NGT imposes Rs 5 crore penalty on CPCL for Nagapattinam oil leak

CHENNAI: The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a penalty of Rs. 5 Crore against Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) pertaining to an oil leak incident in Nagapattinam on Wednesday. The oil spill incident occurred in March 2023.

Hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the incident, Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati said that the CPCL is liable for the incident and directed to pay the penalty within 2 months.

"The CPCL is directed to deposit the same with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. The said amount collected should be utilized for the improvement of the environment and health of the people of the district, " the order said.

In March 2023, several thousands litres of crude oil leaked into the sea from a ruptured pipeline of the Cauvery Basin Refinery belonging to Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) in Nagapattinam. The incident led to severe pollution in the nearby area and resulted in death of fishes.

During the hearing, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) stated that as per the spill pattern, 10,000 litres of oil had leaked, whereas only 9,000 Litres were removed or recovered. The CPCL has not accounted for 1,200 Litres which have either mixed with the seawater or sand. "These kinds of incidents / accidents are prone to occur in the future also. Merely because the reports of the various institutions have given a no-impact report, the CPCL cannot be absolved of its liability.

Even though the leakage in the pipeline happened not because of the negligence or mistake of the CPCL, but only due to an external force, the CPCL is liable for their liability, " the TNPCB had said.

On the other hand, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) filed a report saying that there is no visible contamination in and around the sampling site observed.

Similarly, the NGT is hearing another case pertaining to the CPCL oil leak in Ennore.