Turner v Murphy Cy Pres Hearing

RE: Turner V Murphy Case No 05 - 4206
CY PRES Settlement Proposal

Honorable Judge Fallon:

It was with the agreement for green space mentioned in the Fairness Hearing that residents sold the square footage of their homes to Murphy Oil in first place. There seems to be no basis to change the agreement now.

Please consider those families who chose not to participate in the voluntary buyout program, as they have little to no representation and everything to lose.

Please consider the health and safety benefits of a true green zone protective buffer, which would have neither trees nor building to provide for an explosion clearance.

The proposed distribution of $5 million considers to include an Item # e Landscaping and Beautification of Our Neighborhoods. The concern is this maybe the same "Plan" residents rejected as presented in the St Bernard Parish Council's buffer zone committee, as it called for industrial and commercial zoning changes to buyout properties, changes to the court ordered buffer for the benefit of Murphy Oil's use as a northside parking lot and a southside incursion into our neighborhood by way of a row of buildings on Jacob Drive South of Judge Perez Drive.

The suggestion in item # e that Murphy Oil landscape the buyout neighborhood by way of industrial and commercial landuse zoning changes, albeit for parking lots and a row of buildings, is a determent to the residents who have returned, provides nothing towards the safety of the community and lowers the buffer, bringing the next explosion that much closer to our homes. Such industrial and commercial use of the buyout properties rewards Murphy Oil with unjust enrichment for an incident of their own negligence.

If Murphy Oil wants to donate funding for healthcare, wetlands or education it would be a much appreciated contribution for the community as a whole without causing individual families the lost of rebuilt homes and lost of an entire neighborhood for others. However, the donation should NOT come from buyout funding because the buyout is not yet complete.

The neighborhoods around Murphy Oil's Louisiana refinery in Meraux have been revitalized since as early as Fall 2005 and are a vibrant part of the Southeast Louisiana community of St Bernard Parish which has experienced rapid repopulation and rebuilding, due to the spirit and commitment of returning residents.

Yet, our soil is still contaminated and most likely unsafe to grow vegetables or fruits and berries.

There is no commitment to preserve the Turner v Murphy settlement agreement for a green space court ordered buffer.

Residents have reported structural damage claims due to the vibrations from malfunctions at the refinery and the air quality and our health and safety have suffered from unauthorized emission releases.

Please keep our neighborhood in mind with these considerations.

air emission update

February 25 2009 incident Update -- 35,000 pounds of heavy hydrocarbon within 5 minutes


"The episode resulted in estimated emissions of 35,000 pounds of heavy hydrocarbon vapors, 5,165 pounds of catalyst, and 1,1750 pounds of particulates as smoke."

LA DEQ EDMS 40817686

http://edms.deq.louisiana.gov/app/doc/view.aspx?doc=40817686

Murphy was checking the area near the plant for any offsite impact, but Zornes said he was unaware of any.
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/some_st_bernard_parish_residen.html

Fire official: orange smoke from Murphy Oil not dangerous

http://www.fox8live.com/news/local/story/Orange-smoke-seen-in-St-Bernard-sky/go0gEtM0qUalstmPeic8MA.cspx

"Good Fences Make Good Neighbours"

The neighbors requested that Murphy Oil be a good neighbor and perform basic fence repairs and a few improvements, such as installing fence fabric or mesh.

We believe this is a win-win opportunity because it will address a longstanding problem, it may bring the refinery into local code compliance, and it may even mitigate some of the corporation's safety and liability issues.

http://blog.nola.com/letterstotheeditor/2009/03/neighbors_want_refinery_buffer.html

While there is no such thing as an impermeable fence, clearly it is the industry's responsibility to do what ever is necessary to comply. Given the close proximately and inherent dangers of their refinery, one would expect a corporate commitment which goes beyond the requirements of the law.

A good corporate citizen's daily operations demonstrate respect for the residents on the other side of the fenceline. Simple compliance with its existing federal permits, state and local laws will allow this industry and neighborhood to continue peaceful coexistence.

fence screen

Our neighborhood is nestled between St. Bernard Parish's only high school and Murphy Oil's Meraux refinery. The only thing separating our homes from the refinery is a mere pipeline easement. Murphy Oil Corp. continues its use of this pipeline easement as a makeshift parking lot.
The neighbors requested that Murphy Oil be a good neighbor and perform basic fence repairs and a few improvements, such as installing fence fabric or mesh.

We believe this is a win-win opportunity because it will address a longstanding problem, it may bring the refinery into local code compliance, and it may even mitigate some of the corporation's safety and liability issues.

Murphy Oil Corp. has not answered our request. An inexpensive, simple solution is readily available, and our children's and grandchildren's safety is too important to be ignored.

Why we need fenceline monitoring

Yesterday's two episodes highlight the need for good information at the time of release.


With real time data, residents can make their own informed decisions.



Murphy Oil's 125,000 barrel per-day Meraux refinery and our neighborhoods around Murphy have a similar yet very different history from that of the EPA Region 9 Featured Story linked below. The same solutions should be sought in all of our community's fenceline neighborhoods.

""The unprecedented Good Neighbor Agreement mandated not only state-of-the-art, real-time, 24-hour optical sensing of dozens of chemicals, but also required the sharing of all data with the community, and placement of a real-time computer monitoring screen in the home of a local resident. ""


http://www.epa.gov/region09/features/tosco/history.html
http://www.epa.gov/region09/features/tosco/index.html

February 25, 2009 incident

Some St. Bernard Parish residents report heavy smoke from Murphy refinery stack

by The Times-PicayuneWednesday February 25, 2009, 2:51 PM

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/some_st_bernard_parish_residen.html

This yellowish discharge was brought down to street level in yesterday's variable winds.

The last photograph was taken around 5:15PM presumably during the subsequent startup.

benzene saturation unit

Murphy Oil USA, Inc. submitted a significant modification application for The Meraux Refinery Title V/Part 70 air quality permit on February 25, 2009 in Vol. 1 and  Vol. 2. The application is to construct and operate a benzene saturation unit to produce low benzene gasoline products.  The proposed pollution permit seeks to use gasoline tanks with fixed roof(s), to route the "BenFree Unit" (BFU) to an inadequate gas recovery system, and to route H2S rich vent streams to the flare. To protect public health and safety, Louisiana DEQ must require stringent application of the best available controls to achieve the lowest emissions into the air we breathe.

The minimum minor modification fee was assessed, since there was no increase in the capacity at the facility.
Additionally, an air toxins surcharge was applied to the permit fee, since some emission rates will increase by an amount greater than the regulatory minimum emission rate for known carcinogens, human reproductive toxins, or known and probable carcinogens.