Chevron Pleads No Contest, Agrees to Pay $2 Million Fine and Costs

Bay City News--

Chevron USA Inc. pleaded no contest to six misdemeanor criminal charges in Contra Costa County Superior Court today and agreed to pay nearly $2 million in restitution and fines related to last year's massive fire at its Richmond refinery.

The explosion and blaze on Aug. 6, 2012, were caused by a leak from a corroded crude oil distillation pipe and created a huge plume of polluted black smoke.

More than 15,000 people were treated at local hospitals for respiratory problems and other illnesses.

[Berkeley Patch: What questions do you have about the Chevron refinery fire?]

The criminal charges were filed jointly today by District Attorney Mark Peterson and state Attorney General Kamala Harris.
          
A Chevron lawyer entered the energy company's no contest plea during the company's subsequent arraignment before Superior Court Judge William Kolin in Martinez.
          
In a no contest plea, a defendant neither admits nor denies a charge, but agrees to accept liability for the sentence that would go with a conviction.

The six misdemeanor charges included two air pollution counts: discharging illegal amounts of carbon from the refinery's crude oil unit into the air and emitting a visibly dark cloud of contaminants on Aug. 6, 2012.
          
The other four counts were for state Labor Code violations affecting workers at the refinery.
          
They include failing to repair and continuing to use equipment operating outside safety limits; failing to require employees to use protective respiratory equipment; and failing to prevent non-emergency personnel from entering the emergency area last Aug. 6.
          
The fourth count was failing to implement an effective injury and illness prevention program for employees on Aug. 25, 2012.
          
Chevron agreed in the settlement to pay $1.28 million in fines and penalties, $575,000 for investigation and response costs by three government agencies, and $145,000 to Richmond BUILD, a worker training organization.
          
The company also agreed to inspect all carbon steel pipes that may be at risk of corrosion from sulfur compounds in crude oil heated to high temperatures.
          
District Attorney Mark Peterson said, "This criminal case achieves our goals of holding Chevron accountable for their conduct, protecting the public and ensuring a safer work environment at the refinery."
          
Chevron said in a statement, "We are committed to continuous improvement in process safety and reliability at the refinery."
          
Company spokeswoman Melissa Ritchie said workers have spent more than 1.9 million hours repairing and improving the crude oil unit and have inspected more than 16,000 pipe components during the past year.
          
Chevron USA is an energy and refinery subsidiary of San Ramon-based Chevron Corp.
 
The three agencies that will be reimbursed for costs are the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, $299,000; the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, $185,000; and the state Attorney General's Office, $90,000.

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