Refinery Near Borger Admits to Negligently Releasing Pollutants

A business in the Texas Panhandle has admitted to negligently releasing pollutants into the air near Borger.

At their refinery near Borger, Team Industrial Services has admitted that on specific occasions in 2007 through 2009, certain employees knowingly failed to follow required protocols while conducting emissions monitoring of certain refinery components.

The employees also manipulated testing data to falsely represent emissions monitoring events that were not performed.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, those actions allowed the release of emissions into the air and “thereby negligently placed others in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.”

The business faces up to a five-year term of probation and up to a $200,000 fine under a plea agreement which has not yet been accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Clinton E. Averitte in Amarillo.

Under the plea agreement, Team Industrial Services agrees to develop and implement an Environmental Compliance Plan that specifically addresses its leak detection and reporting activities, and the facility in Borger will be placed on the EPA’s List of Violating Facilities, making them ineligible for any federally funded contract, grants, or loans until they have been removed from the list.