The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a Notice of Federal Interest to the Hovensa refinery Wednesday, requiring it to notify EPA of what steps it has or will take to prevent another airborne oil release, such as occurred twice in September and most recently on Dec. 9.
“While EPA’s immediate concern is the response to this incident, the agency is more broadly concerned about the frequency of the operational problems at Hovensa,” EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck said in a statement Wednesday.
EPA media contact Elias Rodriguez said Thursday the formal notice establishes EPA’s enforcement position when it comes to possible cost recovery or other, yet to be determined, enforcement action, such as issuing an administrative order.
“It also puts the party on notice that it/they must respond to EPA and tell us what they will do to: 1) cleanup the release or spill, and/or 2) what steps they will take to prevent a recurrence of the release,” he said. “If we are not satisfied with their response we can consider further measures/action(s).”
Hovensa has established water-distribution sites for homes whose roofs (and hence cisterns) may have been affected by the oil spray. The refinery has also sent teams to take cistern water samples for testing and to clean roofs, downspouts and cisterns.
“We are taking all possible steps to put this right in the community and prevent such an incident from recurring,” said Hovensa’s new acting Chief Executive Officer John George in a recent statement.
EPA is monitoring the situation at Hovensa and overseeing the water-testing process, according to Enk.
“EPA is having some of those samples analyzed by its own independent lab to verify the accuracy of Hovensa’s sampling results,” Enck said in a statement.
