HF Sinclair will pay a $35 million civil penalty and implement compliance measures at an estimated $137 million to resolve alleged violations of Clean Air Act and state laws at its 124,000 b/d Navajo oil refinery in Artesia, N.M., the Department of Justice said Friday.

Under the proposed settlement with DOJ, EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department, HF Sinclair must pay the $35 million in equal shares to the U.S. and New Mexico, the statement said.

HF Sinclair must operate 10 real-time air pollution monitors along the refinery fence line and one real-time air pollution monitor and six other passive monitors in the town of Artesia to measure refinery air pollution emissions and make the results available on a public website, according to the statement.

The company's failure to monitor and control the release of benzene, a known carcinogen, and other hazardous and toxic air pollutants including volatile organic compounds posed a significant threat and potential health risks to the nearby community, the statement said.

"We have taken appropriate actions, including investing in capital projects and implementing enhanced monitoring, and will continue to do so to meet our compliance obligations," Corinn Smith, an HF Sinclair spokeswoman, said in a statement.

According to DOJ, HF Sinclair has agreed to address its failure to comply with regulations over refinery equipment and operations, including flaring, fenceline monitoring of benzene emissions, wastewater, storage vessels, heat exchanger leaks and leak detection and repair.

DOJ said measures to be taken by HF Sinclair include installing a flare gas recovery system that will reduce VOC, SO2, NOx and greenhouse gas emissions and implementing investments and upgrades to equipment to reduce benzene in wastewater streams.

The proposed consent decree was filed with the U.S District Court for the District of New Mexico and is subject to a 30-day comment period.

HF Sinclair's Artesia refinery is capable of processing renewable feedstocks like animal fats and distillers corn oil to produce renewable diesel.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2025 17:34 ET (22:34 GMT)

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