Pelican Refining Faces Record Fines Over Clean Air Act Violations

NEW ORLEANS — A Texas company that owns a refinery in southwestern Louisiana pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony violations of the federal Clean Air Act and obstructing justice and agreed to pay a record fine.

Pelican Refining LLC will pay $12 million for problems at its Lake Charles refinery, including $2 million for air pollution monitoring and other environmental projects in the state, according to a plea agreement reached in federal court. A judge must approve the agreement.

The Justice Department said the criminal fines would be the largest ever in Louisiana for violations of the Clean Air Act

It also said Houston-based Pelican acknowledged that it had violated numerous standards in its permit – including emissions of potentially deadly hydrogen sulfide – and submitted false emissions reports to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

Byron Hamilton, the Pelican vice president who oversaw operations at the refinery since 2005 from an office in Houston, pleaded guilty on July 6 to two Clean Air Act violations. He faces up to a year in prison and a $200,000 fine for each count, according to authorities.

"We regret this chapter in our history" but Pelican and its employees have worked diligently since 2007 to make sure the refinery meets state and federal laws, company spokeswoman Dorothy Beeler said.

Federal authorities said they opened an investigation after state inspectors in 2006 discovered illegal releases of hydrogen sulfide, improperly repaired or bypassed pollution monitoring and control equipment and oil stored in unrepaired tanks.

The refinery also had no company budget, no environmental department and no environmental manager, according to Pelican's court admission. The flare used by the refinery to burn off emissions – including hydrogen sulfide – was not properly functioning and employees typically took turns trying to relight it with a flare gun, the government said.

Also as part of the plea agreement, Pelican would be banned from operating a refinery until it implements an environmental compliance plan, including external auditing by independent firms and oversight by a court-appointed monitor.

Comments

[lightningbolt]

04:33 PM on 10/13/2011

Until we give a long prison sentence to polluters and other corporate criminals, they will continue wrecking our country as they please.

[lambdin1]

03:07 PM on 10/13/2011

Anyone want to bet that no one will ever see the inside of a prison?!?

[lightningbolt]

04:29 PM on 10/13/2011

Those who protest against this pollution will most likely see the inside of the prison.

[lambdin1]

05:11 PM on 10/13/2011

Yep! Now there is a safe bet!

[kburgoyne]

12:49 PM on 10/13/2011

All the GOP candidates have a sure-fire cure for this problem. This plant would never have been fined if there had been no regulations and it was able to spew forth its toxic waste for FREE into OUR publicly owned airshed. Keep one thing VERY STRONGLY in mind. When corporations do this stuff, it's "socializing the costs". It is corporate socialism. THEY dump their costs of THEIR pollution onto society as a whole, by exploiting OUR common airshed, for free.

This is no different that my deciding I don't want to pay the city for sewer service anymore, so I just spread it around onto the yards of all my neighbors. Works great for me. I save bucks not having to pay for sewer service, and I still got rid of my sewage. I can't see why anyone would have a problem with it!

[kareemachan]

12:18 PM on 10/13/2011

Gee, a Texas-owned plant in Louisiana acknowledged they violated air safety standards and falsified reports to the government. Who'd have thunk that? And what's that you say about less regulations, baggers?

[SaucyD]

12:00 PM on 10/13/2011

CLEARLY, the fines aren't stiff enough to stop these wanton polluters!

[mnyegele]

11:32 AM on 10/13/2011

I can't help wondering. What is the link between Louisiana's petrochemical industry and Louisiana's high infant mortality rate? Yet Louisiana's Congressional representatives, both Democrat and Republican, oppose all environmental protections. Why?

In any rate, this is the future that the GOP will offer us. Basically, "If you let us poison your children, we will provide you with a low-paying job, with Third Words Wages and Working Conditions."

With a high unemployment rate, engineered by the GOP, a lot of people will accept this promise. This report is only an small preview of what's to come. (And PS, it really doesn't have to be this way.)

[Tsalco]

03:11 AM on 10/13/2011

Time to stop blaming others.We could easily get rid of all of the pollution from this refinery. WE, the ones who use the products of the refinery are the ones ultimately responsible. They are polluting FOR US because WE PAY THEM.

