LIMA, OH (WLIO) - The Cenovus Lima Refinery will be paying millions of dollars in penalties and upgrades for violations of the Clean Air Act.
The U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Cenovus Energy to pay 19 million dollars in civil penalties for benzene and volatile organic compound emissions.
The U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Cenovus Energy to pay 19 million dollars in civil penalties for benzene and volatile organic compound emissions. The energy company must also implement an estimated 150 million dollars in capital improvements to reduce emissions of benzene by 4.3 tons per year, other hazardous air pollutants by 16 tons per year, and other volatile organic compound emissions by 219 tons per year. The Lima refinery will also install one or more devices to reduce benzene in wastewater streams and install air pollutant monitoring stations outside the refinery grounds. The EPA did the investigation into the matter.
The Lima refinery will also install one or more devices to reduce benzene in wastewater streams and install air pollutant monitoring stations outside the refinery grounds.
Your Hometown Stations reached out to Cenovus about the settlement, and they said that the EPA raised concerns from a 2022 inspection, and they fully cooperated with the agency to avoid litigation. But they deny violating any regulatory requirements.
They say they've had "a robust fence line monitoring system in place since 2018, which monitors the air quality, including benzene, around the refinery." They go on to say, "The results have always been within safe limits for air emissions. EPA's own air monitoring in the community has shown the same results."
Your Hometown Stations reached out to Cenovus about the settlement, and they said that the EPA raised concerns from a 2022 inspection, and they fully cooperated with the agency to avoid litigation.
Cenovus says they are currently in compliance, and their investments continue to improve the refinery and lower emissions.
You can read the full statement from Cenovus and the press release from the U.S. Department of Justice below.
September 27, 2024, statement from Cenovus Lima Refining Co.: Lima Refining Co. has reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve concerns that EPA raised about emissions at the refinery during a 2022 inspection. The company fully cooperated with the EPA to avoid litigation, even though we deny violating any regulatory requirements.
The safety of our employees and the community is our first priority. Lima Refining Co. has had a robust fence line monitoring system in place since 2018, which monitors the air quality, including benzene, around the refinery. The results have always been within safe limits for air emissions. EPA’s own air monitoring in the community has shown the same results.
The refinery is currently in compliance, and this settlement represents another in a long series of investments to continually improve the refinery and lower emissions.
The settlement is subject to final regulatory and judicial approvals.
Lima Refining Company Will Implement Injunctive Relief Valued at an Estimated $150M to Correct Deficiencies and Pay a Penalty of $19M
September 27, 2024, Press Release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Northern District of Ohio: WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with the Lima Refining Company (LRC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian-based Cenovus Energy, to address violations of the Clean Air Act at its refinery in Lima, Ohio.
Under the settlement, LRC must pay a civil penalty of $19 million and implement an estimated $150 million in capital investments, including control technology expected to reduce emissions of benzene by an estimated 4.34 tons per year, other hazardous air pollutants (HAP) by 16.26 tons per year, and other volatile organic compound emissions (VOC) by 219 tons per year. The Lima Refinery is surrounded by a community with environmental justice concerns.
“This settlement is part of an ongoing initiative to curtail illegal benzene and VOC emissions at refineries that have failed to allocate the necessary personnel and capital investments to ensure compliance with rules they have long been subject to,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Under the settlement, the refinery will implement controls that will greatly improve air quality and reduce health impacts on the overburdened community that surrounds the refinery.”
“Lima Refinery unlawfully exposed the surrounding community to toxic benzene emissions and other hazardous pollutants,” said Assistant Administrator David Uhlmann of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s settlement demonstrates how fence line monitoring can help protect overburdened communities from harmful emissions from the oil and gas sector, including refineries. Lima will pay a substantial penalty for its violations and install $150 million in emissions controls that will provide cleaner air and healthier water to a community that deserves nothing less.”
“Environmental justice is a core priority of our Office and of the Department. Through its illegal emissions of benzene, VOCs and other pollutants from its facility, the LRC impermissibly violated the Clean Air Act and jeopardized the health of Ohio’s residents,” said U.S Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “We will continue to be vigilant and strictly enforce environmental laws and regulations to protect our district’s residents from toxic pollutants. Ohioans should not have to worry about living and working in an area where air pollution from local industry could make them sick.”
As part of the settlement, LRC will install one or more flash columns to reduce benzene in wastewater streams leading to its wastewater treatment plant and will cease operating, replace or upgrade other units at the refinery. LRC will also install six air pollutant monitoring stations to monitor air quality outside of the refinery fence line and make the results publicly available.
The United States’ complaint, filed simultaneously with the settlement, alleges that LRC violated federal regulations limiting benzene in refinery wastewater streams, and HAP and VOC emissions at its Lima Refinery, as well as the general requirement to use good air pollution control practices.
Benzene is known to cause cancer in humans. Short-term inhalation exposure to benzene also may cause drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, as well as eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation, and, at high levels, unconsciousness. Long-term inhalation exposure can cause various disorders in the blood, including reduced numbers of red blood cells and anemia in occupational settings. Reproductive effects have been reported for women exposed by inhalation to high levels, and adverse effects on the developing fetus have been observed in animal tests.
VOCs, along with nitrous oxide, play a major role in the atmospheric reactions that produce ozone, which is the primary constituent of smog. Ground-level ozone exposure is linked to a variety of short- and long-term health problems, including difficulty breathing, aggravated asthma, reduced lung capacity and increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses like pneumonia and bronchitis.
This settlement is part of EPA’s and the Justice Department’s ongoing focus to assist communities that have been historically marginalized and disproportionately exposed to pollution.
For more information about the settlement, please visit www.epa.gov/enforcement/2024-lima-refining-clean-air-act-benzene-waste-neshap-and-volatile-organic-compounds.
The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, is subject to a public comment period and final court approval. Information on submitting comment and access to the settlement agreement is available at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
The EPA investigated the case.
Attorneys with the Environment and Natural Resources Division's Environmental Enforcement Section are handling the case.
