NorthJersey.com: The number of barges hauling crude oil on the Hudson River past some of New Jersey’s most densely-populated communities will not be immediately affected by federal air violations lodged against an oil terminal operator in upstate New York, environmental officials said Wednesday.
In a violation notice sent in late July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Global Partners LP has underreported the amount of pollution it emits into the air at its facility in Albany where crude oil is transferred from trains onto barges and vessels on their way to refineries in New Jersey and Canada.
Global has played a large role in turning the Hudson into a major transportation route for crude oil over the last several years. In 2012, environmental officials in New York allowed Global Partners to more than triple the amount of crude oil it handles at its Hudson River terminal each year to 1.8 billion gallons from 450 million gallons.
The result has been an enormous increase in ships hauling crude south along the Hudson, drawing concern from local officials and environmentalists who fear a spill.
The EPA says Global violated the federal Clean Air Act by emitting more than 3.5 times the amount of pollution at its Albany facility than it said it would in its 2012 permit application to New York officials seeking to increase the amount of oil it handles. Read more.
