American Commercial Barge Line has agreed to pay $6.5 million and acquire land for preservation under a settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in compensation for damages caused by a 2008 collision on the Mississippi River.
Namely, in July of 2008, the tug Mel Oliver veered directly in front of the MV Tintomara, with the two vessels colliding.
The collision caused the barge to split in to and discharge approximately 6,734 barrels of fuel oil into the Mississippi River.
The captain of the tug was sentenced to three years probation and lost his license. Furthermore, one of the co-owners of the company at the time, went to jail on charges of obstructing justice, while the junior employee who had been navigating the vessel for three days pled guilty to operating the vessel without a master’s license.
Under the proposed consent, American Commercial will acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland habitat near the Mississippi River in upper Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
American Commercial will also pay $2.07 million to compensate for natural resource damages from the spill. The federal and state trustees will further use the cash payment to perform projects to restore or ameliorate the impacts to aquatic life.
American Commercial has also paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs.
