Chevron U.S.A. Inc. owns and operates the U.S. petroleum refineries of Chevron Corporation, its parent company. Chevron Corporation is the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States, and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the sixth-largest U.S. refiner as measured by crude oil distillation capacity. Today?s settlement covers the four Chevron U.S.A. Inc. refineries, which are located in Richmond and El Segundo, California; Pascagoula, Mississippi; and Salt Lake City, Utah, and also resolves claims regarding a fifth refinery formerly owned and operated by Chevron, located in Kapolei, Hawaii. EPA?s initial investigation was spurred by an August 6, 2012 fire involving high-temperature
hydrocarbons released in the Crude Unit at Chevron?s Richmond, California refinery. That fire prompted a shelter-in-place order by Contra Costa County officials, endangered 19 employees and caused 15,000 local residents to seek medical attention. During EPA?s investigation, there were accidental releases of regulated chemicals at two other Chevron refineries, including a 2013 explosion and fire in Pascagoula, Mississippi that caused the death of employee Tonya Graddy, and a 2013 rupture in El Segundo, California that caused a loss of power and significant flaring at the refinery.