Nick Snow
OGJ Washington Editor
WASHINGTON, DC, June 14 -- Frontier Refining Inc. agreed to pay a $900,000 fine as part of a settlement of charges that it violated federal surface impoundment regulations, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced.
The Denver-based refining and marketing division of Frontier Oil Corp. in Houston also agreed to disconnect inlet piping which allowed hazardous waste to be released into Surface Impoundment Pond 2 at its Cheyenne, Wyo., refinery, EPA’s Denver regional office said on June 8.
It also agreed to remove and manage all waste in the pond and clean the existing line this fall, and submit a closure plan for the pond, the federal environmental regulatory agency said. It said that the company estimated that it will spend $1 million to comply with the settlement.
EPA charged Frontier with allegedly violating the federal Resources Conservation and Recovery Act by storing hazardous wastes in a pond which was neither constructed nor operated to prevent overflowing and leaks.
Other allegations related to closing the pond and providing financial assurance of its proper closure. EPA said that it discovered the violations at the 52,000 b/d refinery during a March 2009 inspection.
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Photos from Repsol SA.
Photo from Parkland Corp.
