According to the state, this is the most extensive air pollution enforcement package ever applied to a single plant.
Suncor Energy Inc. is being fined $10.5 million US by the state of Colorado for violating air pollution laws.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment stated in a press release that the fine pertaining to Suncor’s Commerce City refinery is for infractions that occurred between July 2019 and June 2021.
In addition, the agency mandates that the energy firm located in Calgary increase the number of air-pollution monitors by two times when compared to the refinery’s initial monitoring plan.
According to the press release, it’s the biggest enforcement package for air pollution that the state has ever applied to a single business.
The sole refinery of its kind in Colorado is Suncor’s Commerce City complex, which turns 98,000 barrels of crude oil per day into products including gasoline and jet fuel.
The business has faced several issues in the past few years, such as an air pollution and odor complaint from surrounding residents, weather-related damage that required a temporary closure of the facility in 2023, and a fire that occurred in late 2022 and wounded two workers.
