Phillips 66 charged with illegally dumping wastewater into LA sewer system
LOS ANGELES - Oil Company Phillips 66 was indicted on six federal charges for allegedly dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater from its Carson oil refinery into the Los Angeles County sewer system, prosecutors announced Thursday.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the indictment charges Phillips 66 with two counts of negligently violating the Clean Water Act and four counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act. An arraignment date for the company has not yet been set.
Phillips 66 issued a statement saying, "Phillips 66 will continue its cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's Office and is prepared to present its case in these matters in court. The company remains committed to operating safely and protecting the health and safety of our employees and the communities where we operate."
Federal authorities contend that during a 2 1/2-hour period on Nov. 24, 2020, the refinery discharged roughly 310,000 gallons of wastewater into the county sewer system, with the wastewater containing about 64,000 pounds of oil and grease, which is more than 300 times the concentration allowed by its permit. Refinery officials allegedly failed to inform the county about the non-compliant discharge.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Oil company Phillips 66 to shut down Los Angeles refinery
The county issued violation notices to Phillips in December 2020 in response to the discharge, and according to federal prosecutors, a company manager responded by acknowledging the discharge and claiming the company would "retrain operations personnel" about such discharges and procedures for notifying the county.
However, during a 5 1/2-hour period on the evening of Feb. 8, 2021, the refinery discharged about 480,000 gallons of industrial wastewater into the sewer system, containing about 33,700 pounds of oil and grease, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The county again issued violations notices to the company the following month, and a refinery manager again responded by acknowledging the non-compliant discharge and its failure to notify the county, prosecutors said.
If convicted of the charges contained in the indictment, the company could face a sentence of five years probation and $2.4 million in fines, prosecutors said.
Phillips 66 announced in October that it plans to close its Los Angeles-area refinery operations next year. The company operates the crude oil processing facility in Carson and a finishing plant in Wilmington. The facilities are linked by a five-mile pipeline.