CHRISTIANSTED — Governor Albert Bryan issued the following statement about the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to withdraw one of the Limetree Bay permits:
“As many of you are aware, under my predecessor, the Government of the Virgin Islands entered into a series of operating agreements with Limetree Bay to restart operations of the refinery in St. Croix. As a result of that agreement, Limetree Bay began the work needed to restart the refinery and, just this year, began producing gasoline and other refined products at the refinery.
“My administration, as mandated by the operating agreement, has diligently monitored the progress of the restart along with the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Justice to ensure compliance with the Clean Air Act and related regulations to ensure that federal air quality standards are met.
“Today, you have heard that the EPA has withdrawn one of the many permits that govern the operation of the Limetree Bay Facility. The withdrawal of this permit, known as the Plantwide Applicability Limit (PAL) permit, does not require Limetree to cease its operations. Rather, the withdrawal of this permit is part of a larger effort of the Biden Administration to review the environmental actions of the prior Trump administration and subjects this particular permit to another round of review.
“This additional review and scrutiny provides a greater opportunity to ensure that the health of our local community, particularly our community in St. Croix, is protected. My administration and Limetree welcomes this additional review and will work with the new administration to make sure that our people and environment are protected and that proper regulatory requirements are in place for Limetree’s use and planned use of the facility.
“The PAL permit is just one of many permits that govern Limetree’s operations. During this review process, Limetree will continue to operate, continue production, and will continue to operate in compliance with the other permits in place that require strict and rigorous air and emissions monitoring.”