DEP Grants Variance From Containment Standard For 10 Aboveground Storage Tanks At American Refining Refinery In Bradford, McKean County

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the August 19 PA Bulletin it granted a variance to American Refining Group Refinery in Bradford, McKean County from the requirement to install emergency containment structures for 10 aboveground petroleum product storage tanks that meet a 1 x 10 to -6 maximum permeability requirement.   (PA Bulletin, page 5250)

DEP said in the notice the variance was granted because the company demonstrated unique conditions at the refinery that made compliance with the standard technically impractical, infeasible and unsafe.

DEP said alternative monitoring and response capabilities at the refinery were protective of human health and the environment.

Read the entire PA Bulletin notice for more information.  (PA Bulletin, page 5250)

Related Article:

-- DEP: Risk Assessment Did Not Prove Chemicals Polluting Soil & Groundwater At American Refinery Group’s Bradford Petroleum Refinery Met Safe Environmental Cleanup Standards  [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week:

-- The Center Square: Natural Gas Well Setbacks May Not Be Protective Enough After Health Impact Study Results 

-- Post-Gazette: Processing Research On Southwestern PA Natural Gas Development And Health, Residents Seek Answers Together: ‘We Deserve Better’

-- WTAE: To The Frustration Of The Village Of Reno Residents, ‘Do Not Consume’ Water Advisory Approaches One Month Mark In Venango County, After Contamination By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill 

-- Bloomberg Column: Cancer In Kids Is Too High A Price For Cheap Natural Gas - By Mark Gongloff

-- TribLive: 6th Victim Dies From Plum Borough House Explosion

-- TribLive: Gov. Shapiro Orders DEP Probe Of Plum House Explosion 

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Gov. Shapiro Directs DEP To Investigation Plum Boro House Explosion

-- DEP Working With PUC, Local And Allegheny County Agencies On Plum Boro House Explosion Investigation

-- AP: Underground Coal Mines Unlikely To Blame For Deadly House Explosion In Plum Boro, DEP Says

-- TribLive: DEP Inspectors Capture Gas Samples At Plum Boro Explosion Site, Await Test Results

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Is There Something Rotten [With Gas] In Plum?  PUC, DEP Must Investigate  

-- Observer-Reporter: Fayette County Commissioners Take Step To Prevent Oil/Gas Wastewater Injection Wells 

-- Halt The Harm Network, FracTracker Alliance: Aug. 30 Webinar: Wasted Water - The Impacts Of Fracking's Water Use From PA To Colorado, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

-- NBC News: Millions In US Live Near Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Linked To Explosions And Toxins [Pennsylvania Profiled] 

-- NBC News: EQT Natural Gas, Abandoned Well Frack-Out, In New Freedom, Greene County Stirs Suspicion And A Year Of Frustration In Tiny PA Town 

-- The Allegheny Front: New Investigation Shows State Regulators Have Struggled To Keep Up With Pollution Events At Shell’s Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County 

-- Environmental Health News: Beaver County Community Will Get $5 Million Due To Shell Petrochemical Plant Pollution - Just Don’t Call It Charity

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Better Oversight Of US Natural Gas Pipelines Needed - By Pittsburgh City Council Member & former Colorado County Commissioner 

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Control Leaks From Natural Gas Pipelines

-- AG Henry Approves Settlement Of Anti-Competitive Energy Deal Between EQT Natural Gas, Quantum Energy Partners

Related Articles This Week:

-- University Of Pittsburgh School Of Public Health Studies Find Shale Gas Wells Can Make Asthma Worse; Children Have An Increased Chance Of Developing Lymphoma Cancer; Slightly Lower Birth Weights  [PaEN]

-- State Dept. Of Health Apologizes For Not Listening To Communities Suffering Health Impacts From Shale Gas Development; New Health Study Results ‘Just The Tip Of The Iceberg’  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Who Pays For Natural Gas Development’s Harm?  Pennsylvania Should Acknowledge The Clear Fact That Fracking Has Hurt People, Specifically Children  [PaEN]

-- DEP Investigating Other Possible Sources Of Methane As Part Of Response To Plum Borough Home Explosion, Including Nearby Conventional, Shale Gas Wells  [PaEN]

-- Public Utility Commission Safety Investigation Ongoing Following Deadly House Explosion In Plum Borough, Allegheny County  [PaEN]

-- New DEP Interim Final Environmental Justice Policy, Definition Of Environmental Justice Areas Effective Sept. 16; Public Comments Accepted Thru Oct. 29  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Grants Variance From Containment Standard For 10 Aboveground Storage Tanks At American Refining Refinery In Bradford, McKean County  [PaEN]

[Posted: August 18, 2023]  PA Environment Digest