12/13/2023
WT Staff
CWA CrimeBox
Environmental Crimes Historic Conviction: Fiscal Year 2019; Case ID# CR_3123 (Louisiana)
Skilled labor supplier sentenced $500,000 in deadly oil platform incident
One of 67 Criminal Prosecutions in Louisiana under the Clean Water Act (from 1989-2021)
This case involves another defendant charged and convicted for violation of the Clean Water Act in connection with the Black Elk Energy platform explosion and fire in November 2012. The defendant in this case is a company that supplied contract workers to perform construction and maintenance on the BEE platform at the time of the disaster.
An unfortunate sequence of negligent acts and omissions of essential safety measures, communication and inspections resulted in the death of three workers on the platform and serious injury of many others. The unsafe work conditions and subsequent explosion and fire caused the release of five hundred barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in the West Delta area.
The labor supplier entered a guilty plea for its role in the disaster. Federal East District judge in Louisiana sentenced the defendant to a fine of half a million dollars and probation for three years.
Federal fine: $500,000; Probation: 36 months
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