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New EPA Head drops action to fine Exxon for hydraulic spills
Kaieteur News – The new Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Sharifah Razack, has moved to drop fines against ExxonMobil for two hydraulic fluid spills that occurred in the Stabroek Block in 2020.
According to Razack, who spoke with Kaieteur News on March 9, these two fluid spills had occurred in April 10 and May 9, 2020. She indicated, however, that because the volume of oil spilled into the ocean was “small”, the EPA rescinded any intentions to fine the oil company.
“It’s really a barrel that we [EPA] consider a spill and five gallons are not really a spill,” the EPA head said to Kaieteur News.
She then went on to say that even though a letter had been sent out to Exxon indicating that they had to pay a fine, a letter retracting the same was sent out to the oil company in October 2020.
“But we emphasized in our letter that they have to avoid such incidents by paying attention to proper maintenance,” Razack added.
Notably, Kaieteur News had reported on August 2, 2020 that since it started oil production in the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil has had six fluid spills, three of which occurred in 2020.
Albeit the spills were small in nature, the former EPA Director Dr. Vincent Adams had said he was deeply concerned about the “dangerous signal” these spills send about ExxonMobil’s safety culture and its approach towards addressing environmental infractions.
During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, Dr. Adams had noted that the company was fined $100,000 (US$500) for each incident, bringing the total payment to $600,000 (US$3,000).
But what had left him disappointed and appalled is the company’s opposition to paying the paltry fine. Dr. Adams noted that the company had sought to make a case to underpin its resistance as it noted that the spills of hydraulic fluid was negligible and therefore had no significant impact on the environment.
“They are making a case using that argument about the spills being small but that’s not my business…We are maintaining our position that they have to pay up. Our position is grounded in the law which says zero emissions and zero discharges and if they refuse to comply, we will go to court,” the EPA head had insisted.
Turning his attention to the cause of the spills, Dr. Adams had said they occurred due to ExxonMobil’s failure to follow basic manufacturer’s guidelines for a hose on the vessel. He had said that the instructions are clear on having an inspection done before use, but added that such was not done.
He had said, too, that ExxonMobil is in breach of its permit which states that it has to follow the manufacturers’ guidelines.
During his tenure as the EPA Director, Dr. Adams had signaled his intentions to take Exxon to court for the fines for its refusal to pay it them. When Kaieteur News spoke with Dr. Adams on Tuesday, he had indicated that the documents to take Exxon had been drawn up and it was only a matter of taking the company to court.
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