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Delaware City Refinery Permit Hearing Draws Large Crowd

pbf website

The latest permit renewal request for the Delaware City Refinery found more than 500 people crammed into an auditorium at the Gunning Bedford Elementary School last night.

It was hearing on the facility’s cooling water intake and pollution discharge rights.

Environmentalists showed up -- some in fish costumes – and argued that the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control had incorrectly agreed to issue the permit.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that the permit allowed the plant’s owner PBF to evaluation its options for cooling the water and protecting the environment.

The company’s environmental manager Tom Godlewski said that the new studies were needed to find the best option.

In 2011 DNREC had found that a water-recycling cooling tower was the best option.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.