On August 22, 2000, the EPA published a proposed consent decree with Jayhawk Pipeline for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. Under the proposed Decree, Jayhawk shall pay the United States $352,500 in civil penalties for the 16 discharges alleged in the Complaint, and 12 additional discharges itemized in Appendix D to the proposed Decree. Additionally, the proposed Decree requires Jayhawk to:
- Purge and permanently remove from service portions of its gathering line system
- Install a cathodic protection system on all gathering lines which remain in service in accordance with specified industry standards. The system will include periodic close interval and pipe-to-soil surveys and a commitment to perform corrective measures.
- Perform periodic on the ground surveys of all remaining gathering lines in order to identify "Covered Water Bodies" within 500 feet of Jayhawk's remaining lines, and to ensure that the gathering lines meet specified standards for sufficiency of cover. Jayhawk will perform required corrective measures.
- Hydrostatically test all remaining gathering lines located within 500 feet of a Covered Water Body, in order to ensure that the gathering line meets industry standards for structural integrity.
- Company (sic) with an operation and maintenance manual for its gathering system which complies with federal standards set for trunk lines. Similarly, Jayhawk shall comply with federal standards for employee training set for trunk lines on its gathering system.
Editor's note: while we have not examined the case, it appears that the EPA is imposing DOT / OPS style regulations on pipeline systems that would otherwise be exempted from these requirements, and is imposing additional requirements that DOT / OPS does not require for any pipeline.
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