Citgo Found Guilty of Violating Clean Air Act

According to a press release from the United States Department of Justice, Venezuelan Oil company CITGO Petroleum and its subsidiary has been found guilty of two violations of the United States clean air act. A jury determined guilt for the company during a federal court hearing held in Corpus Cristi, Texas on Wednesday.

CITGO was convicted on the counts due to the companies operations of open top tanks without federally required emissions controls. CITGO used the tanks as water separators and federal law requires that such machinery be equipped with either a fixed or floating roof, or vented to a control device. The tanks also had faulty upstream water separator components that did not function properly.

CITGO was aware of the violations; the company learned of them just a couple of months after they began using the tanks. Rather than fix the defective parts and install the proper emissions controls, the company elected to use vacuum trucks to remove oil from the surface of the water in the tanks. The company failed to use any emissions controls when vacuuming the tanks which allowed hazardous chemicals such as benzene, a cancer causing carcinogen, to be released in to the air. This practice continued for ten years.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Ronald Tempes reportedly made these comments regarding the case: "Today's convictions are a strong signal to the industry that emissions controls are not optional and those who knowingly disregard the regulations will face the consequences."

EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Granta Y. Nakayama added: "Today's jury conviction sends a clear message that neither the public nor the government will allow corporations to knowingly break the law and pose a risk to the local community and the environment."

Phillip Vrazel, CITGO's environmental manager was indicted on the charges along with CITGO, however Vrazel's trial is set to begin on July 9th.

CITGO's sentencing is set for October 18th. The company will face a maximum fine of the greater of $500,000 per offense or double the gross economic gain from the crime, and up to 5 years probation.

The case was prosecuted by: Senior Litigation Counsel Howard P. Stewart and Trial Attorney Larry Larson of the Justice Department's Environmental Crimes Section and William R. Miller, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.

The case comes on the heels of the staunch criticism that the Venezuelan owned CITGO has received since the President of Venezuela called President Bush "the Devil". Seven-eleven later decided to discontinue carrying CITGO gasoline.

Sources:
The Justice Department