WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- British energy company BP agreed to pay the largest penalty ever for Clean Air Act violations stemming from a deadly 2005 Texas accident, the EPA announced.
A $15 million penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act relates to a series of fires and a leak at the Texas City, Texas, refinery in 2004 and 2005. Three incidents at the refinery resulted in the release of flammable and toxic air pollutants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The EPA uncovered the violations after investigating a 2005 explosion at the refinery that killed 15 people and injured more than 170 others.
The penalty, handed down by the EPA and the U.S Justice Department, is the largest ever assessed for civil violations of the Clean Air Act.
"BP's actions at the Texas City refinery have had terrible consequences for the people who work there and for those in nearby communities," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's office of enforcement and compliance assurance, in a statement.
BP, the EPA said, has performed $1.4 billion in corrective actions and agreed to spend another $500 million on safety improvements at the refinery.
The Texas City refinery is the third largest refinery in the United States.
