Exxon Refinery Catches Fire Day After Government Settles Over Pollution From Other Gulf Plants

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Early morning skies Wednesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were alight from a fire that started around 2:30 a.m. at an ExxonMobilย refinery. The blaze,ย though contained before theย sun came up, is a reminder to the surrounding community of yet another danger of living next to refineries and chemicalย plants.

Exxonโ€™s refinery is located along the stretch ofย Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans known as โ€œCancer Alleyโ€ due to the high number of chemical plants and refineries โ€” and illnesses possibly connected to emissions โ€” along the riverโ€™sย banks.

Exxon issued a statement to CBS affiliate WAFB while the fire smoldered, saying the community was not impacted by emissions from the refinery fire and that air quality readings were โ€œbelow detectable limits.โ€

Mary Lee Orr, executive director of The Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), questions the possibility of making such a determination so fast. Her group has beenย working with Cancer Alley communities, helping to reduce their exposure to pollution from the areaโ€™s oil and petrochemicalย industry.

Exxonโ€™s Baton Rouge refinery is adjacent toย one of the companyโ€™s eight facilitiesย named inย a settlement reached with the Environmental Protection Agencyย (EPA) andย the Department of Justice (DOJ) and announced Octoberย 31.ย ย 

Last year LEAN filed a lawsuit against an Exxon chemical facility in Baton Rouge, next to the refinery that caught on fire Wednesday. That suit alleges the facility has been violating the Clean Air Act by failing to report pollution releasesย correctly. Lisa Jordan, director of Tulane Universityโ€™s Environmental Legal Clinic and representing LEAN in this case, said it is too early to sayย how the recent agreementย betweenย the federal governmentย andย Exxon will impact their own case. Jordan said LEANโ€™s case encompasses a broader range of issues than those in the one recentlyย settled.

A flare at ExxonMobil Beaumont facility after Hurricane Harvey
Flare at ExxonMobil Beaumont, Texas, facility after Hurricaneย Harvey.

According to the DOJ, the settlementย โ€œresolves allegations that ExxonMobil violated the Clean Air Act by failing to properly operate and monitor industrial flaresย at their petrochemical facilities, which resulted in excess emissions of harmful air pollution.โ€

It requires Exxon to install and operate air pollution control and monitoring technology to reduce air pollution from 26 industrial flares at five facilities in Texas and three inย Louisiana, at a cost ofย aboutย $300 million. In addition, the company must pay a civil penalty of $2.5 million.

Some environmental groups have described the fines as a slap on the wrist, but LEANโ€™S technical adviser Wilma Subraย believes the settlementย isย substantial. โ€œThe amount ofย money to be spent on air pollution improvements is a positive step in the right direction,โ€ she toldย me.

Trucks in front of flaring at ExxonMobil Beaumont plant after Hurricane Harvey
Flare at ExxonMobil Beaumont, Texas, facility after Hurricaneย Harvey.

However, Subra is concerned that the air pollution monitoring devices in the agreement will only monitor benzene, which is known to cause cancer. In her view, Exxon should be required to monitor aย whole host of other potentially harmful chemicals it is emitting.ย 

The instances of pollutionย cited in the recently settled suit do not include emissions from any of Exxonโ€™s Texas facilities affected by Hurricane Harvey. Subra pointed out thatย the pollution incidents atย Texasย refineries and chemical facilities following theย hurricaneย show that industry has no methodย forย controlling pollution when hurricanes hit,ย something she hopes industry willย changeย soon.

Flare at Exxon Baytown refinery after Hurricane Harvey
Flare at Exxon’s Baytown, Texas, refinery following Hurricaneย Harvey.

Exxonโ€™s Baytown, Texas, operation was among the eight industrial facilities included in the recent settlement. It was also one of the plants that reported pollution releases due to Hurricane Harvey. In this case, the refineryโ€™s roof sank due to the stormโ€™s heavy rains, which resulted in the release of hazardous gases โ€” including volatile organic compounds and benzene aboveย permitted levels, according to the New York Times.ย 

Orr alsoย sees theย agreementย between Exxon and the Trump administration asย aย positive step towardย protecting Cancer Alley communities. But โ€œsadly, in the short term, theย agreement wonโ€™t help the community,โ€ she told me. โ€œIt will take time to implement the new pollution reduction devices.โ€

And thoughย EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt statedย that โ€œthis agreement shows, EPA is dedicated to partnering with states to address critical environmental issues andย improving compliance in the regulated community to prevent future violations of the law,โ€ the agency under Trump has been racing to undo its previous work. Recently Pruitt announced a measure to repealย former President Barack Obamaโ€™s EPA policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, a plan Trumpโ€™s EPA has concluded would have substantial health benefits.ย ย 

Furthermore, a list ofย potential names for the agencyโ€™s Science Advisory Board and Clean Air Scientificย Advisory Committee includes a sizable increase in industry representatives and consultants, as reported by the Intercept.ย On that ย list are two scientists who have worked for Exxon, indicating the oil and gas giant couldย have greater influence over EPA science and policies in theย future.ย ย 

Main image: ExxonMobilโ€™s refinery and chemical plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2011. Credit: All photos by Julieย Dermansky

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Julie Dermansky is a multimedia reporter and artist based in New Orleans. She is an affiliate scholar at Rutgers Universityโ€™s Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights. Visit her website at www.jsdart.com.

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