U.S. Attorney, State File Federal Court Complaint Against ExxonMobil

From:  Fox16

Photo courtesy: Environmental Protection Agency.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas and Arkansas's Attorney General have filed a joint complaint against ExxonMobil for the Mayflower oil spill in March.

The complaint alleges six causes of action against the oil giant and seeks civil penalties under the federal Clean Water Act. 

Christopher Thyer and Dustin McDaniel announced the lawsuit in a morning news conference at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) headquarters in North Little Rock.

The lawsuit asks for ExxonMobil to pay for removal costs and damages related to the spill.

"Exxon has failed to properly remove waste caused by oil spill," McDaniel said, in revealing that the ADEQ has learned ExxonMobil is illegally storing contaminants near Mayflower. 

The suit seeks penalties of $1,100-$4,300 per barrel discharged and $45,000/day per violation. 

The new lawsuit has no impact on private landowners ability to take legal action against ExxonMobil.

More details below in the official news release:

WASHINGTON - Today the United States and the state of Arkansas filed a joint enforcement action against ExxonMobil Pipeline Company and Mobil Pipe Line Company (ExxonMobil) in federal district court in Little Rock, Ark. The complaint addresses ExxonMobil’s unlawful discharge of heavy crude oil from a 20-inch-diameter interstate pipeline – the Pegasus Pipeline – that ruptured in Mayflower, Ark., on March 29, 2013. 

As alleged in the complaint, a segment of the Pegasus Pipeline ruptured in a residential neighborhood in the town of Mayflower.  The pipe was buried approximately two feet below the ground at that location. The oil spilled directly into the neighborhood and then into nearby waterways, including a creek, wetlands, and Lake Conway.  Residents were forced to evacuate their homes due to the hazardous conditions in the neighborhood resulting from the spill. The oil has contaminated land and waterways and impacted human health and welfare, wildlife, and habitat. Cleanup efforts are still ongoing, and many residents still have not been able to return home.

The Pegasus Pipeline runs approximately 850 miles from Patoka, Ill., to Nederland, Texas. The pipeline is used to transport Canadian heavy crude oil. The pipeline originally was constructed in the 1940s. MORE