NEW JERSEY
ANNOUNCES VALERO SETTLEMENT
ADDRESSING AIR VIOLATIONS
Company Will Pay Almost
$800,000 in Fines and
Implement Major Emission Reductions
(05/43) TRENTON -- New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell and Attorney
General Peter C. Harvey today announced an Administrative Consent
Order (ACO) with Valero Refining Company - New Jersey settling
air emission violations at its Paulsboro refinery that occurred
between 2001 and 2004.
"New Jersey citizens have a basic right to breathe clean
air," Acting Governor Richard J. Codey said. "Polluters
need to stand up and take notice that we are serious about improving
air quality and reducing the number of asthma cases throughout
our state."
"Today's settlement is a tremendous victory for New
Jersey and will significantly improve air quality," said
Commissioner Campbell. "The controls being installed at
Valero's Paulsboro refinery will reduce the public's
exposure to hazardous air pollutants, such as carcinogenic benzene,
and to sulfur dioxide that contributes to asthma and acid rain."
The company has agreed to pay $793,000 in fines as well as to
install several emission controls that will significantly reduce
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of nitrogen
(NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
"This settlement will remove hundreds of tons of noxious
pollutants from the air and will protect the health of New Jersey
residents, particularly children with asthma and seniors with
respiratory ailments," said Attorney General Harvey. "It
represents another significant step in our efforts to control
air pollution from in-state sources. At the same time, we are
aggressively pursuing enforcement actions against out-of-state
pollution sources, as exemplified by our recent settlement with
Ohio Edison concerning a huge coal-fired power plant on the Ohio
River."
Under the ACO, Valero will install a $3.5 million, state-of-the-art
air pollution control at the Paulsboro refinery waste water treatment
system to reduce VOC emissions by 95 percent, including benzene
and other hazardous air pollutants. Annual VOC emissions at the
waste water treatment plant will decline by approximately 150
tons.
Valero also agreed to meet the enhanced requirements for benzene
waste reduction at its Paulsboro refinery. By changing its management
practices, the Paulsboro refinery will eliminate almost six tons
of stray benzene emissions annually.
The Paulsboro facility will also implement the VOC enhanced leak
detection and repair (LDAR) program. This will further reduce
stray VOC emissions from the facility. The enhanced program cuts
VOC concentration in half from what is now required under the
current federal LDAR program.
Valero has already installed a state-of-the-art emissions control
scrubber system at the Paulsboro refinery that is the first of
its kind in North America and the second of its kind in the world.
This system began operation in October 2004 and is reducing SO2
emissions by over 1,000 tons annually.
In addition, Valero has agreed to install still further technologies
on its boilers and heaters at the Paulsboro facility to meet federal
standards that are not currently applicable to these units. These
technologies will reduce annual SO2 emissions by at least another
500 tons beyond the reductions already achieved by the scrubber
system."
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