Oil companies settle suit over Revere fuel spill

BOSTON ? Two oil companies that allowed 18,000 gallons of fuel to spill into the Chelsea River and Mill Creek in Revere in 2006 have agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the state Attorney General’s office by paying a total $312,500 to compensate for the damage.
Attorney General Martha Coakley said the settlement was reached in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday with the three companies involved ? Irving Oil Corp. and Irving Oil Terminals, Inc., together known as Irving, and Global Petroleum Corp.
The money will be paid into the Natural Resource Damages Trust, a fund created by the Legislature that authorizes the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA) to undertake restoration projects at sites where natural resource areas have been compromised.
“This harmful spill could have been avoided had the companies simply communicated with each other ahead of the repair work and closed a few valves,” said Coakley. “We hope this settlement will prompt all companies to implement better preventative measures so our valuable resources can be protected.”
EEA Secretary Ian Bowles said Chelsea Creek is amid a renaissance, with the development of a new park – Creekside Commons – that received a $500,000 grant last year from Gov. Deval Patrick’s Administration.
The settlement funds will be used to further improve Chelsea Creek through restoration projects, Bowles said.
Laurie Burt, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the Chelsea River and Mill Creek are sensitive areas that have taken the brunt of past oil spills. “It’s incumbent upon Irving and Global to do the right thing and operate their businesses in a way that does no further harm,” Burt said. “It’s far better to prevent spills upfront by carefully checking daily operations than it is to spend thousands to cleanup a spill after the fact.”
Irving and Global each own and operate oil and oil products storage tanks adjacent to the fuel dock where the spill occurred. Pipelines transfer oil among the tanks and dock.
On March 8, 2006, Irving contractors removed a check-valve from a pipeline, leaving an uncapped gap up to 24 inches in diameter. According to the court complaint, the companies failed to take measures to prevent an oil spill. Neither shut off valves that would have restricted oil flow through the open pipeline.
When Global attempted to transfer fuel oil through the pipe, the gap allowed about 20,000 gallons of oil to spill, approximately 18,000 of which flowed into the Chelsea River. Some of the oil migrated upstream into Mill Creek.
As joint owners and operators of the fuel dock, both Irving and Global are responsible for the release of the oil, based on provision in the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act.
Instead of taking the steps required by the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act, Irving filed an unsupported report that erroneously and misleadingly concluded no further action at the site was required, according to Coakley, adding that the report was ratified and adopted by Global.
The companies have agreed to pay a $50,000 civil penalty for this violation and must now complete the regulatory assessment process to the greatest extent possible considering more then two years have elapsed since the incident. Irving and Global also agreed to pay a $50,000 civil penalty for allowing the discharge of oil to the Chelsea River and Mill Creek.
The $312,000 settlement includes the two civil penalties as well as $12,500 for actual damages caused to Chelsea River and Mill Creek waters and wetland areas, and $200,000 to help mitigate the environmental impacts of spills at and around the site.
Assistant Attorney General Fred Augenstern from the agency’s Environmental Protection Division handled the case.