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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Tesoro Charged With Clean Air Act Violations

WASHINGTON (CN) - Tesoro oil company and two of its subsidiaries face millions of dollars in penalties for failing to test their gasoline for benzene, sulfur, aromatics, olefins and other harmful contaminants, the EPA says in Federal Court. It seeks penalties of up to $32,500 per day.

The Environmental Protection Agency sued San Antonio-based Tesoro Corp., and its Tesoro Refining and Marketing, and Tesoro Alaska subsidiaries. The EPA says Tesoro did not do the required "batch testing" at several refinery sites, including Salt Lake City; Mandan, N. Dak.; Anacortes, Wash.; and Kenai, Alaska.

The poor tests and incomplete reporting violate the EPA's Anti-Dumping Program, which the EPA uses to enforce the Clean Air Act.

Tesoro broke the law at its Mandan refinery alone "on no less than about 4,000 occasions" between February 2005 and May 2006, and 600 times at Salt Lake City, the EPA says. The "base penalty amount per violation per day" increased from $25,000 to $32,500 on March 16, 2004.

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