N.L.'s offshore regulator cuts Hibernia's fine for 2019 oil spill by 30%
CBC
Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore energy regulator has reduced Hibernia's fine by 30 per cent for a 2019 spill that released an estimated 2,200 litres of oil into the Atlantic Ocean.
On Friday afternoon, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board announced a fine of $28,000 for the spill, which released an estimated 2,200 litres of oil into the Atlantic Ocean.
The regulator originally fined the Hibernia Management and Development Company $40,000 for the spill in August, but Hibernia appealed. The C-NLOPB says the fine was reduced following a committee's review of the decision.
In assessing fines for a spill of this type, the board considers the severity of the effects of the spill, adjusting a base fine of $40,000, according to an explanation of the committee's decision, posted on the board's website. In this case, the board reduced the fine based on remediation efforts by Hibernia, noting that five days after the spill, "the sheen had fully dissipated. No observable effects on wildlife were documented."
Hibernia argued there was an "absence of any evidence on the likelihood of wildlife encountering the oil given the ongoing remediation efforts," according to the decision.
The spill happened Aug. 17, 2019, when the power went out on the Hibernia oil production platform, about 315 kilometres east of St. John's. The platform's sprinkler system activated, which caused Hibernia's waste containment drain — which contained water and oil — to overflow from the platform into the ocean.
Scott Sandlin, former president of the Hibernia Management and Development Company, told CBC News at the time the power went out due to a low fuel supply to the equipment that keeps the electricity on. Backup generators were activated, Sandlin said, but it was unclear how long it took them to activate.
Production resumed a month later following a review. The C-NLOPB says an investigation into another spill from the platform, an estimated 12,000 litres of oil in July 2019, is ongoing.
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