Ex-EPA official faults probe of BP pipeline spills

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The former head of an EPA criminal probe into pipeline spills at a BP Plc oilfield in Alaska claims the U.S. Justice Department prematurely ended the investigation and settled with the oil company for less than the case may have warranted.

A corroded pipeline had broken and spilled 210,000 gallons of crude in March 2006, while another smaller spill took place nearby five months later.

Late last year, London-based BP agreed in federal court in Alaska to plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act and a $20 million fine.

Scott West, a just-retired special agent-in-charge of the Environmental Protection Agency's criminal investigation division in Seattle, said he had requested more time for his team of investigators to determine if there was enough evidence to charge BP with a felony.

EPA estimates for a fine, based on different scenarios, had ranged from $58 million to nearly $90 million, according to a draft document made public by environmental watchdog Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

West accepted that settlements often ended up being less.

"Compromise is certainly the name of the game, there's no doubt about it," West said in a phone interview. "It doesn't make any sense for a defendant to not get a deal."

But he said the Department of Justice had agreed, before meeting with BP's lawyers, to settle for between $20 million and $35 million, and accepted the lowest figure too quickly.

He also worried that the fine, while large compared with previous Clean Water Act settlements, was the equivalent of only a few days of profits for BP in Alaska and therefore not a sufficient deterrent to prevent future environmental damage.

Nelson Cohen, the U.S. attorney for Alaska, could not be reached for comment.

But the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Cohen said that opting for the $20 million fine was "a judgment call" his office made. "It's not my job to take every nickel from a defendant when they have done something wrong," he was quoted as saying.

The Justice Department could not be reached by Reuters, but the Wall Street Journal cited a spokesman as saying the decision was made by Cohen after consultation with prosecutors in Alaska and Washington who were assigned to the case.

West, 50, joined environmental group Sea Shepherd this month, having just retired from the EPA after two decades.

PEER, which filed a complaint with the federal government on West's behalf, said the matter had been referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility for consideration.

(Reporting by Braden Reddall, Additional reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore)