Motiva Meeting (Press Conference Remarks)
August 8, 2001
This afternoon, I met with Motiva’s Vice President for Refining Operations, Carmine Falcone, along with Delaware City Refinery Manager Frank Wheeler. My Secretary of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Nick DiPasquale joined me as well.
The result of the meeting is concrete steps that I have asked Motiva to take in the process of cleaning up after the recent incident and in preventing future ones. My expectation and that of the people of Delaware is that Motiva do everything in its power to prevent something like this from ever happening again.
First, let me say that I, along with many others, am sorrowed by the loss of life in this incident. My thoughts have been and continue to be with the family of Jeffrey Davis. I am also mindful of the other workers who were injured at the refinery.
I had the chance the day after the incident to visit with some of those who were injured at Christiana Hospital, but the loss of life here is tragic.
Second, let me say that the employees of the Delaware City refinery are well trained, well intentioned and conscious of their jobs and their responsibility to their community. That has become clear in the days that followed this incident and I want to commend them.
What we are dealing with at Motiva is management that I fear has put too much emphasis on productivity and not enough of an emphasis on safety. This is not the first incident at the Delaware City refinery that is the result of a lack of inspection and maintenance.
We shared with the Motiva officials today a history of releases and incidents that we believe are a result of a lack of maintenance. Accidents happen – we know and accept that. But what has become clear is a pattern of insufficient attention to the maintenance of a 44-year old facility.
This refinery serves a purpose in our state, our region and our society, as do all industrial facilities. It does no good to merely wish that it would go away. We all use gasoline and so the refinery is necessary. Motiva’s responsibility is to run this refinery as safely and cleanly as is possible, and as safely and cleanly as is done in other places. We know it is possible and it is imperative.
With that in mind, what I have asked of Motiva are three specific things:
First, I have asked Motiva to develop, with substantial input from DNREC and the EPA, a specific plan of action for systematic inspection, maintenance and replacement of the components of the Delaware City refinery. This would be an enforceable plan that Nick and I would approve and sign along with the officials from Motiva.
This plan would establish timelines and standards for inspections. It would provide for the timely maintenance or even replacement of equipment that is found through inspections to be in need of repair. This agreement would also stipulate, on the front end, the penalties -- civil, financial and otherwise -- that will be levied against the refinery if Motiva does not adhere to the agreed plan of action.
As I said before, this incident and many others over the past decade could have been prevented through attention to and action on the plant’s own inspection reports and recommendations. What is needed is a commitment to make those inspections and follow through on the results with repair and replacement of equipment with identified problems. I have asked for that from Motiva today, I want them to put it in writing, and we are going to penalize them severely if they do not comply.
Second, I have asked Motiva to pay for the hiring of an outside refinery operations and maintenance expert to advise the state on what Motiva should be doing to achieve the goal of a safe and clean refinery. The funding will be provided by Motiva, but this expert will work for and with the state. We will be looking for someone with experience in refining and a comprehensive, hands-on knowledge of the potential weaknesses in an aging refinery. We will begin the search for such an expert immediately.
Finally, I have asked to receive weekly updates to me personally from Motiva on both the status of the cleanup and on the development and implementation of the new inspection, maintenance and replacement plan. This will not come from the managers at Delaware City, but from the heads of the Motiva corporation in Houston. I want to ensure that they know and I know exactly how this refinery is performing.
In my history of working on issues involving industry and the environment, there is one example that stands out of what we want to do at Delaware City. As you know, a substantial amount of oil is shipped by tanker and barge up the Delaware River and Bay. Through an aggressive oversight process, we have forced the oil industry to fully fund, plan, implement and run an emergency spill response force that is one of the best in the country, if not the world. We set the benchmarks and expectations, and the industry worked until we were more than satisfied that they were up to par.
I look for the same in the months and years ahead with Motiva. We will clearly define our expectations and allow Motiva to meet them. It is not our responsibility to run the refinery, it is Motiva’s, and we will expect them to do so as well as humanly possible.
I will close by saying that Motiva has been extremely responsive and cooperative in its actions since the incident on July 17 and it was in the meeting today as well. We appreciate that and expect it to continue. I do not wish to have to discuss temporary closure of the refinery.
