[box type=”info” font=”palatino” fontsize=”22″]“This settlement will mean cleaner, healthier air for residents of the Port Arthur area who continue to bear a disproportionate burden from the impacts of industrial pollution,” said an attorney with the U.S. Justice Department. [/box]
TEXAS — A Texas chemical company agreed to use new and innovative technology to control its air pollution from industrial flares and leaking equipment at its plant, according to federal authorities.
Also as part of the settlement, Flint Hills Resources of Port Arthur will pay a $350,000 fine for Clean Air Act violations, EPA and U.S. Justice officials announced today.
After the new equipment is reduced, EPA officials estimate that the emissions of volatile organic compounds or VOCs, including benzene and other hazardous air pollutants, will be reduced by 1,880 tons a year and will reduce greenhouse emissions by about 69,000 tons a year.
“This settlement will mean cleaner, healthier air for residents of the Port Arthur area who continue to bear a disproportionate burden from the impacts of industrial pollution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said: “ By working with EPA, Flint Hills has advanced new air pollution controls that will help EPA bring similar air quality improvements to other American communities. EPA will continue to focus on tough pollution controls and cutting edge technologies in order to reduce the burden of air pollution on Americans who need it most.”
Flint Hills Resources is a Wichita-Kansas based independent refining, chemicals and biofuels company that has recently expanded its operations through capital projects and acquisitions worth more than $7.6 billion since 2002, according to its website.
“This agreement affirms the work we have already done to improve environmental performance
and reduce emissions at our Port Arthur chemical plant,” said Phil Gaarder, vice president of operations for Flint Hills Resources in a press release.
Adding, “We are pleased to have worked cooperatively with the EPA to reach an agreement that benefits area residents and appreciate EPA’s commitment to identifying community projects with local support that will provide for additional emissions reductions in the area.”
“This is a huge unexpected benefit to the citizens of Port Arthur,” Mayor Bobbie Prince, of Port Arthur, is quoted in Flint Hills’s press release. “Everyone wins. The city takes high emission vehicles off the street, many of our residents will have access to energy efficient improvements, and our air is cleaner.
The EPA said the settlement also requires Flint Hills to operate state‑of‑the‑art equipment to recover and recycle waste gases and to ensure that gases sent to flares are burned with 98 percent efficiency. The company has spent about $16 million to implement these required controls on industrial flares, officials said.
Here are other details on the agreement between Flint Hills and the EPA:
- After the improvements are made, the company estimates it will spend $28 million to reduce “fugitive” pollutant emissions that may leak from valves, pumps, and other equipment.
- The company must monitor leaks more frequently, implement more aggressive repair practices, adopt innovative new practices designed to prevent leaks and replace valves with new “low emissions” valves or use packing material to reduce leaks.
- To further mitigate pollution impacting the community, the company will spend $2 million on a diesel retrofit or replacement project that is estimated to reduce nitrogen oxides and particulate matter by a combined 85 tons, in addition to 39 tons of carbon monoxide, over the next 15 years.
- The company will also spend $350,000 to purchase and install technologies to reduce energy demand in low income homes.
- In this settlement, Flint Hills has agreed to make its air pollution data fence line monitoring data available online to the public.
How Air Pollutants Can Cause Serious Public Health Problems:
VOC are a key component in the formation of smog or ground-level ozone, a pollutant that irritates the lungs, exacerbates diseases such as asthma, and can increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, according to EPA.
Chronic exposure to benzene, which EPA classifies as a carcinogen, can cause numerous health impacts, including leukemia and adverse reproductive effects in women.