As promised yesterday, here’s more information on the fines HOVENSA LLC will have to pay for pollution from their St. Croix oil refinery. The Virgin Islands Daily News reports:
HOVENSA has agreed to pay civil penalties of more than $5.3 million and spend more than $700 million implementing new pollution controls in the next 10 years as part of a consent decree that was filed Wednesday in federal court.
The refinery also has agreed to establish a $4.875 million special environmental project fund to benefit the environment in the Virgin Islands.
A civil complaint that the U.S. Justice Department filed at the same time as the consent decree alleges that HOVENSA violated Clean Air Act requirements covering emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and benzene.
The complaint charges that HOVENSA made major modifications to its refinery that increased emissions without first obtaining pre-construction permits and installing required pollution control equipment, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
The Clean Air Act requires major sources of air pollution to obtain permits before making changes that would result in significantly increased emissions of any pollutant, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In the consent decree, HOVENSA denies the allegations but agrees to the filing of the complaint and consent decree “to accomplish its objective of cooperatively reconciling the goals of the United States, the Virgin Islands and HOVENSA under the Clean Air Act and the corollary territorial statute” and states its commitment to “proactively resolving environmental concerns.”
The 180-page consent decree comes after six years of negotiations involving HOVENSA and federal and local authorities and is still subject to the court’s approval.
The consent decree was near finalization well before a series of recent incidents at HOVENSA, according to a Government House statement.
In the settlement, HOVENSA has agreed to implement new and better pollution controls, more stringent emission limits and aggressive monitoring, leak-detection and repair practices to reduce emissions from refinery equipment and process units, according to a statement released by the EPA announcing the settlement.
“I think it’s an enormously important step for cleaner air on St. Croix. This will result in significantly less air pollution, which will protect public health,” Judith Enck, EPA Region 2 Administrator, told The Daily News. “We’re very proud of the settlement. We think it’s going to make a difference in the community.”
See the full Daily News article and yesterday’s post here on Green Antilles for more information.
[Photo: virginislandsdailynews.com]
