The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Monday imposed a penalty of $10.5 million, on Suncor for air pollution violations from July 2019 through June 2021 at its 103,000 barrels-per-day Commerce City, Colorado refinery.
The payment comprises $2.5 million in fines and $8 million in investments to enhance refinery operations to reduce excess air pollution from recurring due to power-related causes.
“Today’s actions demonstrate that compliance with clean air laws is not optional,” said the department’s Air Pollution Control Division Director Michael Ogletree.
As part of the penalty, Suncor also needs to set up and run air measurement equipment around the perimeter of the facility.
“Suncor must double the number of air pollution monitors compared to the refinery’s original fenceline monitoring plan,” the public health and environment department said.
The department has also asked Suncor to monitor and report on more air pollutants than required by state law.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report in June 2023, the Suncor Commerce City, Colorado refinery may experience more air pollution incidents due to inadequacies in preventative maintenance, testing, and inspection of liquid level control systems and electrical equipment compared to other refineries.
(Reporting by Daksh Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Aurora Ellis)