The refinery had formally applied to the EPA to amend its licence, which contained conditions that were not practical, went well beyond international benchmarks or would not achieve the best environmental outcomes. Shell Geelong Refinery Sustainable Development Manager, Paul Cristofani, said that the majority of requested amendments had been accepted. “Licence compliance is fundamental to our operation and therefore we needed to ensure that the conditions set by the EPA not only protected the environment, but were feasible,” Mr Cristofani said. “Since our licence was reissued in late 2004, we have been discussing many of the conditions with the EPA. Despite our best endeavours to meet the licence, it was apparent that many conditions were not workable. “The refinery applied for amendments formally six weeks after receipt of the licence in 2004 and again in November 2005. The amendments were for the most pressing licence conditions, particularly those that related to hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fluoride emissions. “We have waited seven months for a decision and while it is pleasing that most of the urgent matters have been resolved, one of our key concerns has not been met. “Shell is an advanced technology company and it is good that the EPA has endorsed our best practice approach of using internal floating covers to reducing hydrocarbon and VOC emissions. “While we have every intent to meet emission levels and install this technology to reduce VOCs, the EPA’s delay in making the decision has pushed back the implementation timeframe we submitted in November 2005 – and this has not been taken into consideration in the licence delivered yesterday. “We remain committed to working with the EPA and achieving desired environmental outcomes. The next step is resolving this outstanding issue and working with the EPA on a full review of the licence that still has fundamental drafting and workability problems. “It was disappointing that the EPA requires us to have two continuous air monitoring units, because they acknowledge that our emissions are already well below health impact levels and less than those measured adjacent to busy roads. Their own monitoring shows that the air quality in Corio is similar to other parts of Geelong and Melbourne. “The continuous air quality monitoring machines that the EPA requires us to maintain do not provide data that can be measured against the National Environment Protection measure (NEPM). “Our preference is to use a different monitoring system that allows comparison of our emissions so we are consistent with this important national health measure. “We are committed to applying sustainable development principles and even though our emission monitoring shows we are below health impact levels, our ultimate aim is to move the refinery beyond compliance. “During the past two years we have invested tens of millions of dollars on environmental improvements and a further $52 million in funding has been committed to projects that will help the refinery improve its environmental performance in 2006 and 2007. “We have a dedicated environmental team whose members work closely with the EPA and while the figures and the facts show clearly that our environmental performance is improving all the time, we look forward to building upon this trend,” he said. ENDS
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