BP Unit to Pay Record $40 Million to Settle US Air Pollution Civil Charges

BP Unit to Pay Record $40 Million to Settle US Air Pollution Civil Charges
The BP logo at a BP gas station in Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 24, 2021. Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Reuters
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WASHINGTON—A subsidiary of BP Plc. will pay a record-setting $40 million penalty to settle civil U.S. charges that its Indiana-based oil refinery violated federal laws aimed at curbing emissions of cancer-causing benzene in wastewater and other harmful pollutants, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) said on Wednesday.

The DOJ will require the oil major to make significant investments to curb benzene pollution at its 134 year old Whiting, Indiana refinery, which has a history of violating federal regulations limiting benzene in refinery wastewater streams.