Firm pleads guilty in Massachusetts oil spill

 

Tuesday, March 30, 2004
By Reuters

BOSTON — A New York company whose barge spilled thousands of gallons of oil off the Massachusetts coast last year has pleaded guilty to criminal charges and will pay a $10 million fine, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

Hicksville, New York–based Bouchard Transportation Co. pleaded guilty to negligently causing about 98,000 gallons of oil to spill into the Atlantic.

The spill happened when a Bouchard tugboat towing an oil barge went off course and hit rocks under the waterline in Buzzards Bay, about 60 miles south of Boston, on April 27, 2003.

Prosecutors said the company had allowed the tugboat's operator to continue working despite repeated concerns about his competency.

Bouchard also pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, based on the deaths of at least 370 protected birds as a result of the spill.

"This substantial fine of $10 million will provide critically needed funds to enhance conservation efforts (in the bay)," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said in a statement.

The fine will go in part to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, used by the Department of the Interior to finance conservation projects. A portion of the money will also go to help U.S. Coast Guard oil-spill cleanup efforts.

"Bouchard Transportation will also be required to comply with strict requirements aimed at preventing this type of environmental tragedy from ever happening again," Sullivan added.

An investigation is still under way into the incident's cause.

 



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