Port Hamilton

Statement on Third Circuit's determination that EPA's reactivation policy exceeded EPA's statutory authority

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Transport, LLLP, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency, OSHA, Congress, EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Natural Resources, Com, Court, Environment, Gasoline, Harbor, Port Hamilton, United States Virgin Islands

ST. CROIX, US Virgin Islands, July 26th, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On July 25, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed with Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation, LLLP ("Port Hamilton") that the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") exceeded its statutory authority when it attempted to impose regulatory requirements on Port Hamilton's refinery on St. Croix that Congress had made applicable to facilities constructed after August 1977. The refinery was built in the late 1960s and the court agreed that the plain language of the statute did not allow EPA to impose those requirements on the St. Croix refinery.

Key Points: 
  • The refinery was built in the late 1960s and the court agreed that the plain language of the statute did not allow EPA to impose those requirements on the St. Croix refinery.
  • The refinery was built in the late 1960s and the court agreed that the plain language of the statute did not allow EPA to impose those requirements on the St. Croix refinery.
  • "Despite our disagreement with EPA," Rodriguez said, "Port Hamilton shares EPA's concern for the environment and people of St. Croix.
  • Port Hamilton shares EPA's concern for the environment and people of St. Croix.

Legal Intervention Supports EPA Permit Requirements for St. Croix Refinery

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Virgin Islands, Accident, Postgraduate education, Motion, Sulfur dioxide, Drinking water, Biophysical environment, Hovensa, ExxonMobil, Sierra Club, LLLP, Hess Corporation, EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Garden, Sierra, Groundwater, Annotation, Safety, Maintenance, United States district court, PDVSA, Vermont Law and Graduate School, Health, Venezuela, Center for Biological Diversity, School, Fear, Biodiversity, Clean Air Act, Congress, HOVENSA, Virgin Islands National Guard, EJC, Limetree, COVID-19, Nausea, PSD, Transport, Public, Circuit court, Fire department, Environment, Policy, Headache, History, Oil, Environmental remediation, Gasoline, Port Hamilton

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt., Feb. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Monday, Feb. 13, the Environmental Justice Clinic (EJC) at Vermont Law and Graduate School filed a motion to intervene in a case in the United States 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals concerning permits for a shuttered oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Key Points: 
  • The EJC supports the EPA's determination which requires a Prevention of Serious Deterioration (PSD) permit requiring the applicant to install the best available control technology.
  • In May 2021 the EPA used emergency measures to shut down the refinery and reversed its 2018 decision to not require a PSD permit.
  • The EPA is finally taking the risks posed by this facility seriously, and we need to stop the company from starting up that dirty refinery without a new permit."
  • The EPA now considers the refinery a new, stationary source of pollution and as such requires a PSD permit from Port Hamilton.