200 construction jobs, up to 180 new jobs set at plant

By KEVIN CHIRI

Publisher

GARYVILLE — Despite the massive size of the pending expansion of the Marathon Petroleum refinery, so far it seems the public reaction has been virtually all positive.

This past week, Marathon held two public events to offer residents a chance to comment about the upcoming $2.2 billion expansion at the plant on River Road. The first was held in Garyville on Tuesday, and the second was held in Reserve on Thursday, giving residents to the east and west of the Marathon site a chance to ask questions, or comment about the project.

However there appears to be no negative feedback so far about the huge project Marathon is undertaking, something plant manager Rich Bedell attributes to the up front and open manner his company has handled it with.

&#8220Honestly we haven’t had any negative feedback that I know of,” he said. &#8220There have been questions, but we have answered them to the best of our ability, and most people seem to be positive about it.”

At the hearings this week, there were more Marathon employees on hand than there were members of the public to comment.

Marathon employees of all kinds, from the top of the administration down to blue collar employees, were on hand wearing their blue shirts to be easily recognized at the public meetings.

But all of the area residents who turned out for the meetings-and there was only a handful at either event-seemed happy about the coming expansion since Marathon has provided excellent jobs to the area, and been a good community neighbor.

&#8220I was born and raised in Garyville for the past 71 years,” said Lynn Bourgeois, who came out to meet the Marathon staff. &#8220And I think the company has been wonderful for our area. This expansion will bring more jobs, which is good for our younger people. And the company has always done a lot for the community. I’ve just never heard anyone talk bad about them for any reason.”

The Marathon expansion is aiming to be on line early in 2009, since it is such a huge project to construct.

The current Marathon refinery has a 245,000 barrel a day capacity to produce gas and diesel products. The additional site, being built on the east side, will add 180,000 barrels a day to their capacity.

Jobs being brought to the area are big numbers, with a minimum of 2,000 construction jobs during the building phase, which may start early

in 2007. Bedell said that number could go as high as 4,000 at times.

Then there will be 150 to 180 permanent jobs at the new site added to the present Marathon work force of 550.

And that doesn’t count the full time contractors who work for the plant now, which numbers 350 today, and will increase by 50 to 75 with the new facility.

&#8220We work hard to have a

good track record in any community, and I think we have done that here in St. John Parish,” Bedell said. &#8220And this new facility is going to add millions of dollars to the local economy, without putting any additional needs on the parish. We have our own water, sewer and road system.”

Those numbers are also pretty impressive when you consider what is expected to be $12 million in local taxes during construction, along with millions a year in additional tax revenue for St. John Parish with the new plant on line.

The project began two years ago with conceptual designs, and has now moved to the engineering and permitting phase. Marathon is now awaiting approval from DEQ for the new site, which they hope to get by the end of the year. There will be a public comment period sometime during that time frame before the permit for emissions is issued.

There will be additional holding tanks also built on the west side of the plant to accommodate the larger capacity, with Bedell saying they sought a permit for 13 tanks.

&#8220We over-permitted just to make sure we have enough, but the number will more likely be between two and 10 new tanks,” he said.

Nell LeBoeuf, another lifelong resident of Garyville for 72 years, echoed the comments of others about the additional plant at Marathon.

&#8220Now more of our young people won’t have to leave the state to find a good job,” she said. &#8220Marathon has always helped our community here, and I don’t see anything wrong with the additional plant they’re building.”

Marathon operates within federal and state permit guidelines for air quality, and has always scored under the required levels for emissions. The plant has been accepted into OSHA’s and EPA’s elite programs for outstanding safety and environmental performance.