Oil giant BP agreed to pay US$179 million to settle a US federal lawsuit over pollution at its Texas City plant, the site of a deadly explosion, officials said on Thursday.
BP Products North America Inc agreed to spend more than US$167 million on pollution controls and enhanced monitoring to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act, the Department of Justice said.
The company will also pay a US$12 million civil penalty.
“The Department of Justice and the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] will aggressively pursue those who fail to comply with the laws that protect our environment, and we will hold them accountable,” said John Cruden, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
“This new agreement requires stringent new measures to protect air quality and public health in Texas beyond those originally required at the Texas City Refinery,” he said.
The EPA discovered the violations during a series of inspections following a March 2005 explosion that killed 15 people and injured 170 others. In October 2007, the company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act and agreed to pay a US$50 million fine, the largest criminal fine ever assessed against a corporation for Clean Air Act violations.
That plea is still under review and this settlement does not address any claims arising from the March 2005 explosion, officials said.
The settlement addresses BP’s failure to comply with rules requiring strict controls on benzene — a hazardous air pollutant that causes cancer and nerve damage — generated during petroleum refining.
Pollution control upgrades required under the settlement are expected to reduce the company’s emissions of benzene and other volatile organic compounds by approximately 2,700kg annually.
The settlement will also eliminate the release of approximately 23,100kg of ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons from leaking cooling appliances after BP retrofits industrial and commercial cooling appliances. BP will also spend US$6 million to convert approximately 100 diesel municipal vehicles to natural gas in order to reduce air pollution in the area.
“We are pleased to have achieved this settlement and will work to continue reducing emissions and to ensure regulatory compliance at Texas City,” BP said in a statement.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
RSS