By Joseph Baker, May 4, 2011

As the United States continues to clean up the Gulf of Mexico following the worst oil spill in the country's history, BP (NYSE: BP), responsible for the Gulf disaster, will be forced to pay for another spill the oil company caused in Alaska in 2006.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) have announced that BP Exploration Alaska Inc. will pay US$25 million penalty for March 2006 oil spill that poured 5,054 barrels of crude oil from BP Alaska's pipelines onto the North Slope of Alaska.

In addition to paying the civil penalties, BP Alaska will invest an estimated US$60 million in a system-wide program to manage the integrity of the company's 1,600 miles of pipeline.  This settlement follows a 2007 court ruling on the March 2006 spill, which ordered BP Alaska to pay a criminal penalty of US$20 million for violating the of Clean Water Act.

“This penalty should serve as a wake-up call to all pipeline operators that they will be held accountable for the safety of their operations and their compliance with the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the pipeline safety laws,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. 

She added, “Companies like BP Alaska must understand that they can no longer afford to ignore, neglect or postpone the proper monitoring and maintenance of their pipelines.  This agreement will help prevent future environmental disasters and protect the fragile ecosystem of Alaska’s North Slope.”

Image Credit: zieak via Flickr

This is a cross-post from EnergyBoom.com.

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Original Post: http://www.energyboom.com/emerging/bp-alaska-pay-largest-barrel-penalty-oil-spill