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Equilon Enterprises LLC Settlement

On March 21, 2001, EPA and the Department of Justice announced a settlement that commits nine refineries owned by Motiva, Equilon, and the Deer Park Refining Limited Partnership (Shell Deer Park) to an ambitious program to assure compliance with major provisions of the Clean Air Act. The companies expect to spend a total of $400 million over eight years to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by an estimated 8,000 tons per year, sulfur dioxide (SO2) by more than 49,550 tons per year, and particulate matter (PM) by 1,300 tons per year.

The consent decree provides for a limited pool of emission reductions that can be used to expedite production of clean fuels to meet "Tier II" and low sulfur diesel standards that begin to take effect in 2004. These provisions, which will help eliminate clean fuel production bottlenecks that could shrink supply and raise prices, are subject to review by state and local permit authorities.

This is the third settlement in a federal strategy for achieving cooperative across-the-board compliance with U.S. refining companies. In the previous year the federal government reached similar and record settlements with BP and Koch Petroleum Group, two of the nation's largest oil refiners. When combined with BP and Koch, the three agreements cover nearly 25 percent of total U.S. refining capacity.

Enforcement Priorities

For additional information, contact:

Patrick W. Foley
Senior Environmental Engineer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2242A)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460-0001
(202) 564-7978
foley.patrick@epa.gov

Civil Enforcement | Cleanup Enforcement | Criminal Enforcement

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