GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK COMPANY, LLC, a Texas company, was sentenced to pay a $1 million fine for violating the Clean Water Act in connection with an oil spill, announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.
The oil spill occurred on September 5, 2016, on the edge of Bay Long near the Chenier Ronquille barrier island, which is east of Grand Isle, Louisiana.
According to court documents, GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK COMPANY, LLC, admitted to negligently causing the discharge of a harmful quantity of oil into a navigable water of the United States, in violation of the Clean Water Act.
The company also admitted that it failed to alert pipeline companies about continuing work near their pipelines for several months leading up to the oil spill, violating the federal Pipeline Safety Act and the “One Call” system created by the Louisiana Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention Law.
James Tassin, the subcontractor working for GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK COMPANY, LLC, who operated the marsh buggy that physically caused the spill, was charged in a separate criminal case and pled guilty as charged on March 18, 2021.
GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK COMPANY, LLC, agreed to pay the victim pipeline company $3,166,667 in a related civil case, and Tassin’s employer also agreed to pay the victim an additional $1,666,667, for a total payment to the victim of over $4.8 million.
Judge Greg G. Guidry ordered GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK COMPANY, LLC, to pay a criminal fine of $1 million and a mandatory special assessment fee of $125.
The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division.
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Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Environmental Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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