Record $9.6 million fine for Third Coast after substantial oil spill in the Gulf of MexicoBy JOSH FUNKAP Transportation WriterThe Associated PressPipeline safety regulators have imposed their largest fine ever on the company responsible for leaking 1.1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast in 2023. The $9.6 million fine is close to the total fines the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration usually issues each year. However, Third Coast, which operates 1,900 miles of pipelines, recently secured a nearly $1 billion loan. The agency said Third Coast failed to establish proper emergency procedures and didn’t adequately assess risks. The National Transportation Safety Board found that operators failed to shut down the pipeline for nearly 13 hours after gauges first hinted at a problem.
Pipeline safety regulators on Monday assessed their largest fine ever against the company responsible for leaking 1.1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf off the coast of Louisiana in 2023. But the $9.6 million fine isn’t likely to be a major burden for Third Coast to pay.
This single fine is close to the normal total of $8 million to $10 million in all fines that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration hands out each year. But Third Coast has a stake in some 1,900 miles of pipelines, and in September, the Houston-based company announced that it had secured a nearly $1 billion loan.
Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram said this spill “resulted from a company-wide systemic failure, indicating the operator’s fundamental inability to implement pipeline safety regulations,” so the record fine is appropriate and welcome…