ATP-IP settlement marks first joint resolution of CWA, OCSLA claims

Oct. 27, 2014
ATP Infrastructure Partners LP (ATP-IP) agreed to pay a $1-million fine and perform corrective measures to resolve federal claims that it violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the US Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) jointly announced.

ATP Infrastructure Partners LP (ATP-IP) agreed to pay a $1-million fine and perform corrective measures to resolve federal claims that it violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the US Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) jointly announced.

It was the first joint judicial enforcement action involving BSEE and EPA claims in response to alleged violations of both the CWA and OCSLA, the federal entities said.

They said the US complaint, which was filed in February in US District Court for Eastern Louisiana, alleged that oil and an unauthorized chemical dispersant were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from ATP-IP's production platform known as the ATP Innovator.

A BSEE inspection of the platform in 2012 revealed alleged unlawful discharges of oil and a piping configuration that routed an unpermitted chemical dispersant into the facility's wastewater discharge pipe to mask excess oil being discharged into the gulf. ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (ATP) operated the facility at the time of the discovery, and ATP-IP was-and remains-the owner, DOJ and the agencies said.

They said the platform, which was operating in the Mississippi Canyon some 45 nautical miles off southeastern Louisiana, was removed from the deepwater production site earlier this year and towed to port in Corpus Christi, Tex.

The US sued ATP and ATP-IP seeking CWA penalties and corrective measures under that law and OCSLA. The court denied ATP-IP's motion to dismiss the claims against it and a related motion for appeal in 2013. In addition to the fine and corrective measures, ATP-IP will conduct enhanced reporting to address safety and environmental concerns. The CWA and OCSLA claims against ATP are not part of this settlement and remain pending before the district court for future resolution.

DOJ, EPA, and BSEE jointly said that while ATP-IP took the Innovator out of operation earlier this year, it must perform corrective measures to ensure safe and lawful future operations. In particular, it must remove and seal the connection on the wastewater discharge outfall pipe that was used to inject chemical dispersants, thereby permanently eliminating the access point for improperly injecting dispersants into the wastewater discharge pipe.

Additionally, prior to any future use of the ATP Innovator for exploration, development, or production activities in US waters, ATP-IP will have to certify to the federal entities that:

• The facility has sufficient wastewater treatment equipment and operational plans to meet and maintain CWA permit discharge limits and prevent unlawful discharge of pollutants to offshore waters at all times.

• The facility's surface production-safety systems will be maintained in a manner that provides for protection of the environment under BSEE regulations.

• All facility operations will be performed in a safe and workmanlike manner in accordance with BSEE regulations.

As a further safeguard, ATP-IP will be required to have the ATP Innovator's wastewater treatment operations and surface production-safety systems independently audited for CWA and OCSLA compliance if the facility is used or leased in the future by ATP-IP or a related entity.

The proposed consent decree, lodged in the Eastern District of Louisiana, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval, DOJ and the agencies said on Oct. 16.