Florida sues to recover environmental clean up costs from defunct refinery

Jan. 29, 2004
Florida has sued the former and current owners of the now-defunct St. Marks Refinery Inc. to recover more than $12 million that the state spent to clean up pollution at the refinery site in the state's central panhandle area.

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Jan. 29 -- Florida has sued the former and current owners of the now-defunct St. Marks Refinery Inc. to recover more than $12 million that the state spent to clean up pollution at the refinery site in the state's central panhandle area.

The complex includes a 20,000 b/d shuttered refinery and a 465,000 bbl storage facility.

In a civil complaint filed with the Leon County Circuit Court, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) seeks penalties for environmental violations and financial compensation to restore damage to natural resources. It also sought injunctive relief.

Defendants are American International Petroleum Co. (AIPC), Houston, AIPC unit St. Marks Refinery Inc., former owner Seminole Refining Corp., and former Seminole Refining Vice-Pres. James T. Young. AIPC currently owns the site.

"The department is cleaning up the site to protect the environment and public health," said DEP Sec. David B. Struhs. "The companies that caused the pollution should pay for the cleanup, not Florida's taxpayers."

The plant has not operated as a refinery since 1985, but asphalt was made there until 1998, an Associated Press story said. Currently, the entire facility is closed, a DEP spokeswoman said.

For 50 years, the facility in Wakulla County was used to produce and store asphalt, pentachlorophenol, and other petroleum products, she said, adding that inspectors found that runoff from oil lagoons and tar pits contaminated nearby water and soil.

On its web site, AIPC said it might reopen the St. Marks refinery site as a distribution terminal "to significantly increase its retail customer base by penetrating into the large Florida, Georgia, and Alabama markets."

AIPC's web site said one of the firm's subsidiaries could ship polymerized and conventional asphalt from its Lake Charles, La., refinery to supply St. Marks with product. American International has a 30,000 b/d refinery, a 720,000 bbl storage facility, and an asphalt blending and sales facility in Lake Charles.

Evolving dispute
Seminole Refining sold the site to St. Mark Refining Inc. in 1992. At that time, St. Marks Refining received a waiver of liability from the DEP for preexisting conditions prior to its acquisition, the AIPC release said.

A DEP spokeswoman said the state listed the area as needing cleaning in the early 1990s. In 1999, state officials realized that the site still had not been cleaned up, she added.

Extensive assessment and monitoring at the property during the last 3 years revealed impacts to the St. Marks River, adjacent wetlands, and the underlying groundwater. Regulators also discovered dioxins at levels above state standards.

DEP has overseen the responsibility for dismantling tanks, removing contaminated soil, and disposing of solid and hazardous waste. Injunctive relief would allow DEP access to an area where AIPC has refused it entry, the spokeswoman said.

"Despite continued negotiation, a string of facility owners failed to make significant progress cleaning up contamination and restoring damaged natural resources," DEP said.

Funds for the DEP cleanup to date have come a trust fund the state has established to clean up petroleum contamination.

A July 2, 2002, news release from AIPC said it has acted in "good faith" to assist the DEP in the cleanup and that its St. Marks unit was seeking to confirm validity of the DEP waiver.