DOJ and EPA announced today that BP North America Inc. has agreed to pay an $8 million penalty and invest more than $400 million in state-of-the-art pollution controls and cutting emissions from its petroleum refinery in Whiting, Indiana. The settlement is in response to a complaint that alleges violations of the Clean Air Act related to construction and expansion of the refinery, as well as violations of a 2001 consent decree with the company that covered all of BP's refineries and was entered into as part of EPA's Petroleum Refinery Initiative. The agreement imposes some of the lowest emission limits in refinery settlements to date, enhancing controls on wastewater containing benzene, and providing for an enhanced leak detection and repair system.
Negotiations included several environmental groups, including Save the Dunes, the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Hoosier Environmental Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Law and Policy Center, as well as state and federal environmental enforcement agencies.
The Whiting Refinery has a refining capacity of approximately 405,000 barrels per day, and is the 6th largest refinery in the United States.
