Shell Chemical L.P. and Shell Chemical Yabucoa will pay a combined $3.3 million civil penalty to the U.S., Alabama and Louisiana, in addition to $200,000 to Louisiana organizations for environmental education and emergency operations as part of two Clean Air Act settlements.
The companies also will install $6 million worth of pollution reduction equipment on two petroleum refining facilities in Saraland, Ala., and St. Rose, La.
These include air pollution control technologies and other measures to reduce emissions.
Shell Chemical Yabucoa decided to shut down its refining operations at the facility in Puerto Rico in 2009 for other business reasons although it continues to operate the existing gasoline terminal at the site.
The two refineries in Alabama and Louisiana, and the terminal operations in Puerto Rico also will upgrade their leak-detection and repair practices to reduce harmful emissions from pumps and valves, implement programs to reduce flaring events and adopt new strategies for ensuring continued compliance with benzene waste requirements under the Clean Air Act.
The settlements will reduce air emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other harmful pollutants including volatile organic compounds and benzene by more than 1,450 tons per year, according to the EPA.
Since late 2000, the EPA has reached settlements with 99 U.S. refineries under its National Petroleum Refinery Initiative, reports Alabama Live. Other settlements include BP, Hunt Refining, and ExxonMobil.
