Houston-based CITGO Petroleum Corporation said it is "pleased to reach" a voluntary settlement to resolve federal and state claims for natural resource damages under the Oil Pollution Act and the Louisiana Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act.
CITGO agreed to pay $19.69 million in the case as the result of a spill caused by heavy rain in June of 2006 at its Lake Charles refinery, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.
The incident caused major oil discharge into the Calcasieu River, the DOJ release said.
"Protecting our natural resources is a core value for the company," CITGO spokeswoman Dana Keel said in a statement to the Louisiana Record. "We promptly responded to the spill, invested significant resources to implement early restoration and assisted the Trustees with evaluating the impacts."
The United States and Louisiana concurrently filed a civil complaint along with the proposed consent decree, the DOJ release detailed.
"We made significant improvements in our plant, policies and procedures to prevent this type of event from happening again. We understand it is a privilege to operate in our communities, and we will continue working to ensure our operations are safe for our people and our environment."
The DOJ said in its press release that about 150 miles of shoreline were polluted with CITGO’s oil, including residential and marsh areas.
The oil killed birds and fish and other aquatic life, contaminated aquatic and shoreline habitats, forced the closure of the ship channel and disrupted recreational uses of the impacted river and lakes, the DOJ release stated.
"Oil companies have a responsibility to protect our waters, people, wildlife and diverse habitats from oil spills, and those who violate that duty will be held accountable for the harms they cause," Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement. "We are glad to work with our federal and state natural resource partners on this major effort to help restore and enhance the environment in Louisiana."