announcing the civil penalties that were assessed for calendar year
2007 for violations of the provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act. A total of $3,106,000 was charged to companies for 36
violations. A summary of the penalties – including identity of the
party, the regulation violated and the amount paid can be found in the
notice itself.
"The civil penalty process is designed to encourage
companies to comply with the statutes and regulations by pursuing,
assessing, and collecting penalties," said MMS Director, Randall
Luthi. "Publishing the penalties summary provides information to the
public on violations of special concern in Outer Continental Shelf
operations and provides an additional incentive for safe and
environmentally responsible operations."
Penalties were characterized by improper valve
settings, safety measures not being implemented, lack of adequate
training and poor testing procedures as well as other infractions.
None of the actions that were penalized resulted in any significant
oil spill or incident.
The provisions of the Oil Pollution Act authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to impose penalties for violation of the
regulations and allows the adjustment of the maximum civil penalties
to reflect any increases in the Consumer Price Index. Every three
years, MMS analyzes civil penalty maximum amounts. In February 2007,
the per incident amount was set at $35,000.
Between August 1990 and January 2008, MMS initiated
623 civil penalty reviews that resulted in 498 civil penalties.
Operators have paid a total of $18,591,792 in fines.
