BP inks $50mn settlement to resolve claims from Texas City refinery blast
BP has agreed to pay $50 million to the state of Texas to resolve air pollution allegations related to the March 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery, according to a statement from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
“The proposed agreement resolves the state’s enforcement actions against BP for unlawful pollutant emissions at its Texas City refinery,” Abbott said.
“The Texas Attorney General’s Office is committed to protecting our State’s precious natural resources by enforcing environmental pollution laws. The proposed agreement reflects the State’s commitment to protecting air quality and holding polluters accountable for illegal emissions.”
According to the office’s 2009 enforcement action, BP was responsible for 72 separate pollutant emissions that have been occurring every few months since March 2005.
An explosion and related fires erupted at BP’s Texas City refinery in March 2005, claiming 15 lives and injuring more than 170 workers.
The state’s 2009 legal action against BP stemmed from a referral from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates and permits emissions at Texas refineries.
After the Attorney General’s office filed its original legal action against BP, the TCEQ submitted a second, related referral against BP.
According to TCEQ investigators, multiple Texas Clean Air Act violations occurred at the Texas City refinery between April 6 and May 16 of 2010.
As a result, the Attorney General’s office filed a second enforcement action and charged BP with illegally emitting approximately 500,000 pounds of harmful air pollutants in Texas City.
Under the proposed agreement, BP is required to pay $50 million to the state of Texas. That amount includes $500,000 in costs that the Attorney General’s office incurred while pursuing the dtate’s enforcement actions.
The remainder of the $50 million reflects civil penalties that will be deposited in the state treasury.
Aside from this settlement, BP has already paid more than $100 million in fines to US safety and environmental regulators, and up to $2.1 billion to settle civil accident claims related to the explosion.
BP has also spent over $1 billion to upgrade the Texas City refinery, and recently said it is up for sale. The refinery has 406,570 bpd of refining capacity, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
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