Refinery Sued For 'Imminent And Substantial Danger'

A federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against Limetree Bay Terminals LLC and Limetree Bay Refining LLC has accused the companies’ St. Croix petroleum refinery of posing an ‘imminent and substantial danger’ to public health and the environment.

The complaint, filed in federal court in the U.S. Virgin Islands, comes after the refinery experienced multiple major incidents resulting in significant air pollutant and oil releases in February of this year. Many residents in the surrounding St. Croix community reported becoming sickened by some of the releases.

“Today’s action shows the Justice Department’s commitment to enforcing the Clean Air Act and protecting American communities from harmful air pollution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“EPA is committed to ensuring that Limetree Bay’s activities and operations comply with laws that protect public health,” said Acting Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan for the EPA. “Today’s action and stipulation further strengthen our work to protect communities near this refinery by securing a binding commitment from the company that any restart of operations or initiation of long-term shutdown activities, such as purging gases, must receive EPA’s prior approval. These actions advance EPA’s commitment to environmental justice and to protect clean air for those living in vulnerable and overburdened communities.”

The lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring Limetree Bay to comply with the requirements of an administrative order issued by the EPA in May, which mandated a cease in refinery operations, an environmental compliance audit, and a corrective measures plan to address the audits’ findings.

The EPA order remains effective for 60 days unless the United States files a complaint seeking longer-term relief, which was done today. The complaint also seeks to require Limetree Bay to complete all corrective measures necessary to eliminate the imminent and substantial endangerment before restarting the refinery or any refinery process unit.

Limetree Bay has agreed to a number of requirements, including installing hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide monitors at nine monitoring sites prior to the restart of the refinery or any refinery process unit, and submitting a plan for EPA approval to purge hydrocarbons from refinery process units and other equipment at the refinery as part of the process of indefinite shutdown.

Members of the public can help protect our environment by identifying and reporting environmental violations. Learn more here: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/report-environmental-violation-general-information.

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