Texas pipeline operators to pay for spills

Two Texas pipeline companies agreed to pay more than $1 million to the U.S. government to settle claims from three natural gas pipeline spills, the EPA said. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Mid-American Pipeline Co. and Enterprise Products Operating LLC agreed to pay the civil penalty to settle violations of the Clean Water Act. Both companies own and operate the 2,769-mile West Red pipeline, which transports gasoline products between Kansas and Minnesota. Ruptures in 2007, 2010 and 2011 spilled more than 4,200 barrels of natural gasoline into regional waterways, including the Missouri River. The civil penalty fine was $1.042 million. Both companies also agreed to spend $200,000 to take action, including the relocation of some pipeline segments, that would prevent future spills. "This settlement requires proactive vigilance to ensure that our soil and waterways are protected from contaminants," U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska Deborah Gilg said in a statement. More than 20,000 miles of petroleum product pipelines cross Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.