LITTLE ROCK — Murphy Oil USA has reached an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to spend nearly $145 million in upgrades and penalties in a settlement addressing its refineries’ violations of the Clean Air Act.
The subsidiary of El Dorado-based Murphy Oil Corp. will spend $142 million on improvements that will reduce emissions at its refineries in Superior, Wis., and Meraux, La.
The $142 million commitment will be spread over nine years, according to a Murphy press release on Monday.
An EPA press release on Tuesday added that the agency levied a $1.25 million fine and required the company to spend an additional $1.5 million to reduce emissions at its Meraux facility and address concerns of nearby residents about odors and air quality. Murphy did not mention the $2.75 million in its Monday release.
Murphy announced in July that it plans to sell both its U.S. refineries, as well as its refinery in Wales and its United Kingdom retail network to focus on exploration and U.S. gasoline sales. Future owners of the U.S. facilities would be bound by the agreement, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
The EPA release said the $142 million upgrade will cut sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions at the two refineries by nearly 1,400 tons a year.
“This settlement ... is good news for the residents of communities living near these refineries, who will be able to breathe easier knowing that the air in their communities will be cleaner,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance, in the EPA press release.
In its release, Tom McKinlay, Murphy senior vice president of U.S. manufacturing, said the agreement is the result of years of negotiation between the company, the EPA and the states of Louisiana and Wisconsin.
“This underscores our efforts to improve operations and reduce emissions,” McKinlay said.
The agreement will replace a 2002 settlement addressing Clean Air Act violations at Murphy’s refinery in Superior, reached after a 10-day trial.
The EPA’s Petroleum Refinery Initiative has brought 104 refining facilities into settlement agreements similar to the one reached with Murphy, 27 of those in the last decade. About 90 percent of the country’s refining capacity is covered by a similar settlement agreement to reduce emissions.
The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval.
Business, Pages 27 on 09/29/2010