[StBernard] St. Bernard refinery in Meraux says it tries to be good neighbor

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard refinery in Meraux says it tries to be good neighbor

Print By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on May 29, 2013 at 5:18 PM, updated May 29, 2013 at 5:31 PM

The manager of a St. Bernard Parish oil refinery told the members of a
parish panel Wednesday that "We really do try to be a good neighbor," and
that the loud noises coming from its plant this past string were a relative
anomaly. Lauren Bird, manager of Valero Energy Corporation's Meraux
refinery, said the more prevalent noises in March and April were due to "a
turnaround" the facility was conducting to update various of its units.

"It involved 800 contractors and lasted 60 days and it had a been a long
time since that type of proactive maintenance work had been done," Bird told
the parish's Housing, Redevelopment and Quality of Life Commission, which
had called in the Valero members to discuss noise complaints from the
neighborhood around the refinery.

Bird said that typically such large-scale maintenance work occurs every 5
years. He also said that Valero also is working to buy any property from
neighbors who might be interested in moving.

"We have acquired several properties and we are evaluating every opportunity
to purchase homes as they become available in what we call that buffer
zone," he said.

One oft-cited noise by neighbors is the test of the refinery's alarms at
noon each Friday.

"We are looking at possibly adjusting things so that we can lower the
volumes of those alarms," Bird noted.

Addressing the noise complaints, Bird said the facility "tries to be as
proactive and responsive as we can also trying to balance the needs of the
facility."

"We have a good neighbor policy... a policy, a practice. If any concerns,
whether noises or odors, come in, a shift supervisor should follow up and
make the problem go away," Bird said. "In addition to that, we also have put
in a perimeter check around the facility."

Still, HRQL Chairman Howard Luna and parish Chief Administrative Officer
Jerry Graves said that people who have problems also should contact the
parish and that the refinery also should forward whatever complaints it
receives to the parish.

"If there is a concern, we want you to know about it.. and if there is a
concern then we want you to fix it," Luna said.

Parish Councilman Ray Lauga suggested that the refinery send the complaints
to the parish each month with explanations as to which ones were resolved
and which ones were not. The parish could post them on its website, he said.

Bird said that when someone makes a complaint, it is important for them to
note the time and location and to bring them to the company's attention as
quickly as possible.

"We really do try to be a good neighbor... and one of the things that helps
us is timely notifications," he said.

Luna asked if the noise complaints only come during turnarounds.  

"There are noise issues even during routine operations... but during normal
operations I think it is safe to saw there really aren't significant noise
issues," Bird said. "We don't get complaints all the time ...If there are
complaints, we will respond to them."

Luna said that he heard complaints from nearby residents on May 20, who
described "excessive noise and vibrations" as far away as five or six blocks
from the facility.

Randall Browning, the plant's safety, health and environment manager,
explained that one of the refinery's units was being shut down during that
period.

"I live about a mile way from your refinery and I often can hear and so I'm
quite sure the extent that people right there on the fence are hearing,''
Luna said.

Browning said the company is "still studying what possibilities there are to
make things even better."

Lauga suggested the company follow up with residents who have complained and
let them know the steps taken to try and resolve the complaints. 

"You might not be able to solve the situation, but I think just letting them
knowing that they are being heard would go a long way," Lauga said.

Complaints can be emailed to the parish government at
complaintsIssues at sbpg.net or residents can call the Department of Resident
Services and Compliance at 504.278.4224. Complaints can also be directed to
Valero directly by calling its hotline at 504.271.4141.