Attorney general accused energy companies of failing to control sediment runoff near Parachute

Staff Report
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
April 16, 2008

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Attorney General John Suthers is accusing four companies of failing to control sediment runoff from construction sites into western Colorado waterways.

Suthers said Tuesday he is seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to suspend construction work on the oil-and-gas pipeline on the Roan Plateau until control measures are implemented.

Marathon Oil Co., two of its contractors — Enterprise Products and Enterprise Transportation — and Berry Petroleum Co. are named in the complaint. The four are involved in building a pipeline near Parachute.

In response, Berry said it has a state stormwater permit and a plan in place for the area in question. The company said state officials were at the site described in the complaint on April 3 and gave the company “no indication that there were any deficiencies in our erosion controls in need of remediation at that time.

“We believe we are in compliance,” the company said. “We will be formally responding to the state, but in the meantime we hope to sit down with the state, find out more about their concerns, and agree on any next steps that may exist.”

A call for comment from Marathon Oil Co. was not immediately returned late Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.