[StBernard] Murphy Oil agrees to $1.25 million penalty for refinery violations in Meraux and Wisconsin

[Westley Annis]

Murphy Oil agrees to $1.25 million penalty for refinery violations in Meraux
and Wisconsin 
Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 6:20 PM     Updated: Tuesday,
September 28, 2010, 6:26 PM
 Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
 
Murphy Oil USA entered into a settlement Tuesday with the U.S. Department of
Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency over violations of the Clean
Air Act at its refineries, including one in Meraux.

The oil company, based in El Dorado, Ark., agreed to pay a $1.25 million
civil penalty for various violations involving excessive emissions at the
refineries. Of the total penalty, $395,312 will go to the state of
Louisiana, and the company has agreed to invest more than $142 million in
new equipment to reduce pollution at the Meraux refinery and another
refinery in Wisconsin.

"These requirements will be enforceable," said Suzanne Kneale, a St. Bernard
Parish resident who works with Concerned Citizens Around Murphy and has been
active in litigation brought against the company. "This will be a long-term
solution for us in the community."

The EPA settlement comes after the Concerned Citizens group filed suit
against Murphy in 2008, alleging numerous Clean Air Act violations. The
group was represented by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance found Murphy liable for 21 violations of the
federal pollution law earlier this year, for releasing more chemicals than
allowed under state permits for the refinery.

Adam Babich, the director of the Law Clinic, said attorneys from the law
clinic and the citizens group were involved in the discussions leading up to
Tuesday's settlement. He said he expects this settlement to resolve most of
the outstanding concerns in the federal court case brought by the St.
Bernard citizens group.

A spokesman for Murphy did not return a call seeking comment on the
settlement. 
In addition to the fines and the equipment upgrades, Murphy agreed to invest
$1.5 million in a project to cover two oil-water separators at the plant.
The goal is to reduce the amount of volatile organic compounds released from
that part of the refinery.

Murphy also agreed to build an ambient air monitoring station near the
refinery, where emissions data will be broadcast regularly on the Internet.
Kneale said the air quality station is significant because many residents
believed there wasn't a monitoring station close enough to the Murphy
refinery to give accurate readings.

Yet residents often complained of noxious odors and headaches. The refinery
will also install a gas recovery system meant to capture gases that would
normally be burned off and released into the air.

The settlement is part of an EPA petroleum refinery initiative that has
resulted in 27 settlements with 104 refineries across the nation - more than
90 percent of the nation's refining capacity. The goal is to reduce
emissions of harmful chemicals including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide,
volatile organic compounds and benzene, which can cause various respiratory
problems, dizziness, headaches and cancer, in the case of benzene.

Murphy announced this summer that it plans to sell the two refineries in
Meraux and Wisconsin. The settlement would still apply to the refineries if
they are sold.