Residents to ‘seek accountability’ at Marathon Refinery public meeting

Preliminary reports show that the El Paso Marathon Refinery released more than 15 tons of pollutants on August 4, and now residents are encouraged to join their public meeting on Tuesday to learn about the investigation results. 

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality previously reported that the refinery released 20 air contaminant compounds, including nearly 4,000 pounds of carbon monoxide, over 1,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and more than 10,000 pounds of propylene.

The El Paso Hispanic Chamber says the meeting is expected to discuss the air monitoring results, operational changes, improvements to community notification and details of the release of contaminants.

Some nearby residents said the gases irritated their eyes and caused nausea, and several others even reported smelling a strong odor during the incident.

Sisters Connie and Josie Hernandez have lived in El Paso for over 60 years and currently reside just a few blocks from the Marathon Refinery, and they say they have every intention of attending this meeting to demand transparency.

"I'm hoping that this meeting will bring some sort of commitment, accountability from them to place safety features," said Josie. "Because it's our lives, it's our lives, and I think most of us did not realize that until this big flare up happened."

The sisters told ABC-7 they remember working outside at the time of the flare-up, and smelling what they called "toxic air."

Now, Josie says they're concerned for their health, knowing now what's in the fumes and realizing that they're ingesting the fumes daily.

She told ABC-7 exactly what she experienced that moment while doing her yard work.

"I noticed that the flame was like really roaring, and I called Connie and I said 'Look at this thing!" Josie says. "It was dark with the orange flame and it was really nasty looking, but I didn't know what had happened until I heard the news later on that night. So when I found out, I said 'Gee, that's a lot of stuff that we ingested' and we're like maybe three blocks away from it."

Marathon declined an interview with ABC-7 prior to Tuesday.

The meeting will be held at Riverside High School from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Amistad will also provide help attending the meeting to those who need it.

You can request a ride by calling (915) 532-3415 and ask for transportation for the Marathon event.