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Company penalized for Ariz. sludge spills

By Mark Shaffer
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 08, 2002

FLAGSTAFF - A pipeline company that moves slurried coal between the Navajo
Nation and Southern California Edison's power plant in Laughlin, Nev., will
be fined for spills of hundreds of tons of the material in northwestern
Arizona, state officials said Wednesday.

Black Mesa Pipeline Inc. could be fined more than $100,000 and face other
civil and criminal penalties for eight spills along the 273-mile route since
May 2001, said Patrick Gibbons, an Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality spokesman. A decision is expected later this month.

One of the largest of those spills happened Jan. 19 near Willow Creek, where
an estimated 500 tons of coal slurry were released after the pipeline
ruptured. Black Mesa Pipeline did not report that incident as required last
year.

Gibbons said ADEQ has worked closely with the state attorney general's
office and federal Environmental Protection Agency on determining the fines
and other penalties.

The pipeline company was fined $128,000 last year for illegally discharging
485,000 gallons of coal slurry in seven spills between December 1997 and
July 1999. The decree noted that the pipeline was not properly maintained.
Black Mesa Pipeline also agreed to increase maintenance of the pipeline
through mid-2004 and to pay increased fine amounts if other spills occurred.

Gibbons said the Willow Creek spill, 10 miles east of Kingman, is expected
to be cleaned up by mid-September.

Andy Bessler, a spokesman for the Sierra Club in Flagstaff, said the Willow
Creek spill is particularly troublesome because it is a tributary of the Big
Sandy River. Sierra Club workers found sludge 8 inches deep along a one-half
mile area earlier this week.

Pipeline faces fines for spills

By GARY GHIOTO
Sun Staff Reporter
08/08/2002
AZ Daily Sun

A company operating a 273-mile-long pipeline transporting powdered coal from
Kayenta to Laughlin, Nev., faces hefty fines from the state and the
Environmental Protection Agency following a series of leaks in northern
Arizona.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA say the pipeline
maintained by Black Mesa Pipeline Inc. has leaked more than half a million
gallons of coal slurry in 15 separate spills.

Corrosion of the pipeline caused ruptures and seven spills between 1997 and
July 1999. Eight spills have occurred in the last nine months, said a
spokesman for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

The most recent incident occurred in January, when 500 tons of coal slurry
spilled into Willow Creek, a tributary of the Big Sandy River in
northwestern Arizona. Cleanup of the site is moving along, but probably
won't be completed until September, said Patrick Gibbons, ADEQ spokesman.

"We've very concerned about the continued leaks from this particular
pipeline and the company's apparent failure to comply with the procedures
outlined in our previous consent decree from last year," Gibbons said.

Coal slurry is not considered toxic, but it can damage watersheds and
threaten wildlife, the EPA said.

A HISTORY OF RUPTURES

The recent enforcement action follows a history of pipeline ruptures and
fines for the company.

In May 2001, Black Mesa Pipeline was fined $128,000 for illegally
discharging coal slurry during a 21Ú2-year period. EPA officials said the
pipeline was not properly maintained.

Coal slurry from pipe ruptures filled desert arroyos and threatened
contamination of waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act, the EPA
said.

As part of last year's consent decree, Black Mesa Pipeline agreed to
properly maintain the coal slurry operation. Each year the pipeline uses a
billion gallons of water to move powdered coal from mines on Black Mesa to
the Mohave Power Plant in Laughlin, Nev.

The company also agreed to report any spill from the slurry line to the EPA
and state within 24 hours and file a plan to cleanup the contamination
shortly thereafter.

The consent decree outlined a series of daily penalties ranging from $10,000
per day if a slurry discharge damages wetlands or federally protected
waterways. Penalties

for failure to report a spill in a timely manner range from $1,000 per day.
There are also stiff fines for not complying with the terms of the consent
decree.

Officials at Black Mesa Pipeline Inc., a company owned by Williams
Technology of Nebraska, could not be reached immediately for comment.

The Sierra Club said Wednesday that Black Mesa Pipeline may face from
$100,000 to $800,00 in fines because of the Willow Creek and seven other
spills during the past year.

Sierra Club members Andy Bessler and Cara Vahling documented the spills and
pending enforcement action by reviewing state and federal reports. In a news
release, the Sierra Club said the pipeline should be shut down immediately.

FINES NOT YET DETERMINED

According to ADEQ documents obtained by the Sierra Club, the Willow Creek
spill left sludge nearly a foot deep after running for several hours. The
documents said the company failed to report the spill in a timely manner.

State officials confirmed the Sierra Club's research Wednesday but disagreed
with club members who said Black Mesa Pipeline faces nearly $800,000 in
fines and criminal action.

Gibbons said it's unclear the amount of fines Black Mesa Pipeline Inc. faces
at this time.

"We are reviewing the penalties along with the Attorney General's Office and
the U.S. EPA. We are also discussing additional actions that may be
necessary for other violations because our goal is to ensure that the
company complies with the laws and prevents any further spills," said
Gibbons.

EPA spokeswoman Wendy Chavez said no criminal charges are being pursued
against the company and that it is premature to discuss fines at this time.

But she added, "There are stipulated penalties as the result of the consent
decree and there have been spills since that consent decree was issued."

The pipeline is also sparking controversy because it requires 1.3 billion
gallons a year to operate. The water for the system is pumped by Peabody
Energy from the pristine Navajo Aquifer. The Hopi Tribe and environmental
groups such as the Black Mesa Trust say the aquifer is being damaged by the
coal slurry operation and Peabody Energy's use of water for mining.

The Hopi Tribe has told the company that it must stop pumping from the
aquifer by 2005. Peabody Energy is consulting with the tribe on proposals
ranging from a pipeline transporting water from Lake Powell or using water
from Nevada for the coal slurry system.

Andy Bessler
Sierra Club Environmental Justice Organizer
928-774-6103
fax 774-6138
P.O. Box 38
Flagstaff, AZ 86002