Refinery Expansion at Cost of Our Neighborhood

The Houston Chronicle article "OSHA uncovers slew of refinery violations" ( link below) might be the reasons why Murphy Oil Meraux Refinery will claim they NEED to move "facilities" into the court ordered buffer zone ;onto Despaux and Jacob Drives, into our neighborhood. This encroachment will breech the crude oil spill settlement. We all know they are applying for zoning changes to our residential district, presumably to make room for an expansion of processing units on the existing refinery campus; possibly clearing way for a refinery revamp to comply with anticipated New EPA Rules for Gasoline Limit Benzene, a Carcinogen . The Meraux Terminal has already recieved modifications to its air permit to store ethanol, which will allow ethanol blending to be conducted at the Meraux Terminal.

Yet Murphy owns more land within the existing fenceline and could reconfigure its campus for safety without displacing those of us who have rebuilt our community postKatrina. The refinery doesnot NEED our homes for safety; they WANT it for expansion.

Presumably again, these life threatening "explosion cones" and high hazard zones are suddenly justifying a processing expansion at the sacrifice of our revitalized neighborhood. The refinery had no problem with these safety hazards until their complicitous land grab post Katrina. The refinery had no problem with these safety hazards when they added their Clean Fuels Process in the early 2000's, or in any of the many following fires and explosions.

The Murphy Citizens Advisory Panel resumes for the first time since Katrina its meetings this week. We need the community emergency response committee to resume, too. Both of these partnerships of industry and government need to be open to the residents, open to the public. Hopefully the refinery makes public its total expansion plans, its general chemical emergency preparedness and prevention provisions, and how this will affect our local fire and emergency protection levels. As citizens we have the right to know.
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/r2k.htm
Civil Enforcement and Chemical Accident Prevention Enforcement
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/caa/gdcenf.html

Quoting from the Houston Chronicle article below:
""In OSHA lingo, a willful violation is among the worst. It involves an alleged blatant disregard of or indifference to an obvious safety hazard. ""
""OSHA has alleged that Frontier El Dorado Refining Co. had committed one "willful violation" by locating a permanently occupied structure in a high hazard zone among refinery processing units""
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4528403



Let's hope our Parish Council has the wisdom and the fortitude to deny any zoning changes which moves any part of this refinery into our residential district . To do otherwise would not only lower the buffer and place the next explosion closer to our homes, but their disregard to our welfare , health and safety would make them liable.