Following a string of accidental releases around the country, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. EPA, and the U.S. Department of Justice on October 24 announced a national settlement with Chevron U.S.A. Inc. requiring safety improvements at all its domestic refineries. The agreement resolves claims that the company violated provisions of the Clean Air Act aimed at preventing accidental releases of hazardous chemicals that can have serious consequences for public health and the environment.
As part of the proposed settlement, Chevron will spend approximately $150 million to replace vulnerable pipes, institute operating parameters and alarms for safer operation, improve corrosion inspections and training, centralize safety authority within the corporation, conduct a pilot study of safety controls for fired heaters, and make other safety improvements at all its domestic refineries. Chevron also will pay a $2.95 million civil penalty and implement supplemental environmental projects worth at least $10 million in the communities surrounding refineries in California, Mississippi, Utah, and Hawaii.
The overall value of this settlement exceeds $160 million, which makes it the largest settlement in the history of the EPA’s enforcement of the Risk Management Plan Rule under Clean Air Act Section 112r.
For more information, see here.
