The Washington State Department of Ecology has imposed a $3.8 million fine against the owners and operators of Olympic Pipeline for a December 2023 fuel spill that released 21,000 gallons of gasoline near Conway, contaminating waterways, forcing a school closure, and killing wildlife in one of the most significant pipeline incidents in recent years.
State environmental regulators announced the penalty against Olympic Pipe Line Company and BP Pipelines on Monday, additionally seeking to recover more than $820,000 in response costs incurred by state and local agencies during the three-month cleanup effort that removed contaminated soil and oily water from the affected area whilst attempting to limit environmental damage.
The Washington Department of Ecology indicated BP and Olympic Pipe Line are being penalized for unlawful discharge of pollution into state waters and negligence in maintaining pipeline equipment, violations that regulators determined contributed to the spill through inadequate inspection and inappropriate use of materials vulnerable to corrosion.
A spokesperson for BP stated the company had been notified of the enforcement action and remains “committed to safe and compliant operations everywhere we operate,” though the company did not indicate whether it would contest the substantial penalty or accept responsibility for the violations cited by state regulators.
The announcement arrives as Washington State continues responding to an ongoing leak on the Olympic Pipeline near Everett that began on 11 November, a separate incident that has disrupted jet fuel supplies to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Officials indicated no determination has been made regarding potential fines or enforcement actions for the current incident, which remains under investigation as cleanup and repair work continues.
The Conway area spill began on 9 December 2023 when pipeline alarms first activated, prompting staff to investigate the system. Initially, personnel responding to the automated alerts found nothing unusual and reset the alarms. However, the alarms activated again the following day, indicating persistent abnormal conditions that warranted further investigation and prompted BP to shut down the pipeline carrying refined fuel products from refineries near Ferndale, Washington, to Portland, Oregon.
A technician investigating the repeated alarms discovered water and gasoline overflowing from a concrete vault structure near Conway, with fuel flowing into an irrigation channel that connected to the Skagit River as well as spreading into nearby wetlands. In total, approximately 4,000 gallons of gasoline reached the waterway, whilst the remaining spilled fuel contaminated soil and groundwater in the immediate vicinity of the leak.
Investigators traced the leak to a corroded carbon steel nut on a small, high-pressure monitoring assembly that had failed due to material degradation. The nut had corroded from periodic exposure to groundwater infiltrating the vault and from galvanic corrosion caused by contact with stainless steel tubing, a predictable corrosion mechanism that occurs when dissimilar metals are placed in electrical contact in the presence of an electrolyte, according to the Department of Ecology’s investigation findings.
“BP performed regular assessments and inspections on the equipment, but failed to identify the corroded carbon steel nut, which should not have been used due to the corrosive potential of combining dissimilar metals,” Ecology stated in its enforcement announcement, suggesting the company’s inspection protocols were inadequate to detect deteriorating conditions or that inappropriate materials had been specified during equipment design or installation.
The spill’s proximity to residential areas and Conway School created substantial public health concerns due to gasoline vapour exposure risks and potential water supply contamination, resulting in temporary closures of the school to protect students and staff, and closure of a local road to limit public exposure to contaminated areas. Cleanup crews ultimately removed 12,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil requiring disposal at hazardous waste facilities and extracted 330,000 gallons of oily water from the site for treatment, quantities reflecting the extensive contamination that occurred despite the relatively brief duration of active leaking.
Ecology acknowledged that rapid response by state and local agencies working in coordination with BP helped contain the spill to a “relatively small area,” preventing gasoline from spreading further into the Skagit River system where it could have affected fish populations and downstream water users over a much broader geographic area.
In a statement released Monday, BP echoed the importance of the coordinated emergency response. “As noted by the Washington Department of Ecology, our collaborative, robust response with our partners limited the affected area, reduced environmental impacts and prioritised public health,” the company stated, emphasising the effectiveness of containment efforts rather than addressing the equipment failures and inspection inadequacies that caused the spill.
The $3.8 million penalty represents the second major fine assessed against Olympic Pipeline within the past five years. The company previously paid $100,000 for a 2020 leak that released 67 gallons of diesel fuel, a much smaller incident but one that demonstrated ongoing compliance challenges with pipeline maintenance and monitoring requirements.
State and tribal agencies continue evaluating natural resource damage and required restoration measures from the 2023 spill, Ecology indicated, assessments that will determine what habitat restoration, wildlife population monitoring, or other compensatory actions BP and Olympic Pipe Line must undertake beyond the initial cleanup.
BP and Olympic Pipe Line Company have 30 days to appeal the fine through Washington’s administrative appeals process. BP indicated Monday it plans to review the state’s enforcement findings and to “engage constructively” with Department of Ecology officials, language suggesting the company may negotiate a settlement rather than litigating the penalty.
