After receiving input from stakeholders including community groups, industry and the states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to update the toxic air pollution standards for petroleum refineries.
The agency’s proposal would, for the first time, require monitoring of air concentrations of benzene around the fenceline perimeter of refineries to assure that emissions are controlled and these results would be available to the public. The proposal would also require upgraded emission controls for storage tanks including controls for smaller tanks; performance requirements for flares; and emissions standards for delayed coking units which are currently a significant unregulated source of toxic air emissions at refineries.
EPA will take comment on the proposal for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The agency plans to hold two public hearings, near Houston and Los Angeles, and will finalize the standards in April 2015. Details on the public hearings will be available on EPA’s website shortly.
Additional information about the proposal: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/petref.html