<Ouch! Under pressure from Environmentalist still trying block expansion Whiting – EPA is chasing Air Permit violations against BP. The work on FCC was similar type work that spawned the NDRC new source bull-crap that treats debottlenecking & modifications as “new source” – Charlie comments>
EPA: BP may have started Whiting expansion 3 years early
BY PATRICK GUINANE (pguinane@nwitimes.com)
Thursday, October 02, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has amended air pollution violation allegations it filed in November against the BP Whiting Refinery.
The EPA issued a new release Thursday saying it now has information suggesting BP may have started a $3.8 billion expansion to process Canadian crude oil in 2005 – three years before the oil giant received a state construction permit.
The dispute centers on February 2005 modifications BP made to a catalytic cracking unit, which is used to heat crude oil and alter its molecular structure.
A BP spokesman in December described the improvements as “routine maintenance activity done to enhance reliability.” But the EPA called the changes a major modification to an air pollution source and told the company it should have obtained a permit before beginning the work.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued a construction permit for the Whiting expansion in May. A BP spokesman was not immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.