Wastewater from the refinery in Carson contained more than 300 times the permitted concentration of oil and grease, prosecutors claim.
By Edvard Pettersson, Courthouse News Service
Texas oil company Phillips 66 faces federal charges of illegally dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater from its refinery in Carson, California, into the Los Angeles County sewer system.
The Houston-based company is charged with two counts of negligently violating the Clean Water Act and four counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act, according to a statement Thursday from U.S. attorney’s office in LA.
“Protecting our environment is key to protecting our community,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in the statement. “Just like the rest of us, corporations have a duty to follow the law, so when companies contaminate, they must be held accountable.”
According to the government, the Carson refinery on two occasions in 2020 and 2021 discharged massive quantities of wastewater containing high concentrations of oil and grease into the sewer system without notifying the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.
The company’s industrial wastewater pretreatment system process controls and practices were inadequate to prevent or quickly address the noncompliant discharges, prosecutors claim.
In the early morning of Nov. 24, 2020, the Phillips’ Carson refinery dumped an estimated 310,000 gallons of industrial wastewater. The waste contianed a concentration of oil and grease more than 300 times the allowed amount into the sewer system, according to the indictment.
Just a few months later on the evening of Feb. 8, 2021, the refinery discharged about another 480,000 gallons of noncompliant industrial wastewater, which contained at least 33,700 pounds of oil and grease, into the sewer system, for 5 1/2 hours.
On both occasions, the sanitation districts issued notices of violations to Phillips for discharging industrial wastewater which “adversely affected” its Joint Water Pollution Control Plant in Carson, which treats wastewater from industrial users, and for its failure to notify the agency about the discharges.
And on both occasions, a Phillips manager at Carson facility acknowledged the noncompliant industrial wastewater discharge and the company’s failure to notify authorities.
“Phillips 66 will continue its cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s office and is prepared to present its case in these matters in court,” the company said in a statement. “The company remains committed to operating safely and protecting the health and safety of our employees and the communities where we operate.”
Phillips 66, if convicted, faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years’ probation on each count and up to $2.4 million in fines.
