(AGENPARL) – mar 08 ottobre 2024 Issued: Oct 8, 2024 (12:23pm EDT)
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U.S. files $4.2 million settlement of Clean Air Act penalties related to 2019
fire and explosion at former South Philadelphia Refinery
PHILADELPHIA (October 8, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced today that the federal government has settled its final Clean
Air Act (CAA) claim against Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and
Marketing, LLC (PES) pertaining to the June 21, 2019 fire and explosion at its
former South Philadelphia refinery.  
EPA alleged that the company violated CAA section 112(r) which requires
facility owners and operators to ensure that regulated and other extremely
hazardous substances are managed safely. Specifically, EPA alleged that PES
violated CAA 112(r) and implementing regulations found at 40 C.F.R. Part 68,
which requires facilities to identify and assess the hazards posed by
regulated substances, develop an accident prevention program to reduce the
risk of accidental releases, and develop an emergency response program. 
According to EPA, the company violated these requirements by, among other
things, failing to ensure that its refining operations, particularly the
hydrofluoric acid unit, were designed, built, and operated in accordance with
recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. 
The proposed $4.2 million settlement, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court
represents the largest CAA 112(r) penalty EPA has ever imposed for a single
incident. EPA has three previous settlements with PES from 2020, one regarding
CAA Renewable Fuel Standards, one for compliance issues related to a prior CAA
Consent Decree, and the other for recovery of EPA costs related to the
refinery’s explosion and fire under the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.  
The proposed settlement in which PES did not admit liability will have a
30-day public notice and comment period and require final court approval. If
approved by the court as an allowed general unsecured claim in the PES
bankruptcy matter, the penalty will be paid pursuant to a court-approved
bankruptcy reorganization plan.  Any monies collected will go to the U.S.
Department of Treasury. The former refinery no longer stands or operates at
the South Philadelphia location. The current owners intend to use the property
as a warehouse distribution center. 
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