The Justice Department, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the states of Louisiana and Delaware, and the Northwest Air Pollution Authority reached agreements in March with three petroleum refiners—Motiva Enterprises, Equilon Enterprises, and Deer Park Refining Limited Partnership—to reduce harmful nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate emissions from nine refineries by more than 60,000 tons per year in five states: Delaware, Louisiana, Texas, California, and Washington.
Consent decrees filed in federal court in Houston call for the companies to spend an estimated $400 million to install up-to-date pollution-control equipment and significantly reduce emissions from process units, wastewater vents, leaking valves, and flares throughout the refineries. The agreements also resolve alleged violations of federal and state hazardous waste and toxics laws at Motiva’s Convent, La., and Port Arthur, Texas refineries and the Deer Park, Texas refinery.
The companies also will collectively pay a $9.5 million civil penalty under the Clean Air Act and spend about $5.5 million on environmental projects in communities affected by the refineries’ pollution.
Investigations have shown that many petroleum refiners have made major modifications to their facilities, increasing capacity and air emissions, without installing the pollution-control equipment required by the law. In addition, many refiners are illegally flaring acid gases and are failing to minimize fugitive emissions throughout their facilities. The combined state and federal government’s settlements with petroleum refiners provide for a comprehensive, cooperative approach to addressing these environmental problems across the industry.
For more information, contact the US EPA.
