WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- BP Products agreed to pay nearly $180 million to settle Clean Air Act violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery, federal officials said Thursday.
BP Products North America Inc. agreed to invest more than $161 million on pollution controls, enhanced maintenance and monitoring, and improved internal management practices to resolve the violations at its refinery, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a joint release. The company will also pay a $12 million civil penalty and spend $6 million on a supplemental project to reduce air pollution in Texas City.
The settlement addresses BP Products non-compliance with a 2001 consent decree and Clean Air Act regulations on benzene and benzene-containing wastes generated during petroleum refining operations. Upgrading the control equipment and processes will reduce emissions of benzene and other volatile organic compounds by approximately 6,000 pounds annually, the EPA said.
"BP failed to fulfill its obligations under the law, putting air quality and public health at risk," said Catherine McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "Today's settlement will benefit the people living in and around Texas City, many of whom come from minority and low-income backgrounds."
EPA identified the violations addressed in Thursday's settlement during inspections of the refinery begun after a 2005 explosion and fire that killed 15 people and injured more than 170 others.
