Wrongful death lawsuit filed in lignite mine accident

Originally posted by Vickie Welborn - Shreveport Times - March 4, 2010

MANSFIELD - A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the family of a Robeline man killed a year ago while working on a massive dragline used in surface mining operations in DeSoto Parish.

Stanley Nolen Freeman, 44, died on March 6, 2009, while working as a dragline oiler for Dolet Hills Lignite Company at the mine in southeast DeSoto Parish. Freeman’s job was to lubricate the slide/cam mechanism of the dragline using bags of grease. Freeman died after he fell and was crushed by the moving machine. Read more....

Ohio Residents Appeal Chevron Refinery Suit Dismissal

Originally posted by Pete Brush - Law360.com

Law360, New York (November 19, 2009) -- Ohio residents who say Chevron USA Inc. should be held liable for land contamination caused by a refinery are appealing the dismissal of their negligence, strict liability and conversion state law claims.

Wednesday's filing by the plaintiffs, who include William Balsley, Karl Zoller and others living in the neighboring Buckeye State towns of Hooven and Cleves, also asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to revisit District Judge Sandra Beckwith's order granting Chevron's motion to exclude an expert's testimony and her denial of a motion seeking discovery-related sanctions against the San Ramon, Calif.-based petroleum giant. Read more...

US safety authorities impose record £53m fine on BP for Texas City failings

November 1, 2009, 9:22 am

British company has not fixed hazards after 2005 explosion at industrial complex that cost 15 lives

Andrew Clark in New York

The US government raised grave questions over BP's safety culture today by imposing a record fine of $87.4m (£53m) on the British company for failing to fix hazards at its Texas City oil refinery in the wake of a disastrous explosion that killed 15 people four years ago.

BP contests a record $87M US fine for lax remedies since fatal 2005 Texas refinery explosion

November 1, 2009, 9:20 am By SAM HANANEL | Associated Press | Oct 30, 09 2:23 PM CDT

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday imposed a record $87 million fine against oil giant BP PLC for failing to correct safety hazards after a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers at its Texas City refinery.

BP Faces Record Fine for ’05 Refinery Explosion

October 30, 2009, 10:08 am

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE Published: October 30, 2009

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the largest fine in its history on Friday, $87 million in penalties against the oil giant BP for failing to correct safety problems identified after a 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers at its Texas City, Tex. refinery.

BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine

November 1, 2009, 9:37 am

By Erwin Seba of Reuters

HOUSTON - US safety regulators ha shit oil giant BP with a record $US87.4 million fine for failing to fix safety violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery after a deadly 2005 explosion.

US government continues to let BP slide

Originally posted by Sheila McNulty - Financial Times - September 24, 2009

The US government has let pass another deadline for BP to come into compliance with federal safety standards. And, once again, the UK oil giant has asked for yet more time to comply - a request that may, as explained below - expose the company to considerable legal risk.

It has been four years since BP’s biggest refinery, in Texas City, exploded; the accident killed 15 people and injured hundreds more. And the company says it has invested enormous amounts of money and spent considerable time improving safety at the facility.

Yet, here we are, with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration noting that an audit had identified “systemic deviations from industry standards” at the facility that have yet to be addressed. OSHA also outlined in detail other “areas of concern”, including a failure four years after the blast to complete a determination of which alarm functions in each unit were critical to process safety. Read more...

BP Asks For More Time For Texas City Safety Deal

Originally posted by Erwin Seba - Reuters - September 23, 2009

HOUSTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) has requested more time to meet the terms of an expiring agreement with the federal government to improve safety at its Texas City, Texas, refinery, where an explosion killed 15 workers and injured 180 others in 2005, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on Wednesday.

"OSHA has received BP's petition for modification of abatement request, in reference to the company's 2005 settlement agreement, and is presently taking that request under advisement as part of its on-going inspection at BP," the agency said in a statement.

The British energy giant entered into the 2005 agreement with OSHA to settle worker safety rules violations the agency found after the March 23, 2005, explosion. The agreement expired on Tuesday. Read more...

Upgrades at BP refinery not made in time

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. Read more...

Jury trial could decide Chevron case

Originally posted by Dan Horn - Cincinnati Enquirer - September 13, 2009

More than 200 residents near the old Chevron refinery in Whitewater Township will find out next week what a jury thinks of their multimillion-dollar claim that the oil company dumped toxic waste into their soil and water.

The jury's verdict is not binding because it will be part of a summary jury trial, which is essentially a practice trial designed to help both sides settle the case.

But the outcome could move the hard-fought case closer to a resolution after years of battling in court.

The case began more than five years ago when residents sued Chevron in federal court in Cincinnati, accusing the company of harming their health and property values with contamination from the now-closed refinery. They say the company knew about the risks to residents but did nothing to prevent spills and other toxic releases. Read more...