EPA settles with Repsol over Qugruk spill

Repsol E&P USA has agreed to pay $30,500 to the Environmental Protection Agency to settle allegations of Clean Water Act violations as a result of a fluid spill on Alaska’s North Slope in April 2013, EPA announced on Sept. 3. The spill happened when a hose ruptured during a flow back test in conjunction with the drilling of the Qugruk No. 6 exploration well, north of the Colville River unit. Although more than 3,700 gallons of well testing fluids were released, much of the spill remained inside a secondary containment area. EPA says that up to 500 gallons of the fluids sprayed beyond the containment area onto frozen, snow-covered tundra. Repsol cleaned up the most impacted snow within four days of the accident, EPA says.

Following the accident the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said that the fluid consisted of a mixture of 60 percent water-based frack fluids, 35 percent diesel and 5 percent crude oil.

“Preventative measures to protect sensitive ecosystems like the Arctic tundra are very important to keep pollutants out of the environment and away from people,” said Jeff KenKnight, manager of EPA’s Clean Water Act Compliance Unit in Seattle, when announcing the Repsol settlement. “Holding companies accountable when they pollute the environment ensures that everyone is treated fairly, and promotes the use of precautionary spill prevention procedures.”

- ALAN BAILEY