ELR Citation: ELR 20213
No(s). 04-0398 (E.D. La. Oct 14, 2005)

A court holds that a refinery is liable under the Clean Air Act for violating benzene and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions limits set forth in its permits and for violating new source performance standards (NSPS) that apply to its flares. Citizen groups demonstrated that the refinery's benzene emissions regularly exceeded the refinery's annual and hourly permit limits, and the court found no basis on which the refinery may be excused from its reported violations. The refinery also repeatedly violated its permitted SO2 limits. Because the refinery admitted that the emissions it reported were not related to any emergency condition, those emissions are not exempt from the applicable regulation. And even if it eventually comes into compliance with some future permit limit on SO2 emissions, post-complaint compliance does not moot the groups' claims for civil penalties. The refinery also regularly violated NSPS by failing to operate the flares with a flame at all times, and by failing to monitor its flames consistently. The refinery argued that its monitoring violations should be excused because the presence of visual and video monitoring can confirm that the flame is present and that the monitoring violations are therefore not impacting the environment. The regulations that the refinery violated, however, prohibit all monitoring violations and make no distinction based on whether the violations impact the environment. The groups also sought an injunction that prohibits the refinery from violating its permit limits for benzene emissions. But because the effects of Hurricane Katrina may impact the propriety of an injunction, the court deferred ruling on their request until the parties have briefed the issue.