Restart Hurdles For Refinery on St. Croix Pile Up as EPA Announces New Clean Air Act Permit Requirement

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced that the oil refinery on St. Croix may not resume operations without obtaining a new comprehensive Clean Air Act permit.

The new permit, called a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit, would require detailed air quality analyses and the use of the best available air pollution control technology, the EPA said.

According to the federal agency, the refinery is located "near historically marginalized communities that are overburdened with pollution, including pollution from this refinery that led EPA to issue an emergency order to pause all operations in May 2021."

According to the EPA, a PSD permit limits emissions to levels that can be achieved by applying the best available air pollution control technology, which for this refinery would likely result in significant reductions of emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic chemicals, and reductions in sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.

The permit process also requires an air quality analysis to determine if the facility would cause pollution levels in the air to exceed EPA air quality standards, according to the federal agency. If a standard were to be exceeded, further reductions would be required in the PSD permitting process.