Murphy Oil angers South Louisiana residents
A Louisiana newspaper reports today that Murphy Oil is seeking to expand its refinery at Meraux, La., into an area that was zoned as “green space” after Hurricane Katrina.
Flooding from the massive storm washed away one of Murphy’s oil storage tanks, causing 1 million gallons of oil to spill into a nearby neighborhood.
The company purchased the land, cleaned things up, then agreed to use it as a buffer zone to prevent any future incidents from affecting local residents.
Murphy is currently petitioning for the land — currently zoned as residential — to be rezoned as heavy industrial so they can construct a testing lab there.
Local residents, who claim that violates the agreement Murphy made with them, are madder than a pot of boiling crawfish. Click here for more.
The Meraux refinery produces 125,000 barrels of oil per day, according to company statistics.
**Note** The above photo, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows the spill’s devastation.
UPDATE — Now the New Orleans Times Picayune is weighing in. Click here for their story.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
More excepts from news articles:
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
July 2, 2007 Monday
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 1
HEADLINE: Murphy Oil seeks to add 4 storage tanks;
Company says program will lower refinery emissions
BYLINE: By Paul Rioux, St. Bernard bureau
The refinery agreed to pay $330 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit involving an estimated 6,500 property owners and renters affected by the spill. So far, the company has bought 356 homes in a four-block radius of the refinery and is tearing them down, Zornes said.
“We have no current plans for this land except to create an initial buffer zone,” he said. “We will know more after we see how many homes are purchased.”
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
January 5, 2007 Friday
SECTION: METRO; Pg. 1
HEADLINE: Judge favors settlement in St. Bernard oil spill; Governor at hearing to back residents
BYLINE: By Susan Finch, Staff writer
Murphy attorney Kerry Miller said the buyout price reflects “the absolute top end of the range of real estate sales in St. Bernard” since Hurricane Katrina. Murphy wants to use the purchased property to create a buffer zone of green space between its refinery and residents.
Owners in the buyout area can choose to keep their homes and get payments from Murphy based on the level of oil damage to their property, but if they decide to sell, “They can sell to Murphy, the Road Home or on the open market, whichever brings them the most,” Blanco said.
Attorneys for Murphy and the state will meet next week to determine how to help owners decide which option will yield the most money if they choose to sell.
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
February 21, 2006 Tuesday
SECTION: METRO; Pg. 1
HEADLINE: St. Bernard makes plans for rebuilding, protection
BYLINE: By Karen Turni Bazile, St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau
The committee also suggested the parish seek funding to buy out properties and create a nonresidential buffer near the parish’s two oil refineries, which are now surrounded by residential neighborhoods. More than 1,600 homes in Chalmette were affected by an oil spill from the Murphy Oil refinery after Hurricane Katrina.
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
December 13, 2005 Tuesday
SECTION: A SECTION; FINAL; Pg. A1
HEADLINE: THE DANGER ZONE
Hurricanes pound coastal industries, inviting disaster.
BYLINE: Jim Stratton, Sentinel Staff Writer
When Katrina roared ashore, its floodwaters ripped a Murphy Oil tank from its foundation and cracked it open, smearing just about everything in the town once named Louisiana’s cleanest community.
Three months after the storm, the stains on homes, cars and yards are still visible. It’s unclear when, or whether, the community will fully recover.
Parish President Henry “Junior” Rodriguez said that for years, Murphy had offered to buy homes from residents who no longer wanted to live near the refinery.
“They were looking to create a buffer zone around their refinery,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve got a buffer zone now. They’ve got one hell of a buffer zone.”
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
July 16, 2002 Tuesday
SECTION: METRO; Pg. 1
HEADLINE: Boat firm expansion sails to approval;
Council OKs rezoning despite objections
BYLINE: By Karen Turni Bazile; St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau
But Jason Licciardi, whose father owns an adjacent duplex, said the change allows for a setback of about 25 feet from his doubles and the industrial work, while normal industrial setbacks in St. Bernard require at least a 100-foot buffer zone.
Hunnicutt agreed that because the business is less than an acre, it could have the smaller setback under the codes. That is one of the reasons he opposed the change.
Two nearby duplex owners, including Licciardi’s father, complained at an April public hearing that the business had caused them to lose tenants because of fumes and other production issues.
Cosse and Rodriguez objected to the change, and Rodriguez said it set an unhealthy precedent because other business owners could ask for similar expansions.
Cosse agreed the zoning change would be a “step backward” and could cause a domino effect on Jacob Drive.
“If someone wants to build a home next to an industrial zone, that’s their choice. But for this council to move an industrial zone next to residents, in my opinion, is just not sound planning,” Cosse said. “You run a good business, but I just can’t with a clear conscious move industrial zoning right next to residential zoning.”
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)
June 11, 2006 Sunday
SECTION: BUSINESS
HEADLINE: Small refinery’s future murky Wisconsin operation seen as low priority for Murphy Oil
BYLINE: BY EDWARD KLUMP ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Murphy has purchased about 60 acres near the Superior refinery that act as a buffer with the surrounding neighborhood, Hulse said.
The company is dealing with a federal class-action lawsuit in Louisiana over a spill of about 1 million gallons of oil that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. Some of the spilled oil went into the neighborhood surrounding the refinery, and plaintiffs say Murphy was negligent. Murphy denies that allegation.
West said acquiring land near the Superior refinery is not a direct result of the Louisiana spill.
“We’re always looking to increase our buffer zone where we can,” she said.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Letter to Editor in Response to Associated Press story of Murphy Oil’s expansion in Meraux, LA
In federal court pleadings and hearings for the settlement agreement and in St Bernard Parish Council meeting transcripts , Murphy’s defense attorneys can be quoted from transcripts stating the area would be turned into a green zone, a grassy greenspace, a nonused buffer between the refinery and the neighborhood. That is what buffer zones are industry wide. That is the whole intent and purpose of the federal judge’s court order and reasons. There has never been a misconception regarding the settlement agreement. There has only been these new contradictions of statements by the same attorneys.
From the associated press January 4, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/04/america/NA_GEN_US_Katrina_Murphy_Oil.php
Kerry Miller, a Murphy lawyer, said the area would be turned into a “green zone” to buffer the refinery from neighborhoods.
Adding facilities is not a buffer; it is changing our neighborhood into an industrial district which lowers the buffer and does nothing to promote health, safety nor welfare. This is a 15,000 sq ft lab which is an integral part of the refining process. Moving facilities into our revitalized neighborhood not only lowers the buffer, but also makes room for an ambitious expansion of processing units in the labs original footprint. We have the opportunity right now to adhere to the parish master land use plan and provide an adequate buffer.
The EPA superfund mission to cleanup the oil spill was for the community to be restored where people can live safely (according to Beverly Negri, EPA superfund manager). We have revitalized our community neighborhoods and we need the St Bernard Parish Council to uphold our current zoning to preserve the integrity of our residential neighborhood.
a concerned recovery citizen of St Bernard Parish Louisiana