HOUSTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Phillips 66 (PSX.N) said on Friday it intended to submit a new air quality permit application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its project oil export terminal off the coast of Texas.
The EPA this month revoked the pollution control permit for the Bluewater Terminal and ordered the oil refiner and pipeline operator to submit a revised proposal.
“The new permit applications will incorporate an emissions reduction strategy to further minimize air emissions associated with marine loading” for the facility, the company said in a statement.
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The terminal, jointly developed by refiner Phillips 66 and commodity trader Trafigura, applied for a permit in 2019 and received an EPA pollution control license that allowed it to emit nearly 19,000 tons of pollutants per year.
But environmental groups have urged the agency to seek changes that would cut pollution allowed by the Bluewater permit, located near Corpus Christi, Texas, by 95%.
The Environmental Integrity Project and others had argued that pollution from the terminal’s offshore infrastructure posed risks to minority and low-income residents nearby.
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Reporting by Gary McWilliams; edited by Jonathan Oatis
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