Kinder Morgan charged with illegal ocean dumping
The U.S. Justice Department has charged energy and pipeline firm Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals with one felony count of dumping material in ocean waters without a permit.
The one-page filing Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., alleges that Kinder Morgan in 2003 'knowingly, by and through its agents and employees, caused to be transported from the United States material, for the purpose of dumping the material into ocean waters, without a permit issued pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.'
Kinder Morgan operates a seven-acre potash terminal and a 95-acre bulk fertilizer terminal at the Port of Portland.
The federal filing does not detail the exact material allegedly dumped or elaborate on the incident.
The Justice Department Kinder Morgan both declined to comment on the case.
While not specified in the filing, Kinder Morgan has been the subject of a longstanding whistleblower claim by a former Port of Portland dockworker regarding an alleged dumping incident in 2003. The claim, as filed with the Environmental Protection Agency, alleged that Kinder Morgan paid a freighter captain in 2003 to haul more than 150 tons of contaminated potash from Portland out to sea and dump it.
The whistleblower claims the potash would have cost Kinder Morgan $40,000 to properly dispose of in a landfill, instead of the $1,100 allegedly paid to the captain of the freighter JA Aladdin Dream II to dump the material at sea.
Since the whistleblower case was filed five years ago, several members of the Oregon Congressional delegation have asked the Justice Department, EPA and U.S. Coast Guard to investigate the allegation.