Hazardous waste violations in St. Paul Park cost Marathon Petroleum $700,000

For release: Jan. 19, 2012
Contact: Sam Brungardt, 651-757-2249

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Hazardous waste violations in St. Paul Park cost Marathon Petroleum $700,000

St. Paul, Minn. – Marathon Petroleum Co. of Findlay, Ohio, former owner and operator of the oil refinery in St. Paul Park, Minn., has paid a civil penalty of $700,000 to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for failing to properly treat its hazardous waste, which resulted in the release of benzene, a potent carcinogen, to the environment.

Marathon Petroleum paid the penalty under the terms of a stipulation agreement, one of the tools the MPCA uses to achieve compliance with environmental laws.  When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account the severity of the violation, the impact or potential impact to the environment, whether it was a first-time or repeat violation, and the intent or carelessness of the regulated party.

The MPCA also attempts to recover the calculated economic benefit the regulated party gained by failing to comply with environmental laws.  In this case, the MPCA alleged Marathon Petroleum received an economic benefit when it illegally disposed of 114.9 million gallons of benzene process wastewater in an unlined lagoon instead of properly treating the waste in its wastewater-treatment plant.  It failed to properly treat this hazardous waste because its wastewater-treatment unit failed to remove the benzene before the wastewater was discharged into the unlined lagoon.  Liquids in the unlined lagoon, which is adjacent the Mississippi River, could migrate to shallow groundwater hydraulically connected to the river.  Marathon Petroleum failed to properly manage this hazardous waste off and on for 65 days, from June 15 to Oct. 16, 2010.

The MPCA charged that Marathon Petroleum had treated, stored and disposed of benzene process wastewater, a hazardous waste, without obtaining the required permit.  Disposal and storage in a lagoon of this nature requires a hazardous waste permit for a surface impoundment, which Marathon Petroleum did not have.  Before a hazardous waste permit can even be issued, the owner must submit a hydrogeologic report and an engineer’s certification and the surface impoundment must meet specific design and operational requirements, such as double-liner, leak-detection and leachate-collection systems, and a method for emptying the hazardous waste in an emergency.  In addition, Marathon Petroleum evaded general requirements for a hazardous waste permit, financial assurance, closure and post closure.

The MPCA also alleged that Marathon Petroleum failed to notify the agency of discharges that had the potential to pollute waters of the state.  Notification is an important part of the MPCA’s program to protect human health and the environment from pollution.  Timely notification is crucial because it provides government authorities the opportunity to evaluate the situation and determine the appropriate response from the regulated party and whether government intervention is warranted.

In addition, Marathon Petroleum’s discharges exceeded its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit limits for ammonia nitrogen and sulfides as well as oxygen-depleting substances.

On Dec. 1, 2010, Marathon Petroleum sold the refinery where the infractions occurred to St. Paul Park Refining Co., the current owner and operator of the facility.

A complete list of penalties issued by the MPCA is available on the agency’s website.

Broadcast version

Marathon Petroleum Company of Findlay, Ohio, former owner and operator of the oil refinery in Saint Paul Park, Minnesota, has paid a civil penalty of 700-thousand dollars to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for hazardous waste violations at the refinery.

The violations, which occurred in 2010, included the release of benzene, a potent carcinogen, to the environment.

Marathon Petroleum has since sold the refinery to St. Paul Park Refining Company.

More information about MPCA enforcement actions is available on the Web at www.pca.state.mn.us.

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