FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENRD

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 2007 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Citgo Petroleum and Subsidiary Found

Guilty of Environmental Crimes
Convicted of Criminal Violations of the Clean Air
Act
WASHINGTON — A federal jury in Corpus Christi, Texas, found CITGO
Petroleum Corp., and its subsidiary, CITGO Refining and Chemicals Co.
(collectively CITGO) guilty of two felony criminal violations of the Clean Air Act,
the Justice Department announced today.

CITGO was convicted on two counts of operating two huge open top tanks, tanks
116 and 117, without installing the proper emission controls required by federal law
at its Corpus Christi East Plant Refinery. The tanks were used as oil water
separators but were not equipped with either a fixed-roof, vented to a control device
or a floating-roof. Oil water separators upstream of the tanks never worked to
remove the oil from the wastewater before the oil entered the tanks. CITGO learned
within months after the two tanks went into operation that the upstream oil water
separators did not work.

For nearly 10 years, CITGO removed oil from the surface of tanks with vacuum
trucks and did not take the steps necessary to install proper emission control
equipment to prevent the emission of volatile organic compounds, including
benzene, from the tanks. Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil were vacuumed
from the two tanks over the years. During an unannounced inspection by Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), a ten foot layer of oil was
discovered in tank 116 and a 7.5 foot layer of oil in tank 117. TCEQ determined that
there was 4.5 million gallons of oil in the tanks.

“CITGO violated the law when it failed to install and operate proper emissions
control equipment,” said Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for
the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s convictions are a strong
signal to the industry that emissions controls are not optional and those who
knowingly disregard the regulations will face the consequences.”

“CITGO failed to install required emissions controls, which emitted benzene, a

known carcinogen, into the air,” said Granta Y. Nakayama, EPA’s Assistant
Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s
jury conviction sends a clear message that neither the public nor the government
will allow corporations to knowingly break the law and pose a risk to the local
community and the environment.”

CITGO was indicted along with environmental manager Philip Vrazel by a federal
grand jury in Corpus Christi on Aug. 9, 2006. The indictment contained 4 felony
counts of violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA), one felony count of false
statements and 5 misdemeanor counts of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
The MBTA charges were severed and Vrazel and the company will be tried on July
9, 2007. The court has yet to determine whether government will be able to go
forward on the false statement charge. An indictment contains only allegations. The
defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Sentencing for
CITGO is scheduled for Oct. 18, 2007. The company faces fines of up to $500,000
per count or twice the gross economic gain (whichever is greater) and five years of
probation.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Howard P. Stewart and
Trial Attorney Lary Larson of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes
Section and William R. Miller, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of Texas. The case is the result of an investigation by the Texas
Environmental Crimes Task Force including the EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division,
and the TCEQ.

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