Don’t Drink the Water: Phillips 66 Indicted for Dumping Industrial Wastewater in Los Angeles Sewer, Hiding It
A Phillips 66 refinery releases carbon dioxide exhaust as the by-product of gasoline production at night. Prosecutors have charged the Houston-based company with six violations of the Clean Water Act related to its Carson oil refinery. Photo credit: Matt Gush / Shutterstock.com.
Prosecutors charged Phillips with two counts of negligently violating the Clean Water Act and four counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act, according to prosecutors.
If found guilty, this company could face up to five years’ probation on each count, with up to $2.4 million in fines.
Hundreds of Thousands of Gallons
Authorities estimate that the Phillips facility in Carson discharged approximately 310,000 gallons of non-compliant industrial wastewater on the early morning of Nov. 24, 2020, to the L.A. sewer system. That wastewater contained approximately 64,000 lbs. of oil and grease, a concentration more than 300 times what is allowed, according to the indictment in the case.
The L.A. County Sewer Division sent Phillips a warning a few days later in December 2020. A Phillips manager responded in January 2021, acknowledging the discharge and said that the company would “retrain operations personnel” on such situations and the procedure to notify the sewer division when it happens.
However, that didn’t stop the company from doing the same thing on Feb. 8, 2021. This time, the discharge allegedly occurred over five and half hours, with about 480,000 gallons of non-compliant industrial wastewater, which contained at least 33,700 pounds of oil and grease, entering LACSD’s sewer system.
As in the previous case, the sewer division issued a warning, and Phillips responded with a letter acknowledging the discharge and the failure to notify authorities.
A Similar Cases
This isn’t the only Clean Water Act case recently covered by The Daily Muck.
On Aug. 13, Mark, a 72-year-old man from Kenton, Ohio, was sentenced to 12 months of probation, 150 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine for violating the Clean Water Act and killing thousands of fish in the Scioto River.
A federal court convicted Shepherd of dumping more than 7,000 gallons of a product containing ammonia into the Scioto, killing more than 43,000 fish.
Comments by Officials
In a statement announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said corporations must follow the law just like people. And when they violate the law, they must be held accountable.
“My office will continue to be vigilant in safeguarding our natural resources for all to enjoy,” Estrada said.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) helped investigate the case.
“Illegally discharging pollutants into the sewer system violates the Clean Water Act,” said Special Agent in Charge Kim Bahney of the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division.
“The charges today illustrate EPA’s commitment to protecting the environment and ensuring accountability for those that neglect or fail to abide by our nation’s environmental laws,” Bahney said.
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