Duluth, MN  - A proposed relaxed emissions standard for sulfur dioxide at the Murphy Oil refinery in Superior, Wisconsin would legalize that facilities currently illegal output of sulfur dioxide (SO2) at nearly four times the current limit.  Today, together with a coalition of ten local and  national organizations, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking the Agency not to approve the proposed standard. The comments cite human health and environmental threats, legal criteria which Murphy Oil has not met, and inconsistencies in EPA policy as bases for their opposition to the new standard.

The State of Wisconsin is asking the EPA to allow Murphy Oil to emit 3.0 pounds of SO2 per million British thermal units instead of the 0.8 pounds permitted under current law.  Murphy Oil has been emitting at the higher level for years.  "It's like getting caught speeding at 90 mph in a 25 mph zone and asking the officer for an exception because you do it all the time," said Nicolette Hahn, Lake Superior Project Attorney for NWF.

There are numerous health and environmental concerns associated with SO2. Potential impacts on people include effects on breathing, respiratory illness, alterations in lung defenses, and aggravation of cardiovascular disease.  Jan Conley, a resident of Superior and Coordinator of the Lake Superior Greens, notes, "Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to SO2 pollution."  She adds, "The state and federal authorities should be acting to protect our health, not endanger it."

In addition to the risks to human health, the EPA points to SO2 as the principal precursor to acid rain.  Acid rain damages vegetation and acidifies lakes and streams.  A report prepared by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shows that a monitoring site near Finland, Minnesota, approximately fifty miles directly northeast of Superior, generally has the highest deposition sulfate levels of any site in Minnesota.  Winds from the southwest are prevalent at that location in the fall, and are not uncommon in other seasons.  "It would be unconscionable to allow a company to continue emitting SO2 that will adversely affect this beautiful, pristine area if such emissions can be avoided," notes Hahn.

"After EPA has publicly announced that Murphy Oil's SO2 emissions are threatening to human health and the environment, how can it turn around and endorse a permit that would almost quadruple the amount of SO2 Murphy Oil is allowed to emit?" asked Hahn.

Because the ambient air in the Superior area would otherwise have very low SO2 levels, the  Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is able to propose that Murphy Oil be allowed to emit more SO2 than could be permitted in a more urban location.  Technology to control SO2 emissions is available and is in use at other refineries and in other industries.

The EPA issued Clean Air Act violation notices for SO2 emissions to Murphy Oil in December 1998.  "After EPA has publicly announced that Murphy Oil's SO2 emissions are threatening to human health and the environment, how can it turn around and endorse a permit that would almost quadruple the amount of SO2 Murphy Oil is allowed to emit?" asked Hahn.  "Such simultaneous conflicting actions defy common sense."

The EPA has targeted SO2 as one of six priority pollutants for reductions in the ambient air.  "Instead of approving an increase in sulfur dioxide emissions, the EPA should be moving to reduce sulfur dioxide in the air," said Hahn.  "The EPA should consider the direction that the citizens of this country have set by supporting Congress*s adoption of the Clean Air Act. Wisconsin*s request is simply asking the EPA to sanction dirtier air."

NWF has been working to protect Lake Superior since 1991.  NWF's Lake Superior Project is dedicated to strengthening water quality policies, working with communities on demonstration projects to reduce pollution, and watch-dogging would-be polluters of the lake to ensure compliance with water quality protections.  A long-term goal of NWF's Lake Superior Project is to achieve "zero discharge" of the most dangerous and long-lived toxic substances into Lake Superior's water and air.  One of those substances is mercury, which is emitted in small quantities along with the SO2 from the Murphy Oil refinery.