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South Gate refinery to pay $112K for violating oil spill prevention rules
Environment Mar 30, 2022
The Rio Hondo bicycle path along the channelized Rio Hondo (creek) by the city of Rosemead. | Photo by Cromagnom via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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A South Gate refinery and storage facility will pay $112,673 to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act related to oil spill prevention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday.
World Oil is located near the Rio Hondo Channel and the Los Angeles River, which flow to the Long Beach Harbor and the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Golden Shore Marine Reserve, an environmentally sensitive site that is of the “highest concern for protection,” according to the EPA.
The agency says the company violated the Clean Water Act’s Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations. They say inspections at the facility last year found that World Oil failed to implement tank and facility inspections, inspect and conduct integrity tests on tanks in accordance with industry standards, promptly correct visible discharges which result in a loss of oil from containers, and develop an adequate response plan for spills.
“This enforcement action reflects EPA’s continued commitment to ensuring facilities like World Oil refinery comply with federal clean water laws and prevent unnecessary oil spills,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said. “Actions like this are key to protecting our waterways and surrounding communities.”
As a result of the agreement, World Oil developed and began implementation of an updated tank testing and inspection schedule, implemented a revised oil spill prevention training program, and updated its facility response plan, according to the EPA.
