Feds may slap Enbridge with $3.7M fine

MARSHALL, Mich. (WOOD) - A federal safety administration has proposed a record multi-million-dollar fine against Enbridge for the July 2010 oil spill that dumped about a million gallons of crude oil into the Kalamazoo River.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) proposed a $.3.7 million civil penalty against Enbridge. PHMSA said the nearly penalty is the largest it has ever proposed.

"We will hold pipeline operators accountable if they do not follow proper safety procedures to protect the environment and local communities," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a Monday statement. 

Twenty-four enforcement actions against Enbridge were also proposed.

The federal agency said it found multiple violations of the federal hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations including infractions in "integrity maintenance, failure to follow operation and management procedures, and reporting and operator qualification requirements."

PHMSA issued a Notice of Probably Violation to Enbridge, to which the oil company has 30 days to respond.

Enbridge released the following statement in response to the proposal:

Enbridge received a Notice of Probable Violation (NOPV) from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) following the Line 6B accident that occurred near Marshall, Mich. in July 2010. We appreciate the hard work and due diligence of PHMSA and others who are investigating this incident. We have worked closely and cooperatively with all federal and state agencies, including PHMSA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) throughout the investigation of the Line 6B accident, and are now reviewing the NOPV in detail. We will not comment specifically on the contents of the NOPV until that analysis is complete.  

In June, 34 miles of the river was reopened after being shut down for about two years, leaving only 1,000 feet still closed.

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