Puma Energy Caribe Agrees to Clean Up Caribbean Petroleum Site Under an Agreement with EPA; Will Also Address Environmental Problems at Gas Stations Across Puerto Rico (PR)
(New York, N.Y.) Puma Energy Caribe, LLC has agreed to clean up the
former Caribbean Petroleum Refining facility in Bayamon, Puerto
Rico and address environmental conditions at 147 gas stations
throughout Puerto Rico under two agreements proposed today by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Puma intends to
purchase the petroleum storage facility, now known as CAPECO, and
the gas stations after successfully bidding $82 million to acquire
the facility at a court-ordered bankruptcy sale. On October 23,
2009, a catastrophic explosion and fires at the CAPECO facility
caused tremendous damage to the facility and significant
environmental impacts. In August 2010, Caribbean Petroleum
Refining, Caribbean Petroleum Corporation and Gulf Petroleum
Refining Corporation filed a Chapter 11 petition in United States
Bankruptcy Court to liquidate their assets. Puma is voluntarily
entering into the agreements to clarify and resolve its future
environmental responsibilities at the CAPECO facility and the gas
stations, subject to purchasing the properties. EPA is receiving
public comment on the proposed agreements until May 9,
2011.
“The environmental work that will be
conducted by Puma Energy Caribe under one of the proposed
agreements with EPA will make substantial progress on the ongoing
cleanup of the CAPECO facility,” said EPA Regional
Administrator Judith Enck. “Cleanups and improvements at the
gas stations are additional actions that will provide public health
and environmental benefits to people throughout Puerto
Rico.”
Under the first agreement, Puma will perform
cleanup work at the CAPECO facility under the federal Superfund
law, which governs cleanups of closed or abandoned hazardous waste
sites. The work includes asbestos abatement, removing and disposing
of hazardous and ignitable material and cleaning up acidic water
that has leaked onto the ground in one section of the facility.
Puma has also agreed to pay EPA’s costs in overseeing the
cleanup work.
Under the second agreement, which is also being
signed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puma has agreed to
assume responsibility for compliance with federally-approved
Commonwealth regulations governing the underground petroleum
storage tank systems at 147 of the gas stations that are currently
owned or leased by Caribbean Petroleum Corporation. In addition,
Puma has agreed to operate the gas stations in accordance with
these laws and make certain EPA-recommended improvements to leak
detection and overfill protection systems at the gas stations go
beyond what is required by the regulations.
The proposed agreements can be viewed online
at:
http://www.epa.gov/region2/agreements_with_prospective_purchaser_puma_energy_caribe.html
The agreements are also available for public
review in San Juan at EPA’s Caribbean Environmental
Protection Division, Centro Europa Building, 1492 Ponce de Leon
Avenue, Mezzanine Level, Santurce, and at EPA’s New York City
office, 290 Broadway, 18th Floor Records Center.
Written comments concerning the Superfund
agreement should reference EPA Docket No. CERCLA-02-2011-2003, and
should be sent by email to
[email protected] or by overnight mail to Beverly Kolenberg, Assistant
Regional Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290
Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y., 10007-1866.
Comments concerning the RCRA Agreement should
reference the RCRA Index Number RCRA - 02-2011-7504, and should be
sent by email to
[email protected] or by overnight mail to Rudolph Perez, Assistant
Regional Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290
Broadway, 16th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10007-1866.
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