Business & Tech

CITGO Fined for Clean Air Act Violations at Lemont Refinery

CITGO Petroleum Corp. has agreed to pay $737,000 in fines and take steps to reduce pollution to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at its refineries in Lemont and Lake Charles, LA.

The United States Department of Justice announced Thursday that the Houston-based CITGO Petroleum Corp. has agreed to reduce air pollution and pay a $737,000 fine to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at its refineries in Lemont, IL, and Lake Charles, LA.

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Environmental Protection Agency claimed that the Lemont CITGO Refinery—located at 135th Street and New Avenue—failed to sample and test reformulated gasoline blendstock, as required by the Clean Air Act.


The EPA also alleged that the Lake Charles refinery produced fuel that exceeded the facility's annual average emissions limit for mobile source air toxics.

Under federal law, all fuel produced, imported and sold in the United States must meet certain emissions standards for harmful pollutants. The sampling, testing and reporting requirements of the fuels program provide the foundation for EPA’s compliance program, officials said. 

"Refiners that violate these requirements undermine the integrity of the fuels regulations and hinder the Agency’s ability to ensure gasoline complies with fuel quality and performance standards, potentially leading to an increase in harmful air pollution," EPA officials said.

In addition to the penalty, Thursday's settlement requires that CITGO implement projects that are expected to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including toxics, by more than 100 tons over the next five years. 

“The terms of this settlement require projects to significantly reduce harmful air pollution, including reductions in benzene emissions and other cancer-causing air toxics,” said Robert G. Dreher, acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This agreement will benefit communities across the United States with cleaner healthier air and will bring mobile sources of pollution under control, according to the standards of the Clean Air Act.” 

In Lemont, the company will install and maintain a geodesic dome on one of the fuel storage tanks, officials said.

“The innovative technologies that CITGO is required to install will reduce the impact of its fuel production on the environment and help protect communities from harmful air pollution," said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.  It will be available for viewing at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.


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