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Delaware City Refinery

Valero owns the oil refinery in Delaware City, Delaware. It opened in 1957, and has since expanded to be able to produce up to 175,000 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis. The original owner was Getty Oil, but in 1984 Texaco purchased Getty and took over the plant. Motiva Enterprises was the next owner of the plant following a purchase in 1988, and they later sold it to Premcor Refining Group in 2004. It was not until 2005 that Valero took over the facility.

During the time when Texaco and Motiva operated the refinery, the site came under fire from environmental groups who claimed that the owners were guilty of being gross polluters, particularly within the Delaware River area. The groups sued the refinery owners for more than $2 million, and the following battle lasted for more than 20 years. A date was finally set with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for a contempt trial, but merely a few days before it was scheduled to begin a settlement was finally reached. As a result, over $1 million was given to the Delaware State Parks Project and $675,000 was given to Main Street Delaware City, Inc. for environmentally helpful projects such as the construction of a nature trail.

Along with the dangers to the environment, the plant held a hazard for its employees as well. This came in the form of asbestos, a naturally occurring material that is made out of tiny fibers that cling together tightly. Asbestos was used for many years as a major component in industrial products, but eventually it was determined to be extremely dangerous. The fibers can easily break apart and be inhaled by people without them even realizing it has happened. Once the asbestos enters the respiratory system, it can do immense amounts of damage and lead to cancerous diseases, such as mesothelioma. This can be deadly if not treated in time, so anyone who may have been at risk of exposure should contact their doctor immediately. Plant owners were required to remove any item that contained asbestos throughout the entire work site.

Following all of this, the refinery was upgraded to better protect the environment, but it still produced gas emissions that were considered by environmental groups to be unacceptable. In 2008, Delaware created the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative which set strict limits on the amount of carbon dioxide every industrial facility was allowed to produce. The oil refinery, now owned by Valero, is considered to be the worst offender, and is thought to be responsible for nearly 1/5 of all emissions throughout the entire state. Environmentalists lobbied for these regulations to force the refinery to make major changes, but as of June 2008, the plant is expected to be considered exempt from these regulations. The debate over this issue continues to rage, and it will go on until 2009 when the final set of regulations is expected to be put into place.

Last modified: December 09 2009.