Marathon Petroleum settles federal Clean Air Act allegations

May 20, 2015
Marathon Petroleum Corp. agreed to pay a $2.9 million fine, retire 5.5 billion sulfur credits worth $200,000, and spend more than $2.8 million to install pollution controls on facilities in three states to resolve charges that it violated the Clean Air Act (CAA), the US Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency jointly announced.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. agreed to pay a $2.9 million fine, retire 5.5 billion sulfur credits worth $200,000, and spend more than $2.8 million to install pollution controls on facilities in three states to resolve charges that it violated the Clean Air Act (CAA), the US Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency jointly announced.

The Findlay, Ohio-based independent refiner-marketer’s failure to comply with certain CAA fuel-quality emissions standards and record keeping, sampling, and testing requirements may have resulted in excess vehicular air pollution, DOJ and EPA said on May 19.

Under a proposed consent decree filed in US District Court for northern Ohio, Marathon, which self-reported many of the violations to EPA, agreed to spend the $2.8 million to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions on 14 fuel storage tanks at its distribution terminals in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.

It also will install geodesic domes, fixed roofs, or secondary rim seals and deck fittings on 14 fuel storage tanks at several of its fuel distribution terminals to reduce emissions of VOC, DOJ and EPA said.

Marathon also will be required to use innovative detection technology as it implements the pollution mitigation projects, and an infrared gas-imaging camera to inspect the storage tanks for potential defects, DOJ and EPA said.

In their complaint, the two federal entities alleged that MPC:

• Produced about 356 million gal of reformulated gasoline at its Texas City, Tex., refinery during 2007 that did not meet CAA standards for reducing emissions of VOC.

• Produced more than 40 million gal of gasoline at the Texas City plant in 2009 that exceeded sulfur limits.

• Sold 12 million gal of gasoline with elevated ethanol levels.

• Sold 1 million gal of gasoline at its Tampa, Fla., terminal in 2013 that exceeded Reid Vapor Pressure volatility limits designed to help control ground level ozone during summer months.

• Did not comply with numerous fuel production sampling, testing, record-keeping, and reporting requirements which EPA discovered during inspections of Marathon refineries and laboratories in 2008 and 2009.

The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period and the court’s approval, DOJ and EPA said.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].