CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The company
today issued the following statement related to an agreement
between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of
Ohio and Duke Energy Beckjord, LLC
regarding a 9,000-gallon diesel fuel oil spill into the Ohio River
in August 2014.
Terms of the agreement include one misdemeanor violation of
the Clean Water Act, a fine of $1
million and a $100,000
contribution to the Foundation for Ohio River Education (FORE). In
addition, the company has already reimbursed government and private
entities approximately $950,000 for
costs incurred in connection with the spill.
A worker performing a routine fuel transfer from one tank to
another failed to stop the process at the appropriate time,
spilling fuel into a secondary containment structure. The valve in
that overflow structure was left open, allowing the fuel to reach
the river.
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This agreement allows our company to put this incident behind us
and move forward.
We immediately apologized for the oil spill at our Beckjord
facility in Ohio, took
responsibility for the accident and responded quickly in
coordination with dozens of state and federal agencies to ensure
that people and the environment remained safe and well
protected.
We have used the accident as an opportunity to learn and
improve. For example, over the past two years, we have worked hard
to further strengthen our processes, training and emergency plans
at our facilities.
About Duke Energy
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.,
Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company traded on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about
the company is available at duke-energy.com.
Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and
Facebook.
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SOURCE Duke Energy