BP Products North America Inc. agreed Monday to a court order forcing the petrochemical giant to end what state officials said are illegal pollution emissions at its Texas City refinery.
The temporary injunction filed in district court in Austin ensures BP will follow environmental laws while the state's pollution lawsuit plays out in court, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.
Under the agreement, BP will review 53 pollution violations cited in the state's amended lawsuit and improve air monitoring systems and reporting procedures. The state's original lawsuit cited 46 violations. BP has not admitted liability or guilt.
One of those violations is tied to a March 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others.
Abbott has said BP's refinery near Houston spewed hundreds of thousands of pounds of pollutants in a "pattern of unnecessary and unlawful emissions." The lawsuit alleges the emissions were the result of poor operational practices and inadequate maintenance at the refinery.
Through the lawsuit, the state is seeking a permanent injunction requiring BP to eliminate future unlawful emissions. The state is also seeking civil penalties, fines and attorneys' fees.
The refinery is the nation's third largest, refining 460,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
In a statement, BP called the agreement "an important step" and said the company is "working to fully resolve this matter in a way satisfactory to the state and to BP."
"All of these steps are consistent with our ongoing efforts to reduce the frequency and size of emissions" at the refinery, the company said.
The agreement will remain in place throughout the course of the lawsuit and expires in two years. A trial date has been set for March 22.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality filed 15 enforcement orders against BP between 2000 and 2007. In that time, Abbott said, BP failed to report unlawful emissions on time and did not take proper steps to prevent further illegal pollution.
State officials said the 2005 explosion led to an unlawful release of contaminants for more than 160 hours, an event the TCEQ later determined was "avoidable" and the result of BP's "poor operations practices." In March, a federal judge in Houston approved a plea deal fining parent British oil company BP PLC $50 million for its criminal role in the blast.
In February, BP agreed to pay almost $180 million to settle a federal pollution case. That agreement, which federal authorities said addressed BP's failure to comply with a 2001 consent decree, included spending $161 million on pollution controls, $12 million in penalties and $6 million to reduce air pollution near the Texas City refinery.
