DNREC says this latest notice is a response to excessive emissions at the Delaware City Refinery between May 25th and June 11th of this year.
During that time, the refinery’s Fluid Coking Unit, used for oil processing, went offline and needed repairs. That led to the use of a backup incinerator and a bypass stack that did not control emissions of some air pollutants as well.
The excess emissions primarily consisted of sulfur dioxide. Over the 18 days, the refinery saw over 940,000 pounds of unpermitted sulfur dioxide emissions from the backup incinerator and bypass stack. The refinery’s Fluid Coking Unit also exceeded its annual sulfur dioxide limit of 182.3 with emissions of 464.4 tons.
DNREC officials say there was never a threat to public health, based on daily and hourly measurements at their Route 9 monitoring station and other sites
DNREC is now moving into consideration of fines for the refinery, which will be assessed based on the severity and length of the violation.
This marks the fourth citation the refinery has received within a 12-month time frame and the second this year. A March 13th incident saw nearly 300,000 pounds of pollutants were released into the air, consisting mostly of carbon monoxide.
The refinery’s history of violations also includes a 2020 fire in the facility that resulted in the injury of two employees
A portion of all monetary donations are Community Environmental Project Fund, which offers grants to nonprofit organizations in affected communities near violation zones.
