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March 21, 2001
Vol. 31, No. 86
For further information, contact Ravi Rangan, Air Quality Management
(302) 323-4542; or Maria Taylor, cell, 632-1078 or Melinda Carl, (302)
739-4506, Office of Information and Education
DNREC Announces $120+ Million Settlement with Motiva
Enterprises
Air Pollution Reduction is Largest Environmental Settlement with
a Delaware Facility
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary
Nicholas A. DiPasquale announced today an historic settlement with Motiva
Enterprises LLC that will reduce air pollution in Delaware by 36,000
tons of air emissions per year at Motiva's Delaware City refinery.
This effort is a joint enforcement action being taken by the United
States Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA),
DNREC and the state Department of Justice. This joint action involves
injunctive relief that will require Motiva to invest over $116 million
in environmental improvements at the plant. The settlement also imposes
a $2.8 million penalty for past air violations - the largest penalty
that any state has received in the national refinery settlements that
have occurred to date, and largest penalty DNREC has obtained against
any Delaware facility.
The settlement also requires $1.25 million for supplemental environmental
projects. The settlement involves the lodging of three separate consent
decrees: two national consent decrees were filed today in U.S. District
Court in Houston, Texas by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Delaware and other states; Delaware
will also be filing a companion consent order in Chancery Court in Wilmington,
Del.
"This is a substantial victory for Delaware's citizens and the
state's air quality," said Governor Ruth Ann Minner. "Our
agreement and the federal action bring to fruition years of work to
reduce emissions of air pollutants at petroleum refineries that have
an impact on public health and our environment."
In 1995, DNREC began working on a global enforcement action against
Motiva for non-compliance with the state's air pollution regulations.
An environmental engineer from the Engineering & Compliance Branch
of DNREC's Air Quality Management Section was assigned to focus exclusively
on Motiva's Delaware City refinery. This enforcement action was already
well developed by DNREC when EPA approached the state to see if there
was interest in joining the federal action.
Delaware assumed a leadership role as a primary participant in the
global enforcement action that resulted in the settlements announced
today by the State of Delaware, the Department of Justice and EPA. This
settlement with Motiva and two other corporate entities affect nine
petroleum refineries in five states, including Delaware, and reduce
emissions overall by more than 50,000 tons per year. Two-thirds of these
emission reductions will occur at the Delaware City facility. This is
the third settlement in the recent federal initiative against oil refineries
and carries a total of $9.5 million in penalties; $5.5 million in supplemental
projects; and approximately $400 million in facility improvements across
all nine refineries.
According to DNREC Secretary Nicholas A. DiPasquale, "The impact
in Delaware is particularly significant in the amount of emission reductions
that will occur as a result of settlement negotiations. The installation
of pollution control equipment and other upgrades, modifications and
new procedures at the Motiva refinery will reduce annual emissions of
sulfur dioxide by 34,000 tons, nitrogen oxide by 1500 tons and particulate
matter by 500 tons. The settlement also includes leak detection and
repair program enhancements that will reduce hazardous air pollutants
such as benzene and fugitive volatile organic compound emissions that
have become an increasing problem at refineries. This action will result
in a substantial improvement in the state's air quality."
The Motiva Enterprises refinery at Delaware City is the seventh largest
of the nine refineries in the settlement. It has a nominal crude refining
capacity of 140,000 barrels per day, and accounts for approximately
37,000 tons of the nine refineries' total 59,000 tons of sulfur dioxide,
and 5,000 tons of the nine refineries' total 21,000 tons of nitrogen
oxide emissions per year. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide can cause
serious respiratory health problems. In addition, toxic air pollutants
such as benzene, a known carcinogen, and methanol and hydrochloric acid,
both hazardous air pollutants, will also be reduced because of additional
control measures.
The federal and state agreements include stipulated penalties for Motiva's
failure to comply with any of their terms. Delaware will receive 50
percent of any stipulated penalty assessed against the Delaware City
refinery under the federal decree and 100 percent of any stipulated
penalty under the State order.
Both the Delaware and federal settlements require court approval before
becoming final and will involve court oversight until all the requirements
are satisfied.
FACT SHEET
Major components of the state and federal settlements filed in state
and federal courts today specifically affecting Motiva's Delaware City
refinery. In addition to the $2.8 million penalty and $1.25 million
supplemental environmental project monies which the state of Delaware
receives through the federal agreement, the injunctive relief in the
federal consent decree requires that approximately $100 million will
be spent on upgrading pollution controls at the Delaware City facility.
Approximately $16 million more in environmental improvements will be
required at the facility as injunctive relief to comply with Delaware's
state consent order. The approximately $116 million will result in the
following improvements to the facility:
- · Wet scrubbers will be installed on the coker by 2003 and
fluid catalytic cracker unit (FCCU) by 2004 to control sulfur dioxide
and particulate emissions. For nitrogen oxides emissions, a selective
non-catalytic reduction system will be installed on the coker by 2003
and NOx adsorbing catalyst will be implemented at the cracker by 2001;
- · Nitrogen oxide emissions will be reduced by 43.4 percent
by upgrading 30 percent of heaters and boilers with the next generation
of low nitrogen oxide burner technology;
- · Sulfur dioxide emissions will be reduced by more than 90
percent from their current level of 37,000 tons;
- · The state consent order requires that a scrubber be installed
on the continuous catalyst regenerator reformer as a control measure
to reduce hydrochloric acid emissions by 97 percent;
- · The state consent order requires additional testing and
operational changes that will control or eliminate volatile organic
compound emissions from the carbon dioxide vent stream of the hydrogen
plant;
- · The state consent order requires modification of the methanol
loading rack to eliminate fugitive volatile organic compound emissions;
- · According to the state consent order, nitrogen oxides and
particulate matter emissions reductions from the crude unit of approximately
20 tons each annually will result from rerouting the sour water stripper
off gas to the front end of the sulfur plant. Sulfur plant emissions
will not increase;
- · Refinery wide improvements will be made in leak detection
procedures;
- · The state consent order requires additional controls at
the wastewater treatment plant and additional construction work at
the separator bays and an enhanced carbon adsorption system to virtually
eliminate benzene and other volatile organic compound emissions from
the plant's primary wastewater treatment plant process;
- · Nationwide improvements in refinery operating practices
will result in reduced flaring of refinery gases. In addition, the
state consent order requires flow monitors to be installed on all
acid gas lines to the refinery flares;
- · The state consent decree requires modification of the fluid
catalytic cracking unit bypass valve to eliminate leakage;
- · According to the state consent order, Motiva will surrender
its trash incinerator permit and wastes previously burned will be
hauled off site for proper management and disposal; and
- · Other quality assurance procedures such as better operator
training will be implemented.
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