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. ### 96-546