HOVENSA LLC operates one of the world’s largest oil refineries, located in the US Virgin Islands. This week the company was fined millions of dollars for violating environmental regulations:
The owner of a huge oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands has agreed to spend more than $700 million on pollution controls, federal officials said Wednesday.
Hovensa LLC also agreed to pay a $5.4 million penalty for violating the Clean Air Act, said Ignacia Moreno, an assistant attorney general with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“This important settlement with the second-largest refinery in the United States will result in significant improvements to human health and the environment of the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Moreno said in a statement.
Hovensa also will have to set aside $4.9 million for environmental projects in the U.S. Caribbean territory.
The decree is subject to court approval and to a 30-day public comment period, officials said.
They accuse Hovensa of making modifications to its refinery that resulted in increased emissions without obtaining the necessary permits or installing the required equipment.
Alex Moorhead, a Hovensa spokesman, said the agreement is part of a companywide refinery initiative.
“The projects and investments that will result from this agreement will further support Hovensa’s efforts to operate responsibly and protect the environment in St. Croix,” he said in a statement.
HOVENSA has a problematic environmental record in St. Croix. In October I posted about a refinery accident that contaminated drinking water supplies, and there have been several other recent incidents:
[O]n the island of St. Croix … residents have been exposed to a series of environmental problems in recent months.
As a result, the local government has launched its own investigation into Hovensa.In late September, authorities urged St. Croix residents to avoid drinking cistern water because of an industrial gas leak at the refinery. About a week later, officials warned that a problem that triggered a burnoff of heavy oil could lead to falling soot and oil spots.
In early December, at least 16 students and teachers from a high school near the refinery were exposed to hydrocarbon fumes and were taken to the hospital. Authorities later warned against drinking cistern water after finding droplets of oil on the ground.
Eugennie Gardine, a 90-year-old resident who lives near the refinery, told The Associated Press that she complained to officials last year about the heavy smell of smoke and other problems.
Read the full Associated Press article for more information. I hope to be able to update this post later today with coverage from the Virgin Islands Daily News.
Good article regarding Hovensa refinery pollution controls. Has the project started up already? Who are the contractors and consultants?