Court Lets Exxon Off Hook for Pipeline Spill in Arkansas Neighborhood

"'Despite adherence to safety guidelines and regulations, oil spills still do occur,' the court said in overturning several violations against the oil giant."

"A federal appeals court has let ExxonMobil largely off the hook for a 2013 pipeline spill that deluged a neighborhood in Mayflower, Arkansas, with more than 200,000 gallons of heavy tar sands crude oil, sickening residents and forcing them from their homes.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday overturned federal findings of violations and the better part of a $2.6 million fine imposed on Exxon's pipeline unit in 2015 by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The regulator had accused the company of failing to maintain the decades-old Pegasus Pipeline and to prioritize testing of a segment of older, high-risk pipe where a 22-foot gash eventually opened along a metal seam.

Exxon challenged the violation and fine, arguing there was no proof its actions contributed to the spill and saying it had conducted adequate testing of the pipeline as required by law. The appeals court agreed, saying the company met its legal obligation when it "conducted a lengthy, repeated and in-depth analysis" of the pipeline and its risks.

"The unfortunate fact of the matter is that, despite adherence to safety guidelines and regulations, oil spills still do occur," the court concluded. It called PHMSA's determination that the company failed to consider risks "arbitrary and capricious.""

Georgina Gustin reports for InsideClimate News August 16, 2017.