In January, a state House committee will host two hearings connected to the potential shutdown of Delaware County’s two oil refineries. One will examine emergency preparedness of the idled sites and another will evaluate the closures’ impact on the western part of the state.
State Rep. Stephen Barrar, R-160, of Upper Chichester, has called for these meetings on Tuesday, Jan. 10, in his role as chairman of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
“The closing of the refineries is going to have statewide implications,” he said.
Professionals in the petroleum distribution industry will attend the state House hearings next month. Sunoco and ConocoPhillips representatives have also said they would be present, Barrar said.
The first, at 10:30 a.m., will examine the impact of the closures on the western region of the state.
Barrar said southwest Pennsylvania experienced gasoline shortages for several days in May because of a disruption of the summer gasoline supply on the Buckeye Pipeline.
The second hearing at 1:30 p.m. will look at emergency responses to the Delco facilities if they are closed.
Barrar said he received calls from some firefighters that worked for Sunoco and ConocoPhillips about concerns they had related to the closures. He said they were worried about what would happen in the event of a catastrophe. “They were pretty sure that the local volunteer fire companies would have a tough time,” he said.
In the company’s response stating they would participate, ConocoPhillips Refinery Manager David Erfert said while all hydrocarbons and hazardous chemicals have been removed from the process units, crude oil and heavy oils are in the storage tanks.
He added that ConocoPhillips was continuing to maintain an onsite emergency response team.
“If a buyer is not identified in the sales process, the refinery will be considered permanently shut down, and any remaining crude and heavy oils will be fully removed from the facility,” Erfert wrote.
Barrar said he doesn’t want a hostile set of hearings, but an informational one.
“I don’t want to hurt the environment of cooperation we’ve had so far from them,” he said of the oil companies. “What we want to do is bring them before the committee and ask them to explain to us what emergency procedures are in place.”