commentThe North American unit of U.K.-based BP will spend more than $161 million to resolve clean-air violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery. It is the same plant for which BP was fined $50 million following a 2005 explosion that killed 15 contractor employees and injured 170 others. Under a new Feb. 19 settlement, BP agreed to invest most of the funds on pollution controls, maintenance and "improved internal management" at the plant. The pact with federal regulators, which also includes a $12-million civil penalty and $6 million to reduce air pollution from diesel vehicles, resolves BP’s noncompliance with a 2001 consent decree and federal rules covering benzene emissions during refining. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified the violations during inspections that followed the 2005 accident. A BP spokesman says the consent decree "builds upon our actions taken over the last several years to control benzene in waste streams."
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