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MINNESOTA COMPANY AND VICE PRESIDENT INDICTED
Release Date: 04/29/99
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1999
MINNESOTA COMPANY AND VICE PRESIDENT INDICTED
In the first case in the nation prosecuted under the One-Call Notification System law, Plummer Excavating Inc., of Plummer, Minn., and Randy Lee Konickson, vice president, were both indicted on April 21 in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in Minneapolis for allegedly violating the One-Call law and the Oil Pollution Act. Federal law requires that any person who conducts an excavation must first use the One-Call system to establish the location of underground pipelines in the area to be excavated. According to the indictment, Konickson ordered an employee to bury rocks in a field adjacent to the company where, on Sept. 16, 1998, an employee of Plummer allegedly struck a crude oil pipeline with a backhoe, and then allegedly covered the damaged pipeline at the defendants’ instructions. The pipeline allegedly ruptured as a result and nearly 218,000 gallons of crude oil spilled. The oil eventually ran into a drainage ditch that flows into the Clearwater River. Noxious fumes from the oil spill and the resulting fire hazard led authorities to evacuate the city of Plummer. If convicted on all charges, Plummer Excavating faces a maximum penalty of up to $750,000 and/or up to six years probation. Konickson faces a maximum penalty of up to six years in prison and/or a fine of up to $500,000, if convicted. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety, the Red Lake County Sheriff’s Department, and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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