Environmental Groups Urge EPA to Block Motiva Chemical Applications

Environmental groups are urging EPA to deny 17 new chemical applications submitted by Motiva Enterprises for production at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, arguing that the new chemicals would endanger nearby residents who already experience disproportionately high exposures to pollution.

Joint comments on the premanufacture notices (PMNs) were submitted by Community In-Power and Development Association and Earthjustice on March 26.  The groups argue that at minimum, there is sufficient cause for EPA to conclude that the chemicals “may present” an unreasonable risk—triggering the agency’s duty under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit or restrict them.

The comments claim that the publicly available versions of the PMNs provide evidence of carcinogenicity and other serious health harms, even though Motiva “unlawfully withheld and redacted critical information” from the submissions.  These hazards are compounded by high estimated production volumes, which the groups say exceed 450 million pounds annually across the 17 chemicals.

Much of the focus is on Port Arthur, “one of the nation’s most severely polluted communities.”  Decades of chemical exposures have led to elevated rates of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses, especially in the predominantly Black neighborhoods adjacent to the Motiva plant and other industrial facilities, according to the comments.  EPA should treat these neighborhoods as a “potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation” under amended TSCA, the comments argue.

The groups also point to what they call “Motiva’s long history of malfunctions, accidents, and other chemical incidents” at the Port Arthur site, arguing that future incidents are “reasonably foreseen” and therefore fall within the “conditions of use” EPA must consider in evaluating the PMNs.

All 17 PMNs were submitted by Motiva in January 2025.  Most are generically described as “Hydrocarbon, processed.”