EPA fines Flint Hills for clean air violations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Flint Hills Resources Alaska $15,867 for Clean Air Act emergency planning violations at the company’s North Pole refinery The company has also agreed to buy three hazardous substance spill response vehicles and an incident command post trailer for Fairbanks North Star Borough.
According to an EPA press release the agency alleged 10 separate violations of the Clean Air Act, including “failure to establish procedures for reviewing and updating the company’s emergency response plan, and failure to establish procedures for informing the public and local emergency response agencies about accidental releases of flammable substances.”
The Clean Air Act requires the development of a risk management program for any facility that manufactures, processes, uses, stores or handles more than a specified amount of regulated substances, including flammable gases and toxic chemicals.
“Flint Hills needed a better management system to ensure that their emergency procedures were continually updated and also needed a way to inform the public about accidental releases,” said Kelly Huynh, EPA’s risk management plan coordinator. “The program is designed to protect public health and the environment in the event there is an accidental release of hazardous or flammable substances.”
Occurred before purchase But Flint Hills has told Petroleum News that the Clean Air Act violations at North Pole relate to issues that existed at the refinery before the company purchased the refinery from Williams on April 1, 2004. After the refinery purchase Flint Hills hired a third-party consultant to identify any environmental or process issues that existed prior to the purchase, Jeff Cook, director of external affairs for Flint Hills, said.
The consultant delivered a report in August 2004 and Flint Hills corrected the problems that the consultant discovered, including the issues that have resulted in the EPA fine.
“All issues were reported and addressed, and we now meet or exceed all regulatory standards,” Cook said. “…Safety and the environment are the top priority of Flint Hills Resources.”
—Alan Bailey
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