(AGENPARL) - Roma, 20 Novembre 2023 -

(AGENPARL) – lun 20 novembre 2023 Issued: Nov 20, 2023 (4:26pm EST)
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Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing LLC Will Pay More Than $23 Million
to Address Clean Air Act Violations and Offset Environmental Harm Related to
its Kansas Refinery
WASHINGTON (Nov. 20, 2023) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the Department of Justice today announced a settlement with Coffeyville
Resources Refining & Marketing LLC and its affiliated companies (CRRM) for
violations of the Clean Air Act and a previous consent decree related to
operation of its petroleum refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas. These violations
resulted in illegal emissions of various pollutants including an EPA estimate
of over 2,300 excess tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), a pollutant that can make
breathing more difficult, from the refinery’s flares from 2015 to 2017.
The United States and the State of Kansas allege that CRRM violated numerous
provisions of a 2012 consent decree and the Clean Air Act. Under the
settlement, CRRM will spend at least $1 million on a project to benefit the
public and environment of Kansas and implement measures costing up to $9
million to prevent future violations and redress the environmental harm caused
by their unlawful conduct. The company will also pay more than $13 million in
penalties to the United States and Kansas.
“The settlement with Coffeyville delivers on the promise of EPA’s new
climate enforcement strategy by reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent
to the annual emissions of 10,000 cars,” said Assistant Administrator David
M. Uhlmann for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “In
addition, the actions we are taking alongside our state partners in Kansas
will reduce harmful air pollution that makes breathing more difficult and
causes smog, acid rain, and tree and plant damage.”  
“This settlement demonstrates that the United States will take decisive
action to address Clean Air Act violations, to enforce the terms of consent
decrees and to promote environmental justice,” said Assistant Attorney
General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural
Resources Division (ENRD). “The emissions reductions achieved under this
settlement will result in healthier air for a community disproportionately
affected by air pollution, including for residents of the nearby Cherokee
Nation.”
“We are committed to protecting people and families in the communities where
they live,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “In addition
to the emission controls provided in the settlement, this order requires CRRM
to invest $1 million in an environmental project to be approved by the state
of Kansas, which will directly benefit the citizens of the state.”
Since the United States and Kansas began investigating CRRM’s alleged
non-compliance in 2016, CRRM’s efforts to come into compliance with Clean
Air Act requirements have already eliminated more than 39,000 tons per year of
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from excessive flaring of waste gas, equivalent
to using nearly 4 million fewer gallons of gasoline per year. In addition, EPA
estimates that the flare gas recovery system required by the consent decree
lodged today will further reduce yearly emissions of greenhouse gases by
12,888 tons, equivalent to using 1.3 million fewer gallons of gasoline
annually and will also reduce yearly emissions of SO2 by 1.7 tons and nitrogen
oxide (NOx) by 9.57 tons.  NOx is a primary contributor to the formation of
smog.
In 2020, the United States and Kansas sought more than $6.8 million in
stipulated penalties from CRRM because of the company’s alleged violations
of the 2012 consent decree – primarily regarding its failure to properly
monitor SO2 emissions from flaring. Various refinery processes lead to flaring
or burning of waste gases which emit various pollutants into the atmosphere,
including carbon dioxide, methane, and SO2. The U.S. District Court for the
District of Kansas held CRRM liable for the stipulated penalties and the
company appealed the decision.  
Also in 2020, the United States and Kansas alleged additional Clean Air Act
violations at the refinery, resulting in excess emissions of SO2 in a
community already disproportionately impacted by air pollution. Exposure to
SO2 can harm breathing and particularly affects those with asthma, children,
and older adults. High concentrations of SO2 can lead to formation of other
sulfur oxides and ultimately small particles, which can contribute to
particulate matter pollution, acid rain and tree and plant damage.
The consent decree, which the United States filed today, resolves the
stipulated penalties demand and violations identified in the complaint. CRRM
must:
• Pay more than $6.8 million in stipulated penalties awarded by the court
and $183,000 in stipulated penalties for additional violations of the 2012
consent decree; 
• Pay more than $6.2 million in additional penalties for Clean Air Act
violations alleged in the complaint; 
• Spend at least $1 million on an environmentally beneficial project to be
approved by the State of Kansas; 
• Undertake various measures to facilitate future compliance with the Clean
Air Act;
• Reduce NOx emissions from refinery heaters; and 
• Build an approximately $9 million flare gas recovery system to reduce the
refinery’s flaring. 
EPA Region 7, EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and the
Kansas Department of Health and Environment investigated the case. The
Department of Justice’s ENRD Environmental Enforcement Section and the State
of Kansas prosecuted the case.
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Kansas, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
The consent decree will be available for viewing at the 2023 Coffeyville
Resources Refining & Marketing, LLC Clean Air Act Settlement Information
Sheet.
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