Chevron settles with EPA over Utah oil spills

WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) -- Chevron Pipeline Line Co. agreed to pay close to $1 million to resolve issues stemming from two Utah oil spills, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

Nearly 800 barrels of oil spilled in 2010 into the Red Butte Creek in Salt Lake City, Utah, closing the city's Liberty Lake for nearly a year.

In March 2013, roughly 500 barrels of diesel fuel spilled into a wetland associated with the Great Salt Lake.

The EPA announced Chevron Pipeline Co., which no longer owns the latter pipeline, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $875,000 to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act. The penalty will be deposited into a trust fund used by federal agencies to respond to oil spills.

Chevron in December reached a similar settlement with the state of Utah to restore areas soiled by the 2013 spill.

Cynthia Peterson, a community involvement coordinator for the EPA, says the settlement was fair.

"Every case is different, but this penalty is significant, and it reflects the seriousness of the violations," she said Monday.

There was no statement from Chevron Pipeline Co. on the settlement with the EPA.