottonwood Creek."

She noted the spill has been fully remediated. 

The government had argued Cottonwood Creek failed to develop spill prevention and facility response plans prior to the incident.

The settlement acknowledged the company is no longer the operator of the facility. It noted Cottonwood Creek had removed the pipeline responsible for the discharge prior to selling the facility.

"Cottonwood Creek was responsive in putting the necessary preventative and response measures in place, and EPA will ensure that the station’s current operators continue to comply with these critical environmental requirements,” McGrath said.

The $170,000 fine will be deposited in a trust fund used by federal agencies to respond to oil spills and toxic discharges.