Delaware City Refining Company, LLC has been ordered to pay more than $500,000 in fines and reimbursement costs for air emissions violations.
The refinery is owned by New Jersey-based PBF Energy.
The order calls for a cash penalty of $460,200 and an additional $69,030 for cost recovery reimbursement to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for expenses associated with the department’s investigation.
Delaware City Refining Company, LLC owns and operates a refinery in Delaware City that it purchased from the previous owner, Valero Energy Corp., on June 1, 2010.
At the time of the sale, the refinery had been shut down by the previous ownership and was facing the possibility of demolition.
PBF restarted the refinery in May, 2011.
“The refinery has made significant improvements to reduce emissions compared to previous owners,” said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara. “However, when unpermitted releases occur, the company must be held accountable and encouraged to take proactive steps to avoid future incidents.”
Refinery and DNREC have indicated that emissions are down 20 percent or more from the level reported under previous ownership. The half-century-old refinery refines heavy grades of oil that require more complex operations.
The refinery has been in the news of late as it receives more crude oil via rail from North Dakota and Canada. The oil is unloaded in a rail complex near the refinery. Refinery foes have claimed that area needs a permit and sought a ban on transporting oil from Delaware City via barge to a PBF refinery in Paulsboro, N.J.
An appeals board denied the claim from the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society.
The order addresses air quality violations that have occurred since the restart of the refinerythrough January of this year. Each violation is cited in the penalty order, which can be found on the DNREC website at: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Info/Pages/SecOrders_Enforcement.aspx.
Delaware City Refining Company has 30 days to request a public hearing.
DNREC has been under fire for enforcement of the refinery from environmental groups. The groups have been challenging the refinery’s proposed permit, while denying claims that their efforts aim to shut down the site that accounts for an estimated 2,000 jobs on site and from suppliers and contractors.
