CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government and Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) have come into conflict regarding the source of the Ennore oil spill, which has continued to damage the region’s ecosystem for the past two weeks.
The technical committee headed by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) member secretary, including experts from Anna University, NEERI, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Coast Guard, following field visits and analysis, has pinned CPCL to be the source of the oil spill.
However, CPCL on Monday claimed impunity and mentioned that it was being ‘unfairly’ blamed for the incident, despite the fact that there were at least 25 other industrial establishments in Manali area dealing in petroleum products.
The TNPCB counsel categorically told the southern bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) that CPCL was at fault for the oil spill and added that the board has already issued a show cause notice. Arvind Kumar, CPCL’s managing director, replying to TNIE’s query at a presser on Monday, said, “There was no oil pipeline leakage or major spill from the CPCL campus. Some surface-level oil deposits could have been washed-off along with the flood water. We request the government to consider looking at other industries in the area as well.”
Outlining a chronology of events, Kumar said, “Stormwater system at CPCL had a robust design, but it got overwhelmed after 48,000 cusecs of water from Poondi and Puzhal reservoirs was released on December 4. The water level increased to six feet forcing us to shut down two of the three crude oil processing units. There is no crude oil leak from CPCL.”
H Shankar, director (technical), CPCL, pointed out that the chemical analysis of samples collected by TNPCB shows phenolic compounds and grease, substances not used by CPCL. However, government officials told TNIE there is conclusive evidence suggesting CPCL was the source of the oil spill.