Most of us could easily reduce the miles we drive by at least 10%. That would get rid of the need for this and other refineries and all the other waste in the oil chain.

[kburgoyne]

12:42 PM on 10/13/2011

Strange how our actions caused THIS refinery to ignore the laws and not other refineries. Your comment is perfectly correct when applied to the pollution that still spews forth from refineries adhering to regulations. Your comment is not applicable toward a refinery that broke the laws.

[catboycolo]

02:41 AM on 10/13/2011

OT-anyone know why they closed comment (with zero posted) on the baby gorilla story?

[lw1]

11:51 AM on 10/13/2011

Closed comment on Koch too. In the case of Koch, I'll bet they are very litigious. Somehow they removed the scathing 60 minutes expose from 2000 from the CBS site. Here is the Huff Po Koch article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/12/arkansas-koch-industries-plant-high-rates-of-cancer_n_1007148.html

[catboycolo]

11:59 AM on 10/13/2011

thanks! all I wanted to say was I wouldn't wipe my butt with a Koch brother...

[Republican No More]

02:05 AM on 10/13/2011

Felony...I think this corporate person deserves some jail time for its offenses... they don't care about fines.. it is seen as the cost of doing business and just passed on to the customer..what can the customer do? buy from someone else?

[Trekkiefandom]

01:09 AM on 10/13/2011

So a woman can sue Walmart for 25 million over 2 cents.

BUT

All that corporation has to do is pay 21 million for poisoning our air? Something isn't right here.

[catboycolo]

02:42 AM on 10/13/2011

she got $100 plus court costs...

[Trekkiefandom]

10:46 AM on 10/13/2011

Hmm.

That is right, I am talking about a woman who sued a school system for 25 million because her child (handicapped) was abused (not sexually) by two bus drivers.

[Kenz300]

12:36 AM on 10/13/2011

Quote -- " A Texas company that owns a refinery in southwestern Louisiana pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony violations of the federal Clean Air Act and obstructing justice "
------------------------------------------------------------

The Republicans want to end the EPA. They say business can self regulate.

Someone should go to jail.

[CajunSpectre]

02:08 AM on 10/13/2011

Self regulation is a joke.

[catboycolo]

02:43 AM on 10/13/2011

we would need to build more prisons...

[lw1]

11:53 AM on 10/13/2011

We could let the 600,000 non - violent victimless pot smokers out to make room.

[storytellerjmc]

08:17 PM on 10/12/2011

Why were the violations 'discovered' in 2006, but did not get into Federal Court until 2011 ? And the responsible company official 'might' get one year in prison ? What the hell kind of enforcement is this ? Who is running the Federal EPA, and/or the state environmental agency ? Or does the state of LA; just like Pelican, ignore the environmental responsibility ! Hamilton should get 10 years, and be forever banned from employment in the petroleum industry.

[KarlaElisa]

02:10 AM on 10/13/2011

2 sets of rules, 2 types of Justice. And its all dependent upon how much money you have.

I think Hamilton ought to get worse than 10 years and there should be others taking the trip to a nice, privatized prison where they can bunk w/ someone from general population. And his personal fortune should be forfeited.

And that company should pay far more than 12 million. I'm thinking take everything it's got and strip it's charter. But it doesn't work like that here. That's why people are in the streets all over America and our Gov't is busy trying to turn our heads with this Iran story.

[CajunSpectre]

02:16 AM on 10/13/2011

I agree with you that Mr. Hamilton was given a light sentence. I am retired from the Louisiana state environmen­tal agency and we do not ignore environmental responsibility. Cases like this start out as a civil penalty for an environmental violation, but when a company challenges the case and invokes due process the case ends up in the courts and it takes time to go through the judicial process.

[rocksage7]

07:55 PM on 10/12/2011

REVOLUTION NOW

[lw1]

11:55 AM on 10/13/2011

Mental revolution, yes. And OWS IS now. The mental revolution is starting to be televised.

[rocksage7]

04:59 PM on 10/13/2011

OK.. that is a place to start