U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb could make summary judgments favoring the company on some counts and the government on others. Murphy's attorneys disagree. Murphy claims it's meeting pollution standards set in its permits. It has admitted some violations but characterized those as minor or because of different interpretations of regulations on record-keeping. The major conflict is over the amount of sulfur dioxide the refinery releases.
Sulfur dioxide is linked to acid rain and other environmental problems.
The suit claims Murphy Oil failed to get the proper air-pollution control permits or install additional pollution control equipment to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions when the refinery was modified between 1988 and 1991. But Murphy claims it did everything by the book. Everything we did we did with their full knowledge,'' said Dave Podratz, refinery manager. The federal government filed its lawsuit in June. Originally, the state was a partner in the suit, but in October Crabb dismissed the state lawsuit, saying federal court had no jurisdiction over state environmental laws.