[StBernard] Murphy Oil agrees to $1.25 million penalty for refinery viola...

[Westley Annis]

this makes no sense whatsoever! Since when is it the corporation's right or
privilege to AGREE to a fine. If this is the case, we should be able to
negotiate anything and everything we receive through life,ie: moving
violations, utility bills, pay raises, the list goes on and on. This is
absolutely absurd!!!
 
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	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.