Enbridge and EPA agree to settlement involving Fifth Modification of the Consent Decree and payment of penalties
June 18, 2020
Items were reported, resolved
Enbridge announced today it has agreed to a Fifth Modification of the Consent Decree and will pay penalties assessed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The penalties result from compliance issues that Enbridge itself first reported to EPA. Those items were largely administrative in nature, such as meeting a certain timeline, and have all been resolved.
The EPA and Enbridge also worked cooperatively to draft this Fifth Modification after it became apparent that the parties had differing interpretations of the language in the Consent Decree related to certain features identified by Enbridge’s monitoring programs. The difference in interpretation was resolved by the agreement on the Fifth Modification of the Consent Decree.
There were never any safety issues with the pipelines involved. All pipelines on the Lakehead System continue to operate safely and reliably.
As part of the settlement, Enbridge has agreed to pay approximately $3.7 million in penalties regarding six alleged non-compliance items and approximately $3.0 million for an alleged failure to complete identification and evaluation of certain “shallow dent” features.
None of the alleged violations resulted in any safety issues, missed integrity risk reduction activities or damage to the environment. Nevertheless, Enbridge is prepared to pay the penalties and operate in full compliance with the revised Consent Decree.
All the issues have all been resolved and the changes agreed upon with the EPA have already been implemented. At every step, Enbridge made sure our actions safeguarded people and the environment.
The settlement underscores Enbridge’s commitment to do the right thing. Safety is one of our core values and a key priority at Enbridge, every day.
