EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso County Commissioners Court took no action during Monday, Jan. 21’s meeting regarding Marathon Petroleum’s request to renew its air permit for its El Paso refinery.
The 10-year permit renewal is currently being opposed by County Commissioner David Stout, Precinct 2.
Stout told KTSM that during the last permit renewal process, the community was not able to weigh in and is not staying silent this time around.
On Monday, Stout said, “This is an area of the community that has traditionally and historically borne the burden of terrible development decisions the community has made.”
On Jan. 19, Commissioner Stout filed a comment letter on the permit, requesting a public meeting and a contested case hearing.
He says these types of processes can yield concessions that can be made to the community, such as:
Enviornmental remediation, which would include testing the soil
Payments for health care for constituents in the affected areas
Investment in technology to reduce future emissions
While the listed concessions are just possibilities, Stout says regardless, the refinery and energy companies in general need to start moving away from fossil fuels to keep the community safer and address issues with the climate crisis.
“We sincerely hope that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Marathon will work with this community to increase the quality of life with these folks and to reduce the dangers that are imposed on residents in the area,” Stout said.
To prepare and better understand the permitting process, the County has already unanimously voted to hire an outside lawyer and environmental expert to review the 300-page document being proposed.
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