State approves increased capacity at Marathon’s Detroit refinery
Other key changes include an extension of the facility’s air monitoring program and increasing the height of a refinery stack to 35 feet.
Marathon Petroleum Corporation's oil refinery in Detroit.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has approved new air permits for Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit refinery after a public comment period earlier this year.
The permit changes will allow Marathon to operate the refinery — located at 1001 South Oakwood — at “full capacity,” and set new pollutant emission caps for the facility. Previously, the refinery was limited to producing an average of 140,000 barrels a day.
Andy Drury, an environmental engineer with EGLE, says the department will require Marathon to continue air quality monitoring through at least 2030.
“One of the bigger things is Marathon has been doing ambient air monitoring at their facility, and they have agreed based on the comments to continue for at least six more years,” Drury said.
Key updates to the permit include the removal of outdated regulatory references, an extension of the air monitoring program, and increasing the height of a refinery stack to 35 feet.
More: Union workers strike at Detroit Marathon refinery
Jeff Tricoff, a relief operator at Marathon’s Detroit refinery and a member of Teamsters Local 283, was among several residents who expressed concerns about increased capacity at the facility at a public hearing hosted by EGLE in May.
“As workers, we know that operating everything at 100% has to be done effectively and efficiently and done by experienced people,” Tricoff said at the meeting. “Right now we are in a labor dispute with our current contract having expired on Feb. 1, and Marathon is preparing to bring in temporary workers to take our position.”
Just last week, refinery workers represented by the union voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The new permits were approved on Sept. 10.
Marathon also operates an asphalt terminal at 301 S. Fort St., and a light products terminal at 12700 Toronto St., both in Southwest Detroit.
WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.
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