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May 21, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the filing of a felony criminal charge and related civil complaint and consent decree under the Clean Air Act (CAA) against TPC Group LLC, a Texas petrochemical company, related to the 2019 plant explosion in Port Neches that rocked the community and caused extensive damage, evacuations and “significant air pollution.” TPC Group also entered a plea of guilty to a one-count information charging the company with a violation of the Clean Air Act.
TPC agreed to pay over $30 million in criminal fines and civil penalties and spend approximately $80 million to improve its risk management program and improve safety issues at TPC Group’s Port Neches and Houston facilities.
According to information provided in court, on Nov. 27, 2019, two explosions at TPC Group’s Port Neches facility prompted evacuations of thousands of residents from the Port Neches and surrounding areas, released more than 11 million pounds of extremely hazardous substances and caused more than $130 million in offsite property damage and other impacts to human health and the environment. Four employees and one contractor suffered injuries including concussions, burns, perforated eardrums, tinnitus and cracked teeth.
“TPC Group’s knowing failure to comply with the chemical accident prevention provisions of the Clean Air Act at its Port Neches and Houston facilities placed its workers, neighbors and the environment in danger,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. TPC Group’s facility produced the hazardous chemical Butadiene, which can grow at an accelerating rate and cause catastrophic events, including explosions and fires. The company was aware that this polymer was forming in some of its production lines, and the risks it posed, but failed to take necessary measures to prevent the explosion.
As a result of the 2019 TPC explosions, mandatory evacuations were ordered for residents within a four-mile radius of the facility, voluntary orders to shelter in place were issued for residents in the surrounding area and local schools were closed for multiple days to allow buildings to be cleaned, repaired and inspected.
The company has agreed to pay $18 million in criminal fines. The plea agreement also includes a one-year term of probation and publishing of a public apology. The $12.1 million in civil penalty payments will be made through bankruptcy proceedings. TPC Group will also spend approximately $80 million to improve its risk management program and improve safety issues at both facilities.
TPC Group has been criminally charged and pleaded guilty to knowingly failing to implement its own written operating procedures, including monthly flushing of production lines, that would have prevented the explosion. Clean Air Act regulations require planning to prevent accidental releases of hazardous chemicals and makes implementation of those plans mandatory.
The civil complaint includes 27 claims and counts – some of which included numerous violations – against TPC Group for violations of the CAA at its Port Neches facility, including numerous violations that led to the 2019 explosions. The Port Neches facility is now used for storage purposes only. The civil complaint also includes 26 claims and counts against TPC Group for CAA violations at the company’s Houston facility, including failing to promptly take corrective actions for hundreds of pieces of process equipment and failing to address similar conditions that led to the Port Neches explosions.
TPC Group will also install and continually use air monitors at the fence line of each facility and in the neighboring communities. Data from the air monitors will be available on TPC Group’s website. TPC Group is required to host community meetings to inform the community about risks associated with its facilities, share evacuation routes and share information about how to properly shelter in place.
Additional information about the explosion can be found on the Justice Department’s website: www.justice. gov/enrd/case/tpc-group-llc-investigation-port-neches-explosion.
“The incident caused $450 million in on-site property damage, and $153 million in off-site property damage to near- by homes and businesses,” the federal claim asserted. “Media reports indicated that the blast was felt up to 30 miles away.”