Michael S. Regan 16th Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency | Official Website
Lupton Petroleum Products, Inc. and Brad Hall Associates, Inc. fined $1M for failing to meet multiple requirements that protect air quality
WASHINGTON – Today, July 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Lupton Petroleum Products, Inc., and its affiliate Brad Hall Associates, Inc., for violations of the Clean Air Act’s conventional and renewable fuel requirements. Under this settlement, Lupton Petroleum and Brad Hall Associates will pay a civil penalty of just over $1 million. Additionally, the companies must implement several compliance measures that include maintaining equipment to monitor blendstocks and fuel volumes, implementing a facility practices plan to ensure compliance, and hiring an independent auditor to oversee compliance actions.
During settlement negotiations, Lupton Petroleum also initiated compliance by installing refinery infrastructure to facilitate fuel sampling and laboratory equipment to test fuel according to the regulatory requirements, estimated to cost approximately $200,000.
“Lupton failed to comply with gasoline and diesel fuel standards that are critical to protecting communities from harmful pollution from cars and trucks,” said Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “At a time when climate change and increased heat make it more difficult to maintain air quality, EPA cannot allow any companies to disregard our national clean air standards.”
The EPA’s conventional fuels requirements include quality standards for gasoline and diesel fuel as well as requirements relating to compliance demonstrations such as sampling and testing, reporting, and recordkeeping. The requirements under EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard program obligate refiners and importers of non-renewable fuels to acquire and retire renewable fuel credits known as Renewable Identification Numbers or RINs to meet their renewable volume obligations each year.
Between 2015 and 2019, Lupton Petroleum and Brad Hall Associates produced gasoline at retail without complying with any of the EPA’s fuels regulations applicable to refiners and distributors. In particular, Lupton Petroleum failed various regulatory requirements such as registering taking fuel samples testing fuel for compliance maintaining records submitting reports ensuring that the diesel met sulfur standards obtaining retiring RINs.
Lupton Petroleum's actions resulted in high sulfur diesel being dispensed potentially poisoning exhaust catalysts causing excess emissions failure purchase retire RINs undermined goals designed reduce reliance fossil fuels.
Lupton operates refinery Arizona separates transmix combination petroleum products mixed pipeline no longer meet specifications back gasoline distributor delivered transported noncompliant stations.
The proposed settlement filed District Court Arizona July 17 subject public comment period final court approval Information submitting comments available Justice Department Proposed Consent Decree web page Exit EPA website More information available on case summary web page.
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