BP to pay $15m for Texas City clean air act violation
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The US Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have confirmed that BP Products North America has agreed to pay $15m (£9m) for violating the US clean air act at its Texas City petroleum refinery.
The penalty is the largest ever assessed for civil violations of the US clean air act’s chemical accident prevention regulations and the largest civil penalty recovered for clean air act violations at an individual facility.
The settlement, which is subject to court approval, addresses violations stemming from two fires that occurred at the refinery in March 2004 and July 2005, and a leak that occurred in August 2005.
During the three incidents, thousands of pounds of flammable and toxic air pollutants were released. The settlement also resolves allegations that BP failed to identify all regulated hazardous air pollutants used at the refinery in plans submitted to the EPA.
The EPA identified the clean air act violations during a series of inspections of the Texas City refinery after a catastrophic explosion and fire in March 2005 that killed 15 people and injured more than 170 others.
The EPA also identified violations of other clean air act requirements at the refinery relating to the control of benzene, ozone-depleting substances and asbestos. These violations were resolved in a February 2009 settlement that required BP to spend more than $161m on pollution controls, enhanced maintenance and monitoring, and improved internal management practices at the refinery, as well as pay a $12m civil penalty and spend $6m on a supplemental project to reduce air pollution in Texas City and the surrounding area.
In a separate safety-related move, BP announced this week that it is to create a new safety division with sweeping powers to oversee and audit the company’s operations around the world. The safety and operational risk division will have the authority to intervene in all aspects of BP’s technical activities.
It will have its own expert staff embedded in BP’s operating units, including exploration projects and refineries, and will be responsible for ensuring that all operations are carried out to common standards and for auditing compliance with those standards.
The company said the decision to establish the new function followed the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico and BP’s investigation into the disaster.
Readers' comments (3)
Anonymous | 4 Oct 2010 12:52 pm
I cant imagine that the BP facilities are substantialy different in design, operation or performance than any other of the many similar facilities located in the USA. It would be interesting to compare the not infrequent industrial accidents that occur there to the regulators responses.
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Anonymous | 4 Oct 2010 7:58 pm
Not surprising - BP are currently public enemy No.1 in the US. However the US authorities seem to ignore the fact the so many of these infringements are taking place on their watch. Perhaps the whole country needs a H & S culture re-think. If H & S policies are only there to protect against a lawyer driven claim society then the enforcing authorities are missing the point. It is to be hoped that BP are taking things seriously given their record over the last few years (ie Buncefield), although I still believe the American operator should have taken more blame for the Deepwater incident
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Phil Albericci | 6 Oct 2010 3:45 pm
Wasn't the Buncefield site owned by Total, not BP?
I think all oil companied are much the same safety-wise, just that some get away with it.
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