RDC Comments

February 11, 2008
Ms. Soumaya Ghosn
LDEQ, Public Participation Group
P.O. Box 4313
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4313

Dear Ms. Ghosn:

I am writing to you to ask that you not approve Murphy Oil's Expedited Permit Request for the replacement of tanks at their Meraux, Louisiana refinery. As a resident of the surrounding community and a president of the local non-profit organization, Rediscover District C, Murphy Oil has not been forth coming with information relative to the replacement of the tanks nor with any information relative to the future plans of the refinery. I would like to know if the area where the replacement tanks will be located has been re-mediated of contaminated soil. What about the rest of the tank farm. Do the dikes surrounding the replacement tanks meet current guidelines. What about the dikes surrounding the remaining tanks at the refinery. Why are these tanks being replaced. Is it due to problems caused by Katrina. Have they inspected the other tanks to determine if the same concern exists with them. What emergency or contingency plan does Murphy have to eliminate the possibility of a major release of hazardous materials similar to the one that occurred during Katrina. How is this plan different from the one enacted during Katrina.

I personally met with several representatives from Murphy in November of last year. As a concerned citizen I wanted to know more about the replacement tanks and other current issues the local residents have with the refinery. I followed up our meeting with a letter to them summarizing our meeting and the need for non-confidential information. To date, I have received no responses from Murphy Oil.

I have been contacted by a consultant from Murphy Oil requesting a meeting to discuss their forming of a Citizens Advisory Panel (CAP). While I believe that this can be a positive step in establishing open communications with the residents, I do not agree with the process of the selection of the members which will be done entirely by Murphy Oil representatives without any public input.

I was a resident prior to Katrina and chose to return and rebuild after the storm. We as a community are committed to rebuilding a better St. Bernard through the involvement of our residents, our local government and our business partners. We expect to be a part of any discussions that involve our homes, our community or our quality of life. We rely on you to be our experts, to represent the residents, to ask the questions that we would ask, and we expect you to allow us the opportunities to express our opinions, our beliefs and our concerns about any permit within our parish. An approval of a permit that only has monetary value to one side isn't good for anyone. We ask that you constantly ask yourself this question each time you review a permit for our parish, "What is the benefit to the residents of St. Bernard".

Thank you for the consideration of my request. The residents of St. Bernard have been through the worst natural and man made disaster in the history of our country. We continue to make strives towards rebuilding better neighborhoods, more responsive government and open and honest communications with our business partners. The LDEQ plays a major role in helping us achieve this goal.

(blogger's note: These are comments submitted by RDC http://www.rediscoverdistrictc.com/ )