Cities Service Pipe Line Company v. The United States

BENNETT, Circuit Judge.

Appellant, Cities Service Pipe Line Company (Cities Service), appeals the decision of the United States Claims Court, 4 Cl.Ct. 207 (1983), denying its request to recover removal costs from the United States pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(i)(l)(D) (1976). We affirm.

On March 20, 1980, a Cities Service pipeline in Harris County, Texas, burst, discharging approximately 8,797 barrels of crude oil into Carpenters Bayou near the Houston Ship Channel. The trial court accepted Cities Service’s testimony that a piece of heavy…