On Friday, September 30, Phillips 66 said that it plans to submit a new air-quality permit application to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its proposed oil-export terminal off the Texas coast.
In October the EPA revoked the pollution control permit for the Bluewater terminal and directed the oil refiner and pipeline operator to submit a revised proposal.
Phillips 66 said in a statement: “The new permit applications will incorporate an emissions-reduction strategy to further minimize the air emissions associated with marine loading for the facility.”
The terminal, jointly developed by refiner Phillips 66 and commodities trader Trafigura, in 2019 applied for a permit and received an EPA pollution control license that allowed it to emit almost 19,000 tons of pollutants per year.
But environmental groups urged the agency to seek changes that would reduce by 95 percent the pollution allowed by the permit for Bluewater, which is located near Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Environmental Integrity Project and others had argued that pollution from the terminal’s offshore infrastructure posed risks to nearby minority and lower-income residents.
For more information visit www.phillips66.com