Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Mark Sulzbach 651-296-7768 Saint Paul, Minn. - Marathon Petroleum Company has paid a civil penalty of $60,000 to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for alleged air quality violations at its St. Paul Park, Minn. refinery. Besides paying the penalty, Marathon has submitted plans detailing how it will ensure compliance with emission limits and prevent the reoccurrence of the violations in the future. The penalty includes violations stemming from air emissions in May and December of 2004 that deposited several tons of a clay-based catalyst over the cities of Newport, St. Paul Park and Woodbury. Marathon had a number of other emission violations that exceeded state and federal limits including carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and nickel. Also included in the penalty were several testing, monitoring, reporting and recordkeeping violations. These violations occurred between 2003 and 2006 and were all self-reported by Marathon. When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account how seriously the violation affected the environment, whether it was a first time or repeat violation, and how promptly the violation was reported to appropriate authorities. It also attempts to recover the calculated economic benefit gained by failure to comply with environmental laws. For a comprehensive list of enforcement actions by the MPCA, visit the agency Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/newscenter/enforcement.html.