Testimony ofRyan Knapick, StaffAttorney, on behalfofthe Clean Air Council

Before the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency on the Proposed Rulemaking, Petroleum Refinery Sector Risk and Technology Review and New Source Performance Standards, 79 Federal Register 36880

August 5, 2014

Hello, myname is Ryan Knapick and I am a staffattorney for the Clean Air Council. Clean Air Council is a non-profit environmental organization headquartered in Philadelphia. The Council has members throughout the State ofPennsylvania. For more than 40 years, the Council has fought to improve air quality across the Mid-Atlantic region and to protect everyone's right to breathe clean air. Thank you for the opportunityto speaktoday.

CleanAir Council supports EPA's efforts to promulgate first time rules that would require operators ofpetroleumrefineries to monitor hazardous air pollutants, specifically benzene, at the fenceline ofthe facility. These proposed rules are ofincreased importance to the Council because they will directly affect the PennsylvaniaEnergy Solutions (PES) refinery located in South Philadelphia. This refinery is adjacentto socially vulnerable areas, including the Grays Ferry neighborhood. Formerly operatedby Sunoco, this refinery has also previously been a chronic violator ofits permits and was subject to numerous suits by federal and city agencies.

The proposed rules are also a positive step to ensuring refineries, such as PES, measure and report toxic airpollution entering local communities and take corrective action when limits are exceeded. However, the Council also believes thatEPA should strengthen these rules so they actuallyprotectpeople from exposure to toxic air pollution.

Fenceline monitoring and the related corrective action standards must mandate the use ofthe best
currenttechnology to give neighborhoods a real-time, continuous measure ofpollution, notjust a snapshot, and ensure that refineries must quickly fix all pollution problems through enforceable corrective action requirements. EPA must give stronger weightto the concerns raised inthe proposed rule regarding passive diffusive sampling, including the lack ofreal-time information and feedback, and short-term temporal information that would identify the time and duration of fugitive emission events.

Thus, Clean Air Council supports the implementation ofactive fenceline monitoring networks at all facilities affected by this proposedrule. Further, the Council believes that the advantages 

### in information gathering and subsequent benefit to communities located near refineries will outweigh any concerns related to expense and labor. Indeed, EPAhas determined that active monitoring station networks are technically feasible and are an appropriate method for measuring fugitive emissions ofhazardous airpollutants atrefinery fencelines.

In addition to removing all unlawful exemptions (including for startups, shutdowns, malfunctions, and other uncontrolled emissions) and finalizing its proposal to ban uncontrolled emissions from pressure valves and bypasses, EPA should not finalize any special dispensationfor industrythat loosens emission limits during startups, shutdowns, ormalfunctions. EPA must also finalize limits for delayed coker units and storage tanks that are as strong as possible. Lastly, EPAmustrequire strongerprotection from wastewater and all other emissionpoints, rather thanrejecting protections based on a distorted and inappropriate consideration ofthe costper-ton ofreductions.

In summary, Clean Air Council believes the EPA must seize this opportunity to implementtruly robust and effective standards for petroleumrefmeries, including active monitoring station networks atthe fencelines ofthese facilities. Otherwise, communities such as Grays Ferry will be ill equippedto properly address the environmental health risks they face ona daily basis. Thankyou.