FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ENR
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1998
(202) 514-2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888

NEW JERSEY REFINERY TO PAY $1.2 MILLION

TO SETTLE FEDERAL AIR POLLUTION SUIT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Subsidiaries and affiliates of Coastal Corporation, a Houston-based oil company, have agreed to a $1.2 million settlement to resolve claims that they violated the federal Clean Air Act at a New Jersey refinery, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced today. Under the agreement, subsidiaries and affiliates of Coastal will pay a $300,000 penalty and will spend $900,000 on a scrubber to reduce air pollution.

"This settlement will help ensure that the people who live in and around Southern New Jersey have cleaner, healthier air to breathe," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

In a lawsuit filed with the settlement in the U.S. District Court in Camden today, the government alleged that Coastal's subsidiaries and affiliates violated air pollution laws at power plants serving a Coastal refinery in West Deptford Township, on the Delaware River.

The government's lawsuit alleged that Coastal failed to comply with permits issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that limited the amount of sulfur dioxide that they could emit. Sulfur dioxide is a key cause of smog.

In addition to paying a penalty for its Clean Air Act violation, Coastal will also install an Amine scrubber on the fuel line going to the power plants at the refinery. This scrubber will remove hydrogen sulfide from the fuel that is burned, which will result in at least a 25 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions from the power plants.

"This settlement will improve New Jersey's environment by reducing the amount of sulfur dioxide omitted by these plants beyond what the law requires," said William J. Muszynski, EPA Region II Deputy Administrator. "At the same time, the penalty sends a strong message that polluters will pay."

The proposed settlement is on file with the federal district court and will published in the Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period. After the comment period ends, the government may ask the court to finalize the agreement.

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