BP Paying Another Big Penalty for Texas City Refinery

[Omaha Steve]

http://ohsonline.com/articles/2009/03/10/bp-paying-another-big-penalty-for-texas-city-refinery.aspx

* Mar 10, 2009

BP Products North America Inc. has agreed to pay $785,662 to resolve Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery, the same one where a March 2005 explosion killed 15 workers and triggered a $21 million OSHA fine. EPA on Monday said the company will pay a $420,662 civil penalty and spend $365,000 on supplemental environmental projects there.

EPCRA requires certain facilities that manufacture, process, or use certain toxic chemicals to report their releases annually. This settlement resolves BP Products North America’s failure to submit toxic chemical release inventory information to EPA and the state of Texas for 2002-2005 and failure to maintain reporting records for 2004. Toxic chemicals that were subject to reporting requirements included anthracene, cobalt compounds, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, formaldehyde, lead compounds, methanol, nickel compounds, phenanthrene, and vanadium.

The supplemental environmental projects will improve Texas City's ability to respond to emergency releases, including an ambulance, improvements to the city's computer system, communications equipment, a system to aid in traffic control during emergencies, and money to improve the city's Emergency Operations Center and mobile command post.

BP's U.S. refining operations include refineries in Texas City; Carson, Calif.; Cherry Point, Wash.; Whiting, Ind.; and Toledo, Ohio. These five refineries can process 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day. The company is the second-largest refiner in North America, it says.