New Use for Flares and a Kiddie Pool – Louisiana Oil Refinery

On July 6, 2011, the USDOJ announced that Byron Hamilton, the vice-president and general manager of the Pelican Refinery in Lake Charles, La., pleaded guilty to federal negligent endangerment charges under the Clean Air Act. Hamilton oversaw operations at the Lake Charles refinery from an office in Houston, TX.

According to the charges, Hamilton negligently caused the release of hazardous air pollutants, including hydrogen sulfide, which placed persons in imminent danger of death and serious bodily injury. The impetus for the charges was a March 2006 joint inspection by the LDEQ and the USEPA when inspectors found such conditions as storage of crude oil in unrepaired storage tanks, failure to repair emissions monitoring and control equipment, (and my favorites) the routine practice to use a standard signal flare gun to re-light the process flare at the refinery; and the use of plastic children’s swimming pools to contain petroleum leaks. It still amazes me that this type of activity still goes on in this day and age.

Hamilton faces up to one year in prison and a $200,000.00 fine for each of the two Clean Air Act counts. This case was prosecuted, in part, by my friend, Richard Udell.

More later.

As always, feel free to contact me via e-mail at walter.james@jamespllc.com.

WDJiii

Comments

[IT Disposals]

I'm beyond words. I mean as a Civil Engineer, this blows my mind. running a waste management site in the UK we keep stocks of vermiculite and dry sand for very small spills. A spill from a processing plant wouldn't just be different, it would be carastrophic. How can someone this negligent be allowed to retain control of a facility like this!!!

[Dani]

Thank you for this blog. The question is, of all these people that face fines and possible jail time, how many are fined significantly or sent to jail? All of them should be.

[קרני תכלת]

The common practice to use a flare gun for standard signals to relight the torch of the refining process.