FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1996                         (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
   CITGO PAYS $1.23 MILLION FOR PAST CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS;
                WILL REDUCE SULFUR OXIDE EMISSIONS

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- CITGO Asphalt Refining Company, a
subsidiary of CITGO Petroleum, will pay $1.23 million in
penalties for violating the Clean Air Act and will reduce sulfur
oxide emissions by over 100 tons per year at its West Deptford,
New Jersey refinery, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.
     The settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Camden, New
Jersey, resolves allegations that the company violated Clean Air
Act regulations by failing to control sulfur oxide emissions at
the refinery.  Sulfur oxides contribute to the formation of acid
rain, and one type of sulfur oxide -- sulfur dioxide -- can
irritate human lungs and exacerbate existing lung conditions such
as asthma.  Clean Air Act regulations establish sulfur oxide
emission limits for refineries and set testing and monitoring
requirements.
     In addition to paying the penalty, CITGO recently installed
new pollution control equipment that will reduce its emissions of
sulfur oxides by about 90 percent.  EPA estimates that without
the appropriate pollution controls, the company emitted about 140
tons of sulfur oxides per-year.
     "With today's settlement the people of Gloucester County can
breath a little easier -- CITGO is now complying with the Clean
Air Act and paying a substantial price for its violations," said
Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. 
"We will continue to make sure this law protects people and the
environment from harmful air pollution."
     "This new equipment will make the air surrounding the West
Deptford CITGO refinery cleaner and safer," said Jeanne M. Fox,
EPA Region 2 Administrator.  "The federal government worked
closely with CITGO after the violations were uncovered, and this
settlement will result in real benefits for human health and the
local environment." 
     Faith S. Hochberg, United States Attorney for the District
of New Jersey, cited the case as an important deterrent to would-
be violators of environmental laws.  "Working in partnership with
EPA and the Justice Department's Environment and Natural
Resources Division, the U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to
vigorously enforcing all environmental laws and regulations to
preserve the local environment for the use and enjoyment of all
New Jersey citizens," Hochberg stated.
     EPA conducted an inspection of the refinery in December
1993, and determined that the refinery's prior owner, Seaview
Petroleum, had not complied with sulfur oxide control standards. 
When it purchased the refinery in 1991, CITGO conducted an
environmental audit, but the audit did not indicate the sulfur
oxide violations.  EPA issued a Compliance Order in 1994
mandating testing at the refinery, and CITGO's own tests
confirmed the suspected sulfur oxide emissions violations.  CITGO
immediately began designing the pollution control system that is
in place today.
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