In $184-Million Lawsuit, AQMD Alleges That BP Failed to Fully Inspect Refinery for Leaks

Southern California’s chief air pollution regulator filed a $184- million lawsuit Thursday against BP, alleging that the company had continually failed to fully inspect its Carson refinery for leaks of smog-forming chemicals.

It is the second such legal action by the South Coast Air Quality Management District against BP in two years. Together, the suits seek $597 million in penalties from the company, formerly known as BP-Arco.

The latest suit alleges that the Carson refinery repeatedly failed to maintain, inspect and repair thousands of pieces of equipment, including more than a dozen petroleum storage tanks, from 2002 to 2004, as required by law. The earlier suit alleged similar violations from 1994 to 2002.

The major difference, said the AQMD’s chief prosecutor, Peter Mieras, is that the latest suit also alleges that the refinery never properly inventoried the 140,000 joints, valves and other potential places in its labyrinth of pipes where leaks could occur.

As a result, Mieras argued, there is no way the refinery could have been inspecting all of those spots for leaks when filing reports on its so-called fugitive emissions with local and federal officials, as required by law.

AQMD officials are primarily concerned that the refinery is leaking a greater amount of volatile organic compounds than it is reporting. Such compounds are among the main ingredients of smog.

“I don’t believe BP is being picked on. We are prosecuting BP because they have a particularly poor environmental record,” Mieras said. “If the refinery is unable to demonstrate that they have identified these components, they are going to have a hard time demonstrating that they have been inspected.”

BP spokesman Phil Cochrane said the company had not had time to review the latest suit, but believed it had been complying with inspection rules.

“We take the allegations very seriously,” he said. “We respectfully disagree with their assertions, but as a matter of practice we work hard to comply with all regulations at all times.”