AEP works diligently to maintain an excellent compliance record. In keeping
with its Environment, Safety & Health Policy, the company has continued its
focus on improving compliance and has strived to reach a higher level of environmental
excellence with each new year. To track environmental performance, the company
has established certain performance metrics. These results of these metrics
provide AEP with direction on where to focus improvement efforts. One key
metric is the number of enforcement actions received by company facilities each
year. The following table summarizes these enforcement actions, along with
fines paid on an annual basis:
| Year |
Number of Enforcement Actions |
Penalties Paid |
| 2003 |
9 |
$33,500 |
| 2004 |
12 |
$65,000 |
| 2005 |
5 |
$1000 |
| 2006 |
9 |
$25,000 |
| 2007 |
2 |
$0 |
Four of the sixteen enforcement actions in 2004 were withdrawn or otherwise dismissed
by state agencies and one of the six in 2005 was withdrawn. A closer look at the
remaining enforcement actions from 2003 and 2004 reveals an increasing trend of
actions that can be categorized as administrative or procedural. In 2003,
fifty percent of the actions were administrative or procedurally related, and this
percentage increased to 85 percent in 2004. The remainder of the enforcement
actions in each year were equipment related. In 2005, AEP took action to further
drive environmental compliance awareness into the organization, conducted a review
of its environmental management system, and implemented a program to focus on equipment
performance improvement. These efforts paid some dividends in 2005, but are
expected to result in more sustainable long range improvement. The majority of the
enforcement actions in 2005 can again be categorized as administrative or procedurally
related. Therefore, looking toward 2006, AEP will further evaluate its environmental
management system for improvements.
Another key metric addresses reportable oil spills for the Generation and the Transmission
and Distribution business areas. The table below quantifies these spills for the
years 2003-2007:
| Oil Spills |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Reportable oil spills in power generation |
7 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
17 |
| Reportable oil spills in energy delivery |
80 |
71 |
72 |
94 |
79 |
External forces that are generally impossible to control cause the majority of the
reported oil spills. Therefore, the facilities focus their efforts on those spills
that are preventable. Each reported release undergoes review by the source facility.
If the cause was procedural or related to equipment failure, changes are made in
the process or the equipment is repaired or replaced.