By Paris Rain, FOX23.com News Staff
TULSA, Okla. — HF Sinclair and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) held a community meeting Tuesday night to provide updates on addressing pollution from the company’s east and west refineries on the Arkansas River.
FOX23 has reported on this for years. Residents have voiced environmental concerns about the refineries and the concerns have been there since before HF Sinclair took over.
The company said they’re constantly working to address these worries. They shared a few updates with the public during the meeting over what they were doing with both refineries.
From weekly inspections to working on groundwater enhancements, HF Sinclair said it continues to work to address these problems that have been community concerns for more than a century.
The issue with the HF Sinclair refineries is something neighbors in west Tulsa said they are tired of. Issues like oil sheen in the river water to groundwater and air contamination have been recurring problems.
Members of the community gathered at the Chandler Park Community center to hear from HF Sinclair and Oklahoma DEQ Land Protection Group on updates on the safety of the land.
Neighbors wanted both parties to know they’re tired of talk and want to see more solutions.
“Should we believe HF Sinclair that this time will be a permanent solution?” asked resident Kelsey Royce. “The clock is ticking, and we don’t have the time in our lives to continue to let HF Sinclair get away with this.”
“What we do is we attack the most critical things first, so at the property boundary [and] at the river boundary,” said Arsin Sahba, Corporate Environmental Specialist with HF Sinclair. “That’s the most critical, where the public is closest to it. We address those areas and then we will work from there.”
The community said pollution in the river isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s affecting their daily lives.
“We need to know that there’s going to be an end,” said Barbabra VanHanken, president of TAARA. “We don’t want this to go on and on for another five or six years. If it’s going to be 10 years, tell us 10 years. It’s going to be 25 years, tell us 25 years. We won’t like it, but it’s not fair.”
“It’s very serious for many of us who live along the river to have to deal with water pollution, air pollution, and the subject of this meeting — land pollution,” Royce said. “Chemicals, toxins, and pollutants in the soil are contaminating groundwater and leaching into the river, contaminating our environment.”
At the meetings, both the east and the west refineries were discussed. HF Sinclair said they submit semi-annual reports twice a year and do weekly riverbank inspections.
Despite the name change, the refinery’s been in business in west Tulsa right next to the Arkansas River for more than 100 years.
The biggest question members of the community have is what are ODEQ and HF Sinclair doing for restoration and what is their plan to stop further contamination.
“Emphasize, the record performance game is being achieved, even after identifying these structural elements,” said Sahba. “That is our number one goal. We will make sure that is happening. We will also continue weekly inspections…and we’ll also do our [quarterly inspection].”
HF Sinclair shared the following statement with FOX23:
“We continue to work closely with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality on the various plans and site models required for our RCRA permits at our East and West Tulsa refineries. HF Sinclair is a proud member of the Tulsa community, and we are committed to complying with the terms and conditions of our permits and making the remediation investments required.”
HF Sinclair said they are working with the DEQ on various plans and models required for their permits to ensure they’re safely handling hazardous waste.
