Agencies at Odds Over Probe of 2012 Chevron Refinery Fire

"WASHINGTON -- The federal government is fighting with itself over a massive fire at a Chevron refinery in California that sent 15,000 people to hospitals with respiratory ailments."



"In one corner is the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which conducted 119 interviews in an effort to find out what caused last year's accident and how to prevent it from happening again. In the other is the Environmental Protection Agency, which is conducting a criminal investigation and wants the interviews to help it determine who's responsible.

The 7-month-old document dispute has become so contentious that the safety board, headed by Rafael Moure-Eraso, went to court in an effort to quash grand jury subpoenas that federal prosecutors issued on behalf of the EPA, according to correspondence obtained by The Associated Press. Efforts to reach a compromise have failed so far."

Pete Yost reports for the Associated Press August 27, 2013.

Source: AP, 08/27/2013