Environmental groups in Washington State are threatening legal action against rail cars carrying coal dust, alleging that the coal dust is causing environmental damage.  More »

BP’s own statements, and analyses prepared by people it hired, may make it difficult to defend itself against billions of dollars more in penalties related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. As a civil trial is set to get under way in federal court Monday in New Orleans over a web of litigation related to the disaster, the U.S. government believes it has an ace in the hole – the British oil giant itself.  More »

The Justice Department on Monday sued Houston-based ATP Oil & Gas Corp. accusing the bankrupt oil producer of illegally discharging oil from a platform in the Gulf of Mexico.  More »

The admissions in BP’s criminal settlement may mean it has less chance of avoiding the maximum environmental fines.  More »

The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it had hit a Texas-based exploration company with a $2,250 fine for violating requirements for spill prevention at two of its oil production facilities.  More »

The House of Representatives on Thursday amended an energy-transportation bill to include language setting aside 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill for restoration efforts.  More »

A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed the federal government’s argument that a BP subsidiary violated its probation after an oil spill because of another spill on Alaska’s North Slope. Judge Ralph Beistline also lifted BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.’s probation altogether in a written order issued Tuesday.  More »

A battle is brewing among some House Republicans over a plan to dedicate most of the fines from last year’s oil spill to restoring the Gulf of Mexico. Some key GOP lawmakers today suggested Gulf states are already cashing in on spill payments from BP and funding dedicated to the region after Hurricane Katrina.  More »

Integrated Production Services, a Houston-based oil and gas drilling contractor, today agreed to pay $140,000 in fines for sending hydrochloric acid into an eastern Oklahoma creek in 2007.  More »

House lawmakers today advanced legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties from last year’s oil spill to restoring the Gulf of Mexico. The move follows a Senate committee’s approval last month of a similar bill and is the latest sign that the restoration plan is gaining momentum on Capitol Hill.  More »

One of my posts earlier this month “EPA Spilled Milk Regulation Indicative of Broader Problem” drew a good deal of attention to the far-reaching consequences of EPA’s spill prevention regulatory program. In fact, it even caught the eye of the agency itself. Below you’ll find the direct response from Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator of EPA’s [...]  More »