Phillips 66 Refinery in Los Angeles Accused of Illegally Dumping Wastewater

The wastewater dump into a sewer system allegedly had excessive oil and grease. The company was charged one month after it announced the refinery’s closure.

Vehicles pass the Phillips 66 Los Angeles Refinery's Wilmington plant on Nov. 28, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Houston-based oil giant Phillips 66 Company faces a six-count indictment alleging its soon-to-be-closed Los Angeles refinery dumped wastewater containing oil and grease into the county’s sewer system, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Nov. 21.

According to the federal grand jury indictment returned Nov. 20, Phillips’s refinery violated the Clean Water Act when it discharged industrial wastewater into the county’s sewer system for two hours on Nov. 24, 2020, and for more than five hours on Feb. 8, 2021.