Iowa Utilities Board fines companies $2 million for not having pipeline permits

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article included an incorrect civil penalty figure.

The Iowa Utilities Board issued separate orders Friday assessing $2 million in civil penalties to two pipeline companies that have been operating hazardous liquid pipelines and underground storage facilities in the state for nearly three decades without obtaining permits from the Iowa Utilities Board.

The board began a review last year of hazardous liquid pipelines and renewals of expiring permits, discovering Enterprise Products Operating did not have a current permit for approximately 750 miles of pipelines in Iowa that transport propane, butane and natural gasoline, according to a news release.

It also found Sinclair Transportation Co. did not have a permit for a roughly 12-mile pipeline in Lee County that transports petroleum products, according to Iowa Utilities Board records.

Neither company had been issued permits required to construct, maintain or operate a hazardous liquid pipeline in Iowa, the utilities board said in its release.

The utilities board issued a total of $1.8 million in civil penalties against Enterprise for not obtaining permits for seven hazardous liquid pipelines and two hazardous liquid underground storage facilities.

It issued a $200,000 civil penalty against Sinclair for operating its hazardous liquid pipeline without a permit.

The companies have 30 days to pay the civil penalties.

Enterprise and Sinclair have since filed new petitions seeking a hazardous liquid pipeline permit. The petitions are pending with the Iowa Utilities Board.

Under Iowa law, utilities board can assess penalties of up to $1,000 per day, per violation — up to $200,000 for each related series of violations.

Money collected will be deposited into the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Weatherization Assistance Program, administered by the Iowa Department of Human Rights, according to the Iowa Utilities Board.

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