Marathon's Detroit refinery gets new air permit to boost crude throughput

Michigan's environmental agency on Tuesday issued a new air permit to Marathon Petroleum covering emissions from its Detroit refinery, which will allow the refiner to boost crude throughput at the plant.

In March, Marathon filed an application with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to run its refinery continuously by removing monthly and annual throughput limits.

The refinery's permit had capped its capacity at 140,000 bpd on an annual average, but the new permit removes limits on how much crude it can put through the plant.

The facility, which produces gasoline, fuel oils, asphalt, propane and propylene, had relied on periods of shutdown or reduced production to meet the annual average limit.

A Marathon spokesperson said the new air permit conditions include a reduction in emissions limits, voluntary emissions reduction projects and a six-year enhanced air monitoring program. "We did not propose any changes to our existing footprint," the spokesperson said.

However, local environmental groups worry the facility could add more pollutants to the air by processing more crude oil.

The approval highlights the need for local lawmakers and regulators to implement rules that account for the overall health effects on fence-line communities, rather than evaluating pollution on a pollutant-by-pollutant basis, said Bryan Smigielski, Michigan campaign organizer for the Sierra Club.

"The absence of cumulative impact regulations means this permit was approved without thorough review of the combined impact on already vulnerable neighborhoods," Smigielski said.

The Marathon refinery is located in Southwest Detroit, an area with one of the highest levels of air pollution in the state due to significant industry presence.

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