Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, L.P. (SPMT)
Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, L.P. (SPMT) in Marcus Hook is a storage, purification, and distribution facility of natural gas liquids (NGLs).
The
Marcus Hook facility was previously a petroleum refining plant owned and operated by Sunoco, Inc. (R&M). The plant terminated its operations in 2011 and SPMT acquired the idled Marcus Hook refinery in early 2013. The site was redeveloped into a NGLs hub on the US East Coast. Ethane, propane, and butane make up these various NGLs, which are received via pipeline from the Marcellus Shale region and are stored, processed, and distributed to local, regional, and international markets.
DEP Issued Permits and Plan Approvals
The SPMT facility is currently permitted under a Title V Operation Permit (TVOP 23-00119) and two Plan Approvals (revised Plan Approval 23-0119E and Plan Approval 23-0119J). A plan approval is required for the construction, shakedown, and/or performance testing of most projects that take place at this facility, while the TVOP is required for the continued operation of the air emission sources at a major facility.
The TVOP consolidates applicable regulations and plan approvals into one document and does not adopt any new regulations. DEP issued the current TVOP on August 25, 2020, when it approved a Minor Operating Permit Modification to change an existing deethanizer at the facility to a demethanizer. The modification resulted in minor emissions increases of previously-emitted air contaminants.
On February 12, 2021, DEP issued the following two Plan Approvals:
- Revised Plan Approval No. 23-0119E to address the Environmental Hearing Board’s (EHB’s) January 9, 2019, adjudication that DEP reevaluate all projects related to the NGLs processing, storage, and distribution operations at the facility as a single aggregated project to determine the applicability of Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and/or New Source Review (NSR) requirements. Revised Plan Approval No. 23-0119E incorporates the requirements of previously-unincorporated Plan Approval Nos. 23-0119D and (the original) 23-0119E.
- Plan Approval No. 23-0119J for the installation of the following sources and equipment under “Project Phoenix”:
- Two new 600,000-bbl refrigerated ethane storage tanks;
- One new amine treatment system;
- One new dehydration train system;
- Two new refrigeration systems;
- Two new demethanizers;
- Two new wet surface air cooling (WSAC) systems;
- One new elevated, air-assisted Cold Flare; and
- Various piping connections and components.
The responses to the comments received from the public and the company concerning both plan approvals are below: