[StBernard] Group presses refinery lawsuit

[Westley Annis]

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009 
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE 8-3 SCAN COPY

Group presses refinery lawsuit 

By Chris Kirkham St. Bernard bureau 

A St. Bernard Parish resi­dents group is asking a federal judge to allow them to proceed with a lawsuit alleging that the Murphy Oil refinery in Meraux has emitted far more pollutants than allowed under the Clean Air Act over the past five years. 

The group, Concerned Citi­zens Around Murphy, is repre­sented by the Tulane Environ­mental Law,Clinic. The lawsuit was initially filed late last year, claiming that Murphy Oil of El Dorado, Ark., had exceeded its permitted limits for emissions more than 120 times since late 2003. 

Attorneys for the group on Thursday filed a request for sum­mary judgment, asking U.S. Dis­trict Judge Sarah Vance to find that Murphy is responsible for at least 24 Clean Air Act viola­tions, and to allow the group to move forward with the case. Ultimately the group is asking for penalties of $32,500 a day for each violation.

Attorneys for Murphy have not yet filed a response. An attor­ney for the company, Kerry Mill­er, said he does not believe the citizens group is a bona fide orga­nization that has standing to file the case against Murphy. 

Miller said a number of the violations cited in 2006 came as Murphy was coming back online after being shut down for nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina. He said the company will be able to defend those emissions. 

Concerned Citizens Around Murphy is registered as a non­profit with the Louisiana secre­tary of state's office . 
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Chris Kirkham can be reached at ckirkham at timespicayune.com or­504.826.3321.