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Focus
DOJ ends longstanding practice of including supplemental environmental projects in civil settlements
The Hill – March 16
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will no longer allow parties settling claims of environmental violations, brought by federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, to perform or pay for environmentally-beneficial "Supplemental Environmental Projects" (SEPs) in lieu of paying a portion of the civil penalties they would otherwise owe. A DOJ memo issued last Friday concluded that the SEP program, in effect for roughly 30 years, violates the Miscellaneous Receipts Act, which requires any federal officer who receives funds on behalf of the United States to deposit them in the U.S. Treasury, for use by authorized governmental officials or appropriation by Congress. Because SEPs are typically implemented by private parties, the memo observed, the costs of implementation diverts to unauthorized third parties dollars that would otherwise be paid as penalties, and also interferes with the authority of Congress or authorized agency officials to decide how those dollars will be spent. The decision drew criticism from former officials at both DOJ and the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversee most enforcement cases against polluting businesses.
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News
Pipeline company to pay more than $60 million for 2015 oil spill near Santa Barbara
Los Angeles Times – March 13
Plains All American Pipeline L.P. and Plains Pipeline L.P. have agreed to pay more than $60 million, and to change their operations, as part of a settlement of litigation arising from a 2015 oil spill in which roughly 2,934 barrels of crude oil were released along the Gaviota coast near Santa Barbara, killing hundreds of sea birds and mammals. According to a DOJ news release, the spill was caused by the companies' failure to address external pipeline corrosion and to maintain proper control room procedures. After a four-month trial in 2018, a jury found that the oil company knew or should have known that it caused the spill. It also found the company guilty of knowingly filing a false or misleading report to the state.
Pentagon report finds greater-than-expected number of military bases with possible PFAS water contamination
McClatchy DC – March 16
The number of known military sites nationwide with groundwater possibly contaminated by per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), an ingredient in film-forming firefighting foams, has jumped to 651 from 401, and the cleanup bill will likely cost billions of dollars more than initially estimated, according to a recently-released report by the Pentagon. The new report, directed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper as part of his focus on PFAS contamination, lists hundreds of newly-discovered groundwater contamination areas in all 50 states, many of them at or near Army National Guard sites.
Groups join fight against SDG&E natural gas pipeline project along I-15
The San Diego Union-Tribune – March 18
Crews have already started working on a 50-mile project that will replace some segments and pressure-test others on an old natural gas pipeline that runs along Interstate 15 in San Diego County. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in February voted to let San Diego Gas & Electric move forward with the pipeline project while CPUC reviews its $677 million price tag, but the California Public Advocates Office, the Sierra Club, the Southern California Generation Coalition, and the Utility Reform Network contend that the project should be halted until an environmental review is completed, and have asked CPUC for a rehearing. An SDG&E spokeswoman said earlier decisions by the commission and its Safety Enforcement Division concluded the project “did not trigger” the requested environmental review.
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