Blog

Jun 29, 2023

Magellan pays state for emissions released during fatal 2020 explosion

A Corpus Christi petroleum terminal paid the state $600,000 in a settlement as a result of violations of the Texas Clean Air Act in relation to a 2020 explosion that injured six and killed one worker.

A Corpus Christi petroleum terminal paid the state $600,000 in a settlement as a result of violations of the Texas Clean Air Act in relation to a 2020 explosion that injured six and killed one worker.

On Dec. 5, 2020, a fire broke out at Magellan Midstream Partners while a contractor was cleaning light crude oil material from the bottom of a storage tank, causing an explosion.

Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office had reached a settlement with Magellan Terminals Holdings including $588,000 in civil penalties and $12,000 in attorney fees.

The company has submitted and implemented a corrective action plan prohibiting the use of certain equipment during tank cleaning, implementing new procedures and requiring contractors to use certain personal air monitors during tank cleaning to prevent this from happening again in the future. The plan was approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

A lawsuit was also filed against the company by the families of workers injured in the explosion. A jury trial was scheduled Monday and the case remains ongoing.

According to Caller-Times reporting at the time, 65 first responders traveled to the refinery after the explosion.

The Magellan storage terminal on Corpus Christi's Refinery Row receives petroleum products by pipeline, truck and boat, and stores the products in tanks.

On Dec. 2, 2020, a contractor began cleaning one of these storage tanks, which contained light crude oil bottom material — which includes hydrocarbon material, sediment, emulsifications of oil and water, and free water that settles naturally below the crude oil during storage — using a trailer-mounted liquid ring vacuum pump.

Three days later, a fire broke out just before 10 a.m. in the area of the tank and cleaning equipment. The fire was extinguished by just before 11:30 a.m., but an estimated 2,442 gallons of tank bottom material burned.

According to court documents, crude volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and other particulate matter were released.

Additionally, 208 gallons of tank bottom material spilled into the tank dike area, resulting in fugitive emissions of volatile organic compounds through Dec. 8, 2020.

The emissions event continued until Feb. 22, 2021, when the company was able to hire another contractor to complete cleaning the tank.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigated the incident in March 2021 and determined the emissions event was "excessive." The company submitted a corrective action plan in August 2021.

Based on these facts, the attorney general's office initially sought civil penalties at an amount between $250,000 and $1 million.

When it comes to growing industry in South Texas, how much is too much?

Caller-Times launches investigative series on industry and community

State agency conducting emissions investigation of November Valero fire in Corpus Christi