"The permit had been granted during the final days of the Trump administration, which rushed the Virgin Islands oil facility through the regulatory process."

"The Biden administration handed environmental justice advocates a major victory on Thursday when it announced it was withdrawing a key pollution permit for an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands that locals say has long fouled their air and water and endangered their health.

Citing “environmental justice concerns” and the new administration’s priority to consider “the needs of overburdened communities,” the Environmental Protection Agency announced in a press release that it was withdrawing the federal air pollution permit for the Limetree Bay oil refinery, located on the territory’s southern island of St. Croix. The move, however, won’t require Limetree to cease refining operations.

The company had operated the refinery as an oil storage facility for years, but last month reopened the refining portion utilizing that permit, which was issued by the Trump EPA in December 2020.

“Withdrawing this permit will allow EPA to reassess what measures are required at the Limetree facility to safeguard the health of local communities in the Virgin Islands, while providing regulatory certainty to the company,” Walter Mugdan, EPA’s acting regional administrator, said in the release."

Kristoffer Tigue reports for Inside Climate News March 25, 2021. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"The Island Where It Rained Oil" (Washington Post) [3]