Refinery Refutes Previous Regulatory Requirements

Operators of St. Croix’s long-dormant oil refinery have asked a federal judge to allow a restart without expensive equipment required in a 2011 agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, according to court records. Without such a guarantee, the refinery that once employed thousands may never resume operations again, they say.

The agreement, or consent decree, was that should then-refinery operator Hovensa needed to install a flare gas recovery system if it exceeded certain emissions limits. Limetree Bay Terminals bought the refinery when Hovensa declared bankruptcy in 2015. In 2020, Limetree and the EPA agreed to a modification of the consent decree that changed the responsible party from Hovensa to Limetree companies, and essentially reset the start date to when the modification was official. That process started in April 2021 and was not complete until December of that year. Meanwhile, Limetree violated the EPA emissions limits between April and May 2021, according to court filings.

The violation meant Limetree had two years to install the flare system. Instead, the company declared bankruptcy and, on Dec. 21, 2021, the refinery was sold to Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation LLLP. Nine days later the modified consent decree became official, according to court documents filed Friday.

Attorneys for Port Hamilton argued that the company is not obligated to follow the consent decree.