First US Joint Agency Enforcement Action Taken

摘要

In mid-October 2014 the US Department of Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced their first joint judicial enforcement action in response to alleged violations of both the US Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). On 16 October 2014, the agencies made public a US $1 million settlement agreement with ATP Infrastructure Partners LP (ATP-IP) to resolve allegations that the company unlawfully discharged oil and chemical dispersants into the Gulf of Mexico from its ATP Innovator oil and gas production platform. In addition to the fines, ATP-IP must alter and upgrade certain operations and equipment aboard the ATP Innovator to bring the platform into compliance with CWA permit discharge limits and BSEE regulations, and provide independent audits of the platform's wastewater treatment operations and safety systems.