[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 8248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02339]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean 
Water Act

    On January 29 and 30, 2024, the Department of Justice filed a 
Complaint under the Clean Water Act and lodged a proposed Consent 
Decree with the United States District Court for the Western District 
of Oklahoma in the lawsuit entitled United States of America v. Holly 
Energy Partners-Operating, L.P., et al., Civil Action No. 5:24-cv-
00107.
    The Complaint alleges that the defendants, Dallas, Texas-based 
Holly Energy Partners-Operating, L.P., and Osage Pipe Line Company LLC, 
are civilly liable for violations of section 309 and 311 of the Clean 
Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319, 1321. The Complaint addresses the discharge 
of about 300,000 gallons of crude oil from the Osage pipeline into 
Skull Creek near Cushing, Oklahoma, on July 8, 2022. Osage Pipe Line 
Company owns the 135-mile-long, 20-inch-diameter pipeline that 
transports crude oil from a tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma, to the 
HollyFrontier refinery in El Dorado, Kansas. Holly Energy Partners-
Operating is the operator of the pipeline.
    The Complaint alleges the spill occurred when a segment of the 
pipeline ruptured adjacent to Skull Creek about five miles north of 
Cushing. From the point of the discharge, Skull Creek flows about three 
more miles before entering the Cimarron River. The pipeline was 
operating at the time of the rupture and discharged about 300,000 
gallons (7,110 barrels) of crude oil into the creek. The land where the 
rupture occurred, and the adjacent downstream parcel that the creek 
runs through, are both allotment lands owned by members of the Sac and 
Fox Nation.
    Under the proposed Consent Decree, the companies will pay $7.4 
million in civil penalties. The Consent Decree also requires the 
defendants to perform corrective measures to remedy the violations. The 
companies will be required to complete the cleanup and remediation of 
the impacted area, improve their pipeline integrity management program, 
provide additional training for all their control room operators, 
expand their spill notification efforts for tribal governments with 
land interests within the footprint of the pipeline, and submit 
periodic compliance reports to the Environmental Protection Agency and 
the Department of Justice.
    The penalties paid in this case will be deposited in the federal 
Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund managed by the National Pollution Funds 
Center. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is used to pay for federal 
response activities and to compensate for damages when there is a 
discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil or hazardous 
substances to waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to United States of America v. Holly Energy Partners-
Operating, L.P., et al., D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-12810. All comments 
must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the publication 
date of this notice. Comments may be submitted by either email or by 
mail:

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         To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By email............................  <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0777726564686a6a6269732a626274296269756347727463686d29606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6b1b1e09080406060e051f460e0e18450e05190f2b1e180f0401450c041d">[email protected]</span></a>.
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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    Any comments submitted in writing may be filed in whole or in part 
on the public court docket without notice to the commenter.
    During the public comment period, the proposed Consent Decree may 
be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. If you require assistance 
accessing the Consent Decree, you may request assistance by email or by 
mail to the addresses provided above for submitting comments.

Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-02339 Filed 2-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P


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