EPA Sends More People And Equipment To Investigate Limetree Bay

ST. CROIX, USVI — The beleaguered Limetree Bay refinery isn't having a great week. Or month. And now the EPA is in town.

On Thursday May 6, three St. Croix schools closed for in-person earning due to a gaseous odor coming from the facility. A Limetree Bay representative confirmed that they refinery was the source of the smell, that the odor was caused by maintenance, and that the smell would likely continue.

By Thursday afternoon, the EPA announced that it would be investigating Limetree Bay to determine if the refinery is jeopardizing people’s health and the environment. They released the following statement, "EPA takes very seriously the reports from today and in recent weeks of children, families, and individuals becoming sickened by emissions around the Limetree Bay facility."

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The EPA confirmed that the first team of experts landed on St. Croix on April 30 to investigate an earlier incident that cause excess sulphur dioxide to be released in the atmosphere. In light of the odor issue on Thursday, the EPA said it would send more personnel and additional monitoring equipment in the coming days.

Their goal is to determine if Limetree bay is operating in compliance with laws. "If EPA makes a determination that the facility’s operations present an imminent risk to people’s health, consistent with its legal authorities, it will take appropriate action to safeguard public safety."

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