Houston (Platts)--16Apr2008

Colorado state officials have filed a motion against four oil- and
gas-related companies for allegedly failing to control storm-water runoff from
construction of a gas gathering line and access road on top of the Roan
Plateau in western Colorado.

The office of Colorado Attorney General John Suthers on Tuesday has filed
with the Garfield County District Court in Glenwood Springs a motion seeking a
temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Houston-based
Marathon Oil; Bakersfield, California-based Berry Petroleum and Houston-based
Enterprise Products Operating and its Enterprise Transportation affiliate.

Marathon said Wednesday it should not be included in the motion because
it had never operated the pipeline and Enterprise Products Operating "is its
own independent third party," said company spokesman Scott Scheffler.

Enterprise is building the underground gas gathering pipeline atop the
Roan Plateau as part of a system of midstream assets the company is building
to serve Marathon's Piceance Basin gas production. Berry Petroleum is building
an access road for the heavy equipment necessary to build the ditch.

The state is alleging that sediment carried by the storm-water runoff
from the construction project threatens to make its way into waterways near
Parachute and eventually into the Colorado River.

"Although Marathon and Berry have storm-water permits covering this site,
none of the companies has implemented the necessary best-management practices
to control and minimize sediment runoff," according to the AG's statement.

The state is asking the court to order the suspension of any further
construction work related to the pipeline and to require the companies to
control sediment runoff from the access road construction site.

A hearing on the restraining order was scheduled for Wednesday. A hearing
on the request for a preliminary injunction should be held April 23.

In a statement, Berry Petroleum spokesman Todd Crabtree said the company
was "disappointed" with the AG's suit.

"The state should have called us about any concerns they had, and we
would've sat down with them immediately to discuss and cure any problems," he
said. "We have a state storm-water permit and plan in place for the access
road in question, we utilize environmental experts to help us and to the best
of our knowledge we were in compliance."

Enterprise will "continue to monitor our activities to ensure we are in
compliance with applicable regulations and work with the appropriate
authorities to address their concerns," spokesman Rick Rainey in a statement
Tuesday.

--Jim Magill, jim_magill@platts.com