Public Notice: SFPP, L.P., Houston, Texas; Proposed Settlement of Clean Water Act Class I Administrative Penalty and Opportunity to Comment

Summary

In accordance with Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Sections 311(b)(6)(A) and (B)(ii), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(6)(A), and (B)(ii), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and the Consolidated Rules of Practice at 40 C.F.R. Part 22, notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, recorded in a Consent Agreement and Proposed Final Order (“Proposed Consent Agreement”), between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (“EPA”), and SFPP, L.P. (“Respondent”) to resolve this CWA Class II civil administrative penalty proceeding.

CWA Section 311(b)(3), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(3), prohibits “[t]he discharge of oil or hazardous substances into or upon the navigable waters of the United States [and] adjoining shorelines…in such quantities as may be harmful . . . .” Pursuant to CWA Section 311(b)(6)(A), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(6)(A), any owner, operator, or person in charge of any vessel, onshore facility, or offshore facility from which oil is discharged in violation of CWA Section 311(b)(3), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(3), maybe assessed a Class I or Class II civil penalty. CWA Section 311(b)(6)(C), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(6)(C), requires EPA to provide public notice of and a reasonable opportunity to comment on its proposed penalties. The specific procedures for conducting CWA Section 311(b)(6)(A), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(6)(A), penalty proceedings are further set forth in the Consolidated Rules of Practice at 40 C.F.R. Part 22.

On July 21, 2025, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.13(b) and 22.18(b)(2) and (3), Complainant and Respondent entered into a Proposed Consent Agreement to simultaneously commence and conclude this CWA Class II civil administrative penalty proceeding. The Proposed Consent Agreement requires Respondent to pay to the United States a civil administrative penalty of two hundred thirteen thousand five hundred and sixty dollars ($213,560).

In the Matter of SFPP, L.P., EPA Docket Number CWA-09-2025-0109

Complainant: Amy Miller-Bowen, Director, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

Respondent: SFPP, L.P., Houston, Texas

Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: Respondent owns and operates oil and gas pipelines across the country and is authorized to conduct business in California.

Summary of Alleged Violations: Respondent is the owner and operator of Line Section 16 (“LS-16”), an oil and gas pipeline that transports petroleum products from Concord, California to San Jose, California. On November 20, 2020, a crack in LS-16 caused 975 barrels of gasoline to discharge into the environment in Walnut Creek, California. The gasoline discharged into a gravel subdrainage channel underneath the pipeline and into the San Ramon Bypass Channel and Walnut Creek. The crack in the pipeline caused a discharge of oil in such quantities as may be harmful into or upon the navigable waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines in violation of CWA Section 311(b)(3), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(3).

Proposed Penalty: $213,560

Applicants or Respondents

Docket Numbers

• CWA-09-2025-0109

Related Documents

• Consent Agreement and Final Order: SFPP, L.P., Houston, TX (pdf) (222.91 KB, July 21, 2025)
  Consent Agreement and (Proposed) Final Order in the matter of SFPP, L.P., Houston, Texas to resolve a CWA Class II civil administrative penalty proceeding. EPA Docket Number CWA-09-2025-0109.