Unocal Given Deadline to Halt Refinery Work
Saying the work violates federal clean air laws, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday gave Unocal Corp. one week to stop preliminary construction at two Southern California refineries slated to produce cleaner-burning gasoline.
The EPA issued the order after Unocal officials said they will continue work at gasoline refineries in Carson and Wilmington, despite the agency’s notice Friday that the company was in violation of the federal Clean Air Act because it lacked proper permits.
Unocal will meet with EPA officials in San Francisco today to ask for a reversal of the order, said Barry Lane, a Unocal spokesman. Under the Clean Air Act, continued work on the project after the EPA’s Nov. 4 deadline could result in civil or criminal action against Unocal, EPA spokesman Bill Glenn said.
The company said it had not violated the law because it obtained the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s consent before it began pouring foundations at the construction sites.
“Our basic position is that the work we’ve done has had no impact on air quality,” Lane said. “Instead of issuing stop orders, (the EPA) should be giving full support to help us meet the clean air standards on time.”
The Clean Air Act mandates that all gasoline sold in highly polluted urban areas be reformulated by 1995 to reduce smog-producing emissions.
The EPA’s action is the latest round in a dispute between the agency and the AQMD over oil companies’ efforts to convert their refineries.
The EPA disputes the AQMD’s interpretation of a rule regulating construction at the refineries. Earlier this month, the federal agency unsuccessfully tried to stop Chevron from doing similar work at its El Segundo refinery. Like Unocal, Chevron lacked a permit but had the AQMD’s approval.
“We can’t accept the argument that violating one part of the Clean Air Act is justified by trying to comply with another part of it,” said Glenn, the EPA spokesman.
Unocal could face penalties of up to $25,000 per violation for each day it is out of compliance, the EPA said.
