BP fined $15 million for refinery violations

HOUSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice fined BP PLC $15 million on Thursday for Clean Air Act violations at its Texas City refinery, adding to the oil company’s troubles as it struggles to clean up the damage caused by its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The fine, the largest civil Clean Air Act penalty given to a U.S. facility, resulted from a settlement between the EPA and BP and is subject to court approval.

BP’s Texas City refinery was also fined $87 million by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for problems found there after a March 2005 explosion killed 15 people and injured about 170 others.

The latest violations resulted from three incidents in 2004 and 2005 that forced Texas City residents to remain indoors while thousands of pounds of flammable and toxic pollutants were released into the air. The settlement also deals with allegations that BP had failed to identify all the regulated air pollutants used at the facility in the plans it submitted to the EPA.