Giant Petroleum Refinery Settlement

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) announced on August 4, 2005 a settlement agreement regarding alleged violations at two Giant Industries facilities in northwestern New Mexico: the Bloomfield Refinery in Bloomfield and the Ciniza Refinery near Gallup. Giant will pay a $250,000 penalty and spend $600,000 on four approved supplemental environmental projects expected to reduce harmful air emissions by almost 3,000 tons per year.

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Geography: Two refineries affected

Bloomfield Refinery - Bloomfield, NM
Ciniza Refinery - Gallup, NM

Industry Capacity:

More than 44,000 barrels of oil per day

Emission Reductions:

Nitrogen Oxide (No_x) by more than 545 tons per year;

Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) by more than 1,570 tons per year;

Particulate Matter (PM) by more than 60 tons per year;

Carbon Monoxide (CO) by more than 760 tons per year;

Fugitive Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) by more than 35 tons per year.

Injunctive Relief:

Reduce emissions significantly from the refineries' largest emission sources (e.g.,catalytic cracking units, heaters, boilers, flares and sulfur recover plants)
Commitment to reduce the number and severity of major flaring events at both refineries

Implement enhanced programs and procedures to reduce benzene emissions and volatile organic compound leaks from valves and other refinery equipment

Penalty:

Joint NMED and EPA administrative action resulted in a $250,000 penalty

Supplemental Environmental Projects: Valued at $600,000, concentrating on community based Environmental Projects.

State Partners: New Mexico

For additional information, contact:

Patrick W. Foley
Senior Environmental Engineer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2242A)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460-0001
(202) 564-7978
[email protected]