Marathon Petroleum, US reach agreement on refinery pollution
Continued installation of capture systems will divert waste gases and slash VOC, SO2 and VO2 emissions.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. will spend $334.6 MM to cut pollution at refineries in five states, and pay a $326,500 civil penalty, according to the US Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The agencies said Ohio-based Marathon will spend $319 MM to install state-of-the-art flare gas recovery systems and $15.55 MM on projects to reduce air pollution at three facilities. The capture systems divert waste gases that would normally be burned off to power generation systems.
The EPA said the agreement will slash emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur dioxides (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NO2) by about 1,037 tpy.
The government said the settlement was filed Thursday in US District Court in Detroit and amends a 2012 consent decree involving the company's flares.
Marathon said the investments began in late 2013 and will effectively be completed by the end of 2018. About $238 MM of the projected investments will have occurred by the end of 2016.
Marathon is the nation's fourth-largest refiner, with crude oil refining capacity of approximately 1.8 MMbpd in its seven-refinery system.
The EPA has carried out similar settlements with other refiners.
Reuters - Reporting by Timothy Ahmann and Terry Wade; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis
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