Marathon pays Minnesota penalty for waste disposal

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Jan 28, 2012 at 3:00 pm

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Oil refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp. has paid a $700,000 civil penalty in Minnesota for releasing benzene into an unlined lagoon near the Mississippi River.

Marathon, based in Findlay, Ohio, is the former owner of a large oil refinery in St. Paul Park. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency alleges Marathon gained financially by illegally disposing of benzene process wastewater in 2010. Benzene is a potent carcinogen.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports the MPCA also says Marathon lacked a permit for hazardous waste, and exceeded its permit limits for ammonia, nitrogen and sulfides.

Marathon paid the penalty under terms of a stipulation agreement, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

In late 2010, Marathon sold the refinery to St. Paul Park Refining Co., which currently operates the facility.

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