Federal agency seeks public comment about leaks at refinery

From the AP:

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) _ Federal authorities are seeking comment from U.S. Virgin Islands residents about groundwater cleanup and modifications to waste treatment operations at the Western Hemisphere's second-largest oil refinery.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials joined representatives from Hovensa's refinery to pursue feedback on efforts to recover about a million gallons of oil spilled on the 1,500-acre refinery property in the 1980s.

The comment period ends April 26 regarding the ongoing cleanup and possible EPA permit changes at the giant Hovensa refinery on the south coast of St. Croix, where smokestacks stand adjacent to coral reefs and wildlife refuges.

Since recovery and treatment wells began operating in 1987, roughly 42 million gallons of petroleum waste has been reclaimed from the onsite groundwater at the refinery site, the EPA said in a statement.

While leaky sewer lines and tanks responsible for the property's pollution were repaired long ago, the federal agency says an estimated 1.2 million gallons of spilled oil still remains.

Hovensa, owned by New York-based Hess Corp. and Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the national oil company of Venezuela, is the largest private employer in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A spokesman for the company could not immediately be reached for comment.