The Environmental Protection Agency has alleged a Texas oil company underreported the extent of a crude oil spill after one of its pipes burst just north of a local waterway.
What’s happening?
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, authorities had to clean 6,800 barrels of crude oil spilled by a broken pipe north of Lake Arlington. Energy Transfer originally reported that only 2,600 barrels had spilled, roughly 285,000 gallons of oil in total.
The company previously noted the cause of the spill was “pipeline failure.” The final report also stated that the spill left no crude oil unrecovered, which is a relief for local environmentalists aware of the long-term impacts of poor spill management.
Underreporting these disasters is, unfortunately, not unique. Pemex Oil in Mexico was called out earlier this summer for hiding a massive oil spill off the coast of Dos Bocas.
Why is the underreporting of this oil spill concerning?
While no inland or coastal water was affected, according to the report, the spill contaminated the Fort Worth sewer system and the local Village Creek water treatment plant…