BP fined for oil pollution

British Petroleum pleaded guilty to breaking pollution laws when one of its crude pipelines leaked and spilled oil in Alaska.

BP agreed to pay a 20 million dollar fine because of this, according to the US justice authorities. The company "pleaded guilty today in federal court to a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act for spilling 200,000 gallons (760,000 liters) of crude oil from a pipeline onto the tundra and a frozen lake" in March 2006, the Justice Department, said in a statement. The leak, in the North Slope region, was due to BP's failure to notice signs of corrosion inside the pipes. The company was not charged for a second leak in August 2006 at its Prudoe Bay oil field, since it acted quickly to stop the flow of oil. Around 1,000 gallons of oil escaped in that leak.

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