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December 2010

Vol. 15, No. 52 Week of December 26, 2010

BP pleads not guilty in federal court

Federal prosecutors say company violated probation on 2006 spill, set to expire Nov. 28, when Lisburne spill occurred in 2009

Elizabeth Bluemink

Anchorage Daily News

BP pleaded not guilty Dec. 20 to probation violations relating to its criminal conviction for a major North Slope oil spill in 2006.

If found guilty of the violations, BP could face maximum penalties of five years of additional probation and a $12 million fine, assistant U.S. attorney Aunnie Steward told a federal magistrate judge Dec. 20 in Anchorage.

Federal prosecutors say BP violated its probation when it spilled about 13,000 gallons of oil onto the tundra at the Lisburne oil field in 2009. The company’s probation officer, Mary Frances Barnes, filed a petition to revoke probation in November.

The company has been on probation since it pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act for its 2006 spill from a corroded and neglected pipeline at Prudhoe Bay, the nation’s largest oil field.

More than 200,000 gallons of oil leaked onto the tundra during the 2006 spill — the largest-ever oil spill on the Slope. While smaller, the 2009 Lisburne spill was also one of the Slope’s largest.

BP Alaska spokesman Steve Rinehart said Dec. 20 that the company has met all the terms of its 2007 plea agreement and does not need to remain on probation. The 2009 spill should be viewed in the overall context of the significant improvements the company has undertaken to make its Prudhoe Bay operation safer, he said. The probation had been set to expire on Nov. 28.

BP made its initial appearance on the petition to revoke probation in federal magistrate judge John Roberts’ courtroom Dec. 20. The company entered its not-guilty plea and agreed to abide by the terms of its probation while the case proceeds. Those terms include not committing additional crimes and not selling or transferring any of the company’s Alaska assets worth more than $10 million without approval from the probation officer.

An ultimate decision on BP’s probation is up to U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline, who sentenced the company in 2007. Beistline has not scheduled a hearing yet but BP and federal attorneys suggested that it be in April or May.

Federal attorneys have said that the judge has several options: He could revoke probation and impose a new sentence that involves a new period of probation and new penalties; extend the probation period; or reject the petition and take BP off probation.

BP’s 2007 plea agreement included three years of probation and $20 million in fines and restitution.

In the petition filed in November, Barnes, the probation officer, said BP violated its probation when it failed to take action on warning signs that the Lisburne pipeline was compromised months before it leaked. The company’s conduct was negligent under state law and the federal Clean Water Act, according to Barnes.






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