Originally posted by Brett Clanton - Houston Chronicle - September 24, 2009
Federal regulators say BP has failed to make certain agreed-upon safety upgrades to its Texas City refinery, reviving questions about safety at the plant where a blast killed 15 workers in 2005.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the London-based oil giant missed a Wednesday deadline for making the safety improvements at the plant, one of the world's largest refineries.
OSHA said late Wednesday that it had received a request by BP that could delay enforcement action. The agency said it is taking the request under advisement.
OSHA had warned BP last month that it if did not make the safety upgrades by Wednesday it would be in violation of a settlement agreement the two parties struck in September 2005, which included a $21 million fine.
If OSHA decides BP has broken the agreement, the agency will be allowed to take “appropriate action” to enforce compliance, according to the settlement, which does not outline specific remedies.
Brent Coon, a Galveston lawyer who represented workers and families affected by the BP accident, said OSHA has a range of enforcement options, including extending the agreement until the fixes are made, levying additional fines or even closing the plant temporarily.
BP could face still more penalties from the Justice Department, with which it made a separate plea agreement in 2007. As a condition of that deal, BP pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the federal Clean Air Act and agreed to fully comply with the OSHA pact.
Breaking the pledge could void the plea agreement and spur the Justice Department to slap BP with more fines on top of the $50 million it already has paid, as well as extend BP's existing three-year probation, Coon said.
OSHA did not indicate its next step in the case Wednesday, but agency spokeswoman Diana Petterson said the office takes worker safety “very seriously” and will “enforce the law to ensure such tragedies are avoided.”
A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Houston did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
The compliance issues first were outlined in a letter to BP early last month from Mark Briggs, area director of OSHA's Houston South Area Office, which highlighted “certain areas of concern” about the Texas City plant.
An outside audit of pressure relief systems at the plant identified problems that BP still has not addressed, Briggs said in the letter.
The company also has fallen short on other items, including full installation of proper safety instruments in some plant areas, he said.
BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said the company has made “substantial” investments in the plant since the accident and is working with OSHA “through the appropriate processes to resolve any expressed concerns.”
|
