The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) have reached a $177m settlement with Enbridge Energy for oil spills in Illinois and Michigan in 2010.
Enbridge has agreed to spend at least $110m on measures to prevent future leaks and improve operations across more than 3,200 km of its pipeline system in the Great Lakes region. The firm will also pay civil penalties totalling $62m for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) violations – $61m for discharging at least 20,082 barrels of oil in Michigan and $1m for discharging at least 6,427 in Illinois.
Meanwhile, cement manufacturer Cemex has agreed to reduce harmful air pollution from five US plants as part of a settlement with EPA and DoJ to resolve alleged violations of the CWA. It will also pay a $1.69m civil penalty; conduct energy audits at the plants; and spend $150,000 on energy efficiency projects to mitigate the effects of past excess emissions of nitrogen oxides.
