Wow, what a
Record-of-Achievement! See, the “Operator” of the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline likes
being on “Top” and is getting to the pinnacle of that Special Masterbater in “environmental
crimes”, faster then how that pipeline throughput is failing expectations. See,
if you look at the OSHA site for “High Crimes Enforcement Cases”, the Alyeska
Pipeline Service Company through its Valdez Marine Terminal, well chalk up #40 on
a list of environmental vagrants, a list of the top 10200 violators – for fines
over $40000 bucks! So at #40 in only 45-years in operation, climbing that
ladder! Now just 2-years ago, Alyeska and its associates in environmental
crimes violations, well it meant a $674,235 dollar fine, for exposing hundreds
of workers on numerous occasions with BETX, a cancer causing constituent found
in crude oil. And the reason that date is so important, well Alyeska has been
contesting that “fine” since then, which means a whole lot of attorney hours exhausted
coming up with lullaby gullible excuses, as that is the only way you can
bargain a settlement with the OSHA regulators. Now what is so laughable, well
Alyeska had just won a settlement from a previous violation and thought maybe
the regulators had enough, just like when the regulators turned their backs on
the Alyeska workers that tried to comvince everybody and their brother that
drunk tanker crews being allowed into the VMT facility then climbing aboard a
tanker filled with toxic crude oil, not a good idea. But I guess the regulators
learned from such mistakes after Joe Hazelwood blew a sobriety test after
sinking the EXXON Valdez on Bligh Reef in 1989, so then came a surprise visit
and the “Big Fine” as it appears it meant violations on the “Repeat”. So more
time and money for those expensive outside lawyers. And just when maybe there
would come a settlement, well Alyeska then finds itself in hot water once again
with respect to environmental crimes , more violations when someone forgot what
a snow shovel was all about in Valdez, in March when the “snow loads” are heavy
handed due to thawing and ice buildup. And because of the complacency, well
many of the crude oil storage tanks came close to exploding, and BETX once
again attacked the environment, airborne in the air we breath. So maybe a lesson’s
learned, fire the high-paid attorneys, do the crime pay the fine and hire some
snow shovelers. But wait there is more. When Alyeska had its greatness fun at
spoiling the environment and faced that massive fine, the biggest ever in
Alaska, well the VP of “Maintenance & Operations” would be the responsible
party, so she retired. And guess what, she has been re-hired back on the heels
of this latest environmental atrocity event, and not to handle a snow shovel,
but as the CEO!
