NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Tuesday it started a three-month study on air pollution from Hovensa's 500,000 barrel-per-day refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
EPA will measure levels of a class of air pollutants known as volatile organic compounds, some of which have serious health effects.
In late January, Hovensa agreed to pay a $5.3 million civil penalty and spend more than $700 million in new pollution controls at the refinery.
The settlement required new and upgraded pollution controls, more stringent emission limits, and aggressive monitoring, leak-detection and repair practices to reduce emissions from refinery equipment and process units.
The St. Croix refinery is owned and operated by Hovensa LLC, a joint-venture between Hess Corp and Venezuela's national oil company Petroleos de Venezuela.
(Reporting by Selam Gebrekidan; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
