Saturday, August 8, 2015

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) Reveals DoJ Investigation in 10-Q



  August 8, 2015 at 10:30 am 
 
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA) reported in its 10-Q filings that the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Environmental Crimes Section has started an investigation in May, on behalf of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

The DOJ is investigating the possibility of any violation of federal criminal statutes, including Clean Water Act (CWA) violation, with respect to the Line 901 incident. 

Last month, BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) settled a lawsuit with federal, state and local authorities and paid a fine of $5.5 billion under the CWA.


The California Attorney General and the County District Attorney of Santa Barbara are both investigating the Line 901 incident. The company has been providing the department, access to its employees and documents and is working closely with them on the issue.

The Line 901 pipeline ruptured on May 19, causing a spill of approximately 21,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific ocean, out of more than 120,000 gallons spilled from the broken pipeline and in turn on to the beaches of Southern California. 

The spill affected wildlife and the natural environment and became a source of disturbance for residents and tourists. The company has conducted several cleanup operations and cleanup costs have risen up to $92 million.

According to Plains All American, six class actions lawsuits have been filed, for the damages caused by the incident. It expects total costs to reach around $257 million, which includes the cost of cleanup, fines, third party settlements, legal fees and penalties.

Another pipeline break also happened  at an Illinois station of PAA.  Messy company.