Marathon Petroleum is fighting an order for a trial-like hearing on the company’s 2½-year-old application to renew and amend a major air permit for its El Paso oil refinery.
It filed a motion July 6 for a rehearing before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s three commissioners on their June order, arguing it should be reversed because it violates Texas law.
The 97-year-old refinery needs the permit renewed to remain in operation. It dominates the landscape in East-Central El Paso and is a major source of air pollution.
The commissioners June 3 voted to grant El Paso County’s request for a trial-like, contested case hearing before a Texas administrative law judge. The judge would later make a recommendation to the commissioners on whether Marathon’s application should be approved. No date has been set for the hearing.
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“El Paso County demonstrated that it is an affected person under applicable law and that its hearing requests should be granted,” the commissioners’ order stated. It denied contested-case hearing requests filed by others.
The commissioners also determined the hearing would look at health and environmental issues related to the refinery’s application.
A contested-case hearing has never been held for the refinery, which has been granted air-permit renewals over the years.
Marathon’s motion argues that a contested-case hearing cannot be held because Marathon’s renewal application does not request an increase in air pollution. Increases shown in the renewal application had previously been authorized by the TCEQ, the motion states.
Also, the amount of air pollution increases shown in Marathon’s secondary application to amend its permit are so low that no public notice is required and because no notice is required, no contested-case hearing can legally be held, the motion argues.
Marathon filed its air-permit application in December 2023.
In March, Kelly Keel, the TCEQ’s executive director, issued a decision that Marathon’s permit application meets all applicable legal requirements, and the refinery’s authorized air pollution will not harm people’s health or the environment. That means the permit cannot be denied, according to the decision.
The state agency in January held a public meeting in which several people who live near the refinery complained about bad smells coming from the refinery; some worried out loud about possible health problems tied to the refinery.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on X, and @vkolenc.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Marathon fights hearing order for El Paso oil refinery air permit
Reporting by Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
