Louisiana Refinery Releases
Submission ID: SEM-13-002
Party concerned: United States
Date filed: July 3, 2013
Submission Status: Closed
Latest Update: November 5, 2013
The sixty-day term expired without the Secretariat receiving a submission that conformed to Article 14(1). In accordance with guidelines 6.2 and 6.3, the process was therefore terminated.
Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:
The Submitter asserts that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to use the Clean Air Act (CAA) to address “environmental hazards discovered in the agency’s July 2012 Risk Management Plan (RMP) inspection of the ExxonMobil Refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (EMBRRF).” The Submitter states that the RMP for the refinery does not comply with US environmental law and, in particular, CAA(r) 40 CFR Part 68, Accidental Release Prevention.
The Submitter notes that the refinery’s upset reports show “36 accidents totaling 926,286 pounds [420,156 kg] of pollution from units that are covered by the RMP,” despite the facility’s RMP stating that there are no covered accidents to report. The Submitter considers that the releases from the refinery pose a risk to the surrounding community. Moreover, the Submitter alleges that the community was not sufficiently notified of an August 2012 accidental release of significant amounts of toxic chemicals, including benzene, volatile organic compounds, toluene, hexane, and cyclohexane. The Submitter notes that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) has only issued one penalty, despite the refinery having “one of the highest rates of unauthorized discharges in the state.”
The Submitter requests that the CEC “pressure the EPA and LDEQ [to] enforce the Clean Air Act by issuing the maximum penalties for this accident and the violations found during the Risk Management Plan inspection,” and request that EPA and LDEQ not award any new permits to the refinery until “all findings in the 2012 RMP Inspection report are addressed.”
Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:
Clean Air Act
Submitter(s):
Louisiana Bucket Brigade
Submission Timeline
The Secretariat received a submission and began a preliminary analysis of it under the guidelines.
Submission - Submission authored by Submitter(s) on 01/07/2013
Annex - Other document authored by Individual or entity named in Submission on 31/12/2011
Annex - Other document authored by Individual or entity named in Submission on 31/12/2009
Annex - Other document authored by Submitter(s) on 18/01/2012
Annex - Other document authored by Individual or entity named in Submission on 21/06/2012
Annex - Other document authored by Submitter(s) on 14/06/2012
Annex - Other document authored by Individual or entity named in Submission on 31/12/2012
Annex - Other document authored by Individual or entity named in Submission on 19/07/2012
Annex - Other document authored by United States on 07/07/2012
Annex - Other document authored by United States on 19/07/2012
Annex - Other document authored by United States on 26/09/2012
The Secretariat began reviewing the submission under Article 14(1)
Acknowledgement - Communication to Submitter(s) authored by Secretariat on 04/07/2013
The Secretariat notified the submitter(s) that the submission did not meet all of the Article 14(1) criteria and that the submitter(s) had 60 days to provide the Secretariat with a revised submission that conforms with Article 14(1).
Determination - Secretariat Determination under Article 14 (1) authored by Secretariat on 12/08/2013
The sixty-day term expired without the Secretariat receiving a submission that conformed to Article 14(1). In accordance with guidelines 6.2 and 6.3, the process was therefore terminated.