BP To Reach Agreement With Colorado Authorities

Berry Petroleum Co., an independent oil and natural gas producer, reached a settlement Tuesday with Colorado's attorney general over allegations the company's construction work was endangering a trout hatchery in the western part of the state.

The attorney general's office filed a complaint April 15 against Berry, Enterprise Products Co., subsidiary Enterprise Transportation Co. and Marathon Oil Co. for failing to control construction runoff from a pipeline construction project. The state sought a restraining order and injunction.

According to the state's motion, Berry provided an access road to the construction site for Enterprise's equipment. The pipeline is not Berry's project.

The state alleged large areas of loose soil and banks of soil at the construction site lack the necessary control structures to minimize sediment runoff caused by rainfall and snowmelt. Dirt is washing from the road and trench areas into Corral Gulch, and then into Garden Gulch. The sediment-laden water then washes into Parachute Creek, a fishery that serves as a habitat for trout and other cold-water aquatic species.

A hearing on the attorney general's request for a restraining order and injunction had been scheduled for Wednesday, April 23.
But a statement issued by Berry Petroleum late Tuesday said there will not be a hearing on the motion after all because of the settlement the company had reached.