2021 Flare That Led to Closure of Refinery Did Not Contain Hazardous Components, Ocean Point Says as it Heads Off Civil Suits Seeking Water Distribution Continuation

Ahead of a scheduled hearing early next month, Limetree Bay Ventures, LLC, (Ocean Point Terminals) is asking a federal judge to toss out applications for preliminary injunctions in four civil suits that have been filed against it.

The lawsuits, filed in 2021, are in response to the several petrochemical releases that occurred during the brief operational window of St. Croix’s refinery, which misted neighboring communities with fine droplets of oil.

The plaintiffs, each of whom represents one of a putative class, reportedly want the court to ensure Ocean Point continues the water distribution program that was begun by itself and the refinery following the refinery’s shutdown and bankruptcy. They also want Ocean Point to conduct remediation of property they say has been contaminated by the petrochemical spray from the refinery.

However, Ocean Point is pushing back, saying firstly that the plaintiffs are deliberately conflating two separate business entities, secondly that the water program was ended in accordance with the initial agreement made with affected residents, and thirdly that evidence submitted by the plaintiffs does not prove any contamination linked to the refinery releases exists on the properties in question.

"Plaintiffs’ water, soil and ground sampling data shows almost complete non-detection of contaminates and those few samples with detection are either inconsistent with or unlikely to be petroleum products and/or are well below human health safety thresholds," Ocean Point said.

In the filing, which was submitted on February 21, 2023, Ocean Point makes the distinction between itself and Limetree Bay Refinery (LBR). Although admittedly owned by the same entity, Senior Counsel Akeel St. Jean argues that Ocean Point “is and has always been a separate and distinct legal entity” from LBR.

The filing supports this claim by attaching the Environmental Protection Agency’s Notice of Violation sent to LBR in 2021, which references the 2018 agreement between the Government of the Virgin Islands and LBR. In that agreement, it is stipulated that GVI will “enter into a new Refinery Operating Agreement to reflect that the Refinery and the Refinery Site will be acquired, held and operated by” LBR instead of Ocean Point, as a “standalone facility.”

Secondly, while Ocean Point acknowledges that it was a participant in the water distribution program that was begun by both entities following the 2021 refinery releases. In mediation between the bankrupt LBR and several St. Croix residents, the court codified and expanded the program, stipulating that Ocean Point and the debtors of the now-bankrupt LBR distribute potable water at specified locations on St. Croix from Monday through Saturday, at a cost capped at $180,000 monthly. Each household in the area covered under the agreement was eligible to receive up to 20 gallons of water per week.