{"id":76040,"date":"2025-12-10T14:34:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T14:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/?p=76040"},"modified":"2025-12-10T14:35:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T14:35:17","slug":"energy-transfer-racked-up-100-million-in-fines-faced-criminal-charges-for-environmental-abuses-while-suing-to-silence-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/energy-transfer-racked-up-100-million-in-fines-faced-criminal-charges-for-environmental-abuses-while-suing-to-silence-critics\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Transfer racked up $100 million in fines; faced criminal charges for environmental abuses while suing to silence critics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-new-report-by-greenpeace-usa-reveals-years-long-pattern-of-pollution-and-corporate-abuse-by-big-oil-company\">New report by Greenpeace USA reveals years-long pattern of pollution and corporate abuse by Big Oil company<\/h3>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\"><strong>WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 10, 2025) \u2014<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/bad-neighbor-energy-transfers-pattern-of-pollution-and-violations\/\">A damning new report<\/a> from Greenpeace USA exposes a years-long pattern of environmental destruction, safety violations, and corporate impunity by oil and gas polluter Energy Transfer (ET).<\/p>\n\n<p>The report finds on average, <strong>every nine days<\/strong> ET has a pipeline spill. Despite being fined over $100 million for their offenses \u2014 and garnering criminal charges along the way<sup><a href=\"#c-1\">1<\/a><\/sup> \u2014 Energy Transfer continues to pollute and put their neighbors at risk. Meanwhile, ET is currently waging a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/energy-transfer-lawsuit\/\">SLAPP lawsuit<\/a> for hundreds of millions against Greenpeace in the U.S. and Greenpeace International in an attempt to create a blueprint for other Big Oil polluters to silence both critics and peaceful protest.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s something wrong with a system that too often lets polluters off the hook but penalizes those who call out harm,\u201d said Tim Donaghy, Greenpeace USA Research Director and lead author of the report. \u201cEnergy Transfer continuously touts their safety record and commitments to environmental sustainability even as our research reveals the company\u2019s projects leave a trail of explosions, water contamination, and toxic air pollution in their wake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>Energy Transfer\u2019s assault on the environment and surrounding communities over the course of three decades is displayed in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/bad-neighbor-energy-transfers-pattern-of-pollution-and-violations\/\">Bad Neighbor: Energy Transfer\u2019s Pattern of Pollution and Violations<\/a> <\/em>\u2014<em> <\/em>through a compilation of publicly available records. ET has self-reported their pipelines having nearly 800<em> separate incidents since 2010<\/em>, spilling enough hazardous liquids to fill, by rough estimate, nearly six Olympic swimming pools. In Texas, where Energy Transfer is based, one year of air pollution from their operations is associated with an estimated 16\u201322 premature deaths, plus hundreds of millions in health-related costs. Since September 2024, ET has been involved in four major fossil fuel disasters, including:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An explosion in a residential neighborhood near Houston that reportedly forced over 1,000 people to shelter in place.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contaminated drinking water in Pennsylvania due to a pipeline leak that was reportedly undetected for over a year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A crude oil spill that reportedly shut down a popular Texas bird-watching site and contaminated a water treatment plant.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Massive offshore methane leaks \u2014 one of which was the second-largest reported to the federal pipeline regulator since 2010.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>\u201cEnergy Transfer&#8217;s operations put the health and safety of their neighbors at risk \u2014 all while trying to weaken the free speech protections that allow the public to criticize its actions,\u201d Donaghy continued. \u201cFree speech is an essential tool in building a healthier and more sustainable world. If people do not feel free to speak out against those who are polluting the air and water, and whose business model is driving us toward climate collapse, then what chance do we have of enacting solutions to these problems?\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>The full report is available at:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/bad-neighbor-energy-transfers-pattern-of-pollution-and-violations\/\"><strong> https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/bad-neighbor-energy-transfers-pattern-of-pollution-and-violations\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\" id=\"c-1\"><sup>1<\/sup>U.S. DOJ. 2006. Federal Government Reaches Settlement with Pipeline Companies Regarding Crude Oil Spills. August 15. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archive\/opa\/pr\/2006\/August\/06_enrd_534.html\">link<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n<p>###<\/p>\n\n<p>Media Contact: Lindsay Bigda, Greenpeace USA Communications Director, Media, <a href=\"mailto:lbigda@greenpeace.org\">lbigda@greenpeace.org<\/a>, +1 207-385-7924<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Greenpeace USA Press Desk:<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:mediausa@greenpeace.org\">mediausa@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><em>For more than 50 years, Greenpeace USA has responsibly practiced peaceful protest and creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions essential to a green, just, and joyful future for people and the planet. In 2017, Energy Transfer, the company behind the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-11\/Attachment%2053.pdf\"><em>controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)<\/em><\/a><em>, sued Greenpeace entities (Greenpeace Inc. &amp; Greenpeace Fund based in the U.S., and Greenpeace International) for $300 million in federal court, alleging that the entities violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) \u2014 a federal statute originally designed to eliminate mob activity. Specifically, Energy Transfer falsely accused the entities of organizing the historic #NoDAPL resistance at Standing Rock \u2014 a racist claim that attempts to undermine tribal sovereignty. This case has been widely recognized as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), a tactic used by corporations to silence constitutionally protected free speech and advocacy in the United States. In 2019, a federal judge dismissed the federal claims, prompting Energy Transfer to refile a nearly identical case in North Dakota state court \u2014 one of only 17 states with no anti-SLAPP protections. The lawsuit went to a trial in February 2025 before a jury of North Dakotans, resulting in a profoundly unjust verdict that awarded Energy Transfer over $660 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Currently, the Greenpeace entities are still awaiting a final decision from the judge on post trial motions and entry of judgment.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p><em>Greenpeace USA will continue fighting back against this case, including by appealing to the North Dakota Supreme Court.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p><em>For more information, visit:<\/em> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/energy-transfer-lawsuit\/\">https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/energy-transfer-lawsuit\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A damning new report from Greenpeace USA exposes a years-long pattern of environmental destruction, safety violations, and corporate impunity by Big Oil company Energy Transfer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":75981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":"[]"},"categories":[218],"tags":[88,102,179,185,6],"p4-page-type":[33],"class_list":["post-76040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-et-lawsuit-campaign","tag-energy-transfer","tag-free-speech","tag-slapp","tag-texas","tag-climate","p4-page-type-press-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.9 (Yoast SEO v23.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Energy Transfer racked up $100 million in fines; 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