Chevron Fine for Bay Pollution Called Largest in Decade

Federal authorities said Friday that the $1.5-million civil penalty that Chevron USA has agreed to pay for discharging pollutants into Santa Monica Bay is the largest such fine imposed on an industrial facility in the last decade.

“The amount of the penalty . . . is appropriate in view of its repeated violations, and in light of the area which was polluted as a result--Santa Monica Bay,” U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner said.

The assessment is part of a settlement filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles concluding the 18-month litigation between Chevron and the federal Environmental Protection Agency over repeated pollution discharge violations at Chevron’s El Segundo oil refinery.

Chevron’s attorney, Sarah G. Flanagan, said the company agreed to the settlement to end the litigation at a time when a new $22-million effluent diversion project has virtually halted discharge problems at the plant.

Not Focus on ‘Past History’

“Obviously, we consider the $1.5 million to be a higher penalty than was appropriate, and obviously, the government disagrees,” she said. “We nevertheless wanted to resolve the (litigation) because we have solved the problem that was the subject of the complaint. We didn’t want to be focusing on past history, we wanted the focus to be on our good performance record now.”

Besides the $1.5-million penalty, the settlement permanently enjoins Chevron from exceeding its discharge limits in the future and sets up a schedule of additional penalties if violations occur during the next 12 months.

The penalties range from $5,000 for the first violation to $12,500 each for six or more violations. The settlement also requires penalties ranging from $25,000 to $375,000 for each time Chevron exceeds its monthly average effluent limit.

The settlement will become final after a 30-day public comment period with the signature of U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois, who has presided over the case.