PITTSBURGH, PA — The Shapiro Administration has issued one of Pennsylvania’s most sweeping environmental enforcement actions in years, ordering two major oil companies to undertake an aggressive cleanup of long-standing petroleum contamination along the Allegheny River and levying $3.3 million in civil penalties for repeated violations.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced a binding Consent Order and Agreement with Energy Transfer and Atlantic Richfield Company, holding both operators responsible for decades-old pollution that continues to discharge petroleum and tar-like material into the river in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
“This settlement sends a clear message that Pennsylvania will not tolerate ongoing violations that harm our waterways and communities,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. She said the agreement ensures the companies “take every step necessary” to restore the site and stop the recurring sheens that have repeatedly coated the river’s surface…