Superior, Wis. refinery agrees to $142M pollution control upgrade
Murphy Oil Company has agreed to invest $142 million on pollution control equipment at its two U.S. refineries, including one in Superior, Wis.
The company will also pay more than $1 million in penalties for past air pollution.
Murphy Oil has promised the federal Environmental Protection Agency it will install state-of-the-art equipment to reduce air pollution at its two refineries.
EPA's attorney on the case, John Fogarty, said this plan will result in better reductions than an agreement Murphy signed back in 2002, after the company modified its plant without notifying the government.
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"We've learned some things in the past eight years about how to drive down emissions," he said.
The agreement calls for better controls on leaks and fewer flares from the company's two refineries.
Fogarty said similar agreements now cover 90 percent all of U.S. refineries.
Murphy will be trying out a new technology -- called "leakless valves."
"Which is a new state-of-art technology that is essentially an upgrade in the design of valves, so they are much less likely to leak than other valves that have been commonly used in the refining industry," Fogarty said.
Murphy Oil's refineries are for sale, but the pollution control plan would apply to any new owner.
The agreement calls for better controls on leaks and fewer flares from the company's two refineries.