Sunoco to pay Pennsylvania air quality fines

The Pittsburgh skyline is seen from Mount Washington, September 22, 2009.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Sunoco Refining and Marketing will pay $173,310 in civil penalties for air quality violations at its 178,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, that occurred in 2008, state authorities said on Tuesday.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Southeast Regional Director, Sunoco had several reported incidents of emissions, as well as numerous air permit and storage tank violations, during the same time period.

"Sunoco views this as an opportunity to maintain our efforts in continuous improvement," said Thomas Golembeski, a spokesman for the refiner.

" We take our environmental performance seriously. We self-reported our air emission releases and cooperated fully with Pennsylvania DEP inspections. The safe, reliable and environmentally sound operation of our facilities is our main focus," he added.