Suncor faces thousands in fines for chemicals in the water

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COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — It's not just air pollution that's getting Colorado's only oil refinery in trouble. State regulators have started the process of punishing the Suncor refinery in Commerce City for violations tied to its water permit.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said the facility's own reports showed "significant noncompliance" with its state permits, including three violations related to discharge of benzene – a chemical linked to cancer.

The compliance advisory said each violation could subject the refinery to a fine of up to $61,427 – which is approximately what the company makes every four minutes.

"I was glad to see the state taking that first step in holding Suncor accountable for its permit violations," said Caitlin Miller, a senior associate attorney at environmental law firm Earth Justice who monitors Suncor's water pollution violations.

CDPHE said the benzene Suncor discharged was diluted enough that it didn't impact people downstream.

"Suncor provided an explanation for the exceedance and what corrective actions they implemented to prevent similar instances from happening in the future," a state spokesperson said. "The division will continue to monitor Suncor’s compliance with its discharge permit and respond in accordance with our enforcement management system."

Miller also raised concerns about Suncor's discharge of PFAS, colloquially known as "forever chemicals" because of how long it takes for them to break down in the environment. She said despite new treatment technology, the facility still sees "spikes" in discharges of the chemicals, which are frequently found in firefighting foam.

In one such spike last November, Miller said PFAS levels rose to 55,000 times the EPA's health advisory level. The state currently does not regulate PFAS discharges from Suncor, although that is likely to change with a new permit due to be issued in the coming months.

"We remain focused on issuing a permit that holds Suncor accountable, requires Suncor to monitor and limit PFAS discharges and provide information when requested," the CDPHE spokesperson said.

"We need both strong permits from the state and we need the state to hold Suncor accountable to complying with those permits," Miller said. "Unless Suncor can operate a safe and clean environment that doesn’t put its workers and surrounding communities in harm's way, they shouldn’t be able to operate."

A Suncor spokesperson declined to comment on the potential fine, but said the facility's new firefighting foam complies with new regulations.

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