Andrew J. Polk
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A set of incidents at a major local refinery may now result in legal action – and more.
Marathon Petroleum, which operates the industrial facilities around Trowbridge Dr. in south-central El Paso says they responded and found no threat to the community after a strong odor was noticed by residents the night of Aug. 4.
People in the area noticed an increased daytime flaring that led to more concerns in the following days.
Some that live nearby the refinery say they’ve had medical issues in the aftermath, and a lawsuit is now being organized.
There’s also a permit process previously underway that local elected officials are calling for greater review of.
So what happened, what are the impacts we know now, and what could that mean for the future of the company and the residents in the area?
Sunday night on ABC-7 Xtra, join host Andrew J. Polk as he speaks with public health experts, local elected officials and attorneys working on the case, as well as a response from Marathon itself.
Tune in Sunday at 10:35 p.m., right after ABC-7 at 10.
Several local elected officials have issued statements calling for action and clarification since the emission events.
Senator César J. Blanco Statement on TCEQ’s Latest Findings on Marathon Refinery Emissions Incident
“The latest findings released by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) following this month’s emissions event at Marathon are of major concern. Our community deserves answers, accountability, and a clear understanding of what happened.
According to TCEQ, the next steps are as follows:
Marathon submits its final emissions event report to TCEQ within two weeks of the event’s conclusion, after completing its evaluation of the incident.
TCEQ reviews the final report and conducts its investigation, a process that can take 90 days or more.
TCEQ determines whether the event was avoidable and whether Marathon took appropriate measures to minimize emissions.
TCEQ determines whether corrective, compliance, or enforcement action is warranted, which could include penalties. Marathon’s compliance history and prior enforcement actions may factor into that determination.
The separate air permit proceeding moves forward at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), beginning with a preliminary hearing and the contested case process.
I will continue working with TCEQ to get answers, ensure appropriate accountability, and keep our community informed as additional information and findings become available.”
Congresswoman Escobar Calls for EPA to Investigate Marathon Refinery Incident
(El Paso, TX) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and EPA Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason strongly urging the agency to launch an investigation into last week’s incident at the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in El Paso.
Dear Administrator Zeldin and Regional Administrator Mason:
I write to express serious concern regarding the significant air emissions event at Marathon Petroleum’s El Paso Refinery on August 4–5, 2026 and the refinery’s compliance with its air permit and its communication with surrounding communities and local officials.
According to reports filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), a process upset involving the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracker resulted in the release of approximately 8,897.9 pounds of propylene, 862 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 19.1 pounds of 1,3-butadiene, all exceeding permitted allowances. The reported sulfur dioxide emissions alone were 3,591 times the permitted limit.
During the incident, residents were not notified of the source of emissions and reported strong petroleum-like odors, illness, lightheadedness, and having to leave their homes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that exposure to sulfur dioxide can affect both health and the environment and the National Cancer Institute has shown 1,3-butadiene is a human carcinogen.
Equally concerning, local community leaders, including County Commissioner David Stout were not directly notified by Marathon when the incident began. He reportedly received information only after contacting the refinery himself and was subsequently assured that air monitoring had detected no health risks and that the situation had been resolved. In a similar response, City Council Representative Josh Acevedo is calling on Marathon representatives to appear before the El Paso City Council to explain the situation.
This apparent disconnect raises serious questions about Marathon’s compliance with federal requirements, its notification obligations, and the adequacy of its response to hazardous emissions.
There is also a broader history of federal Clean Air Act enforcement involving Marathon and petroleum-refining operations. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has previously taken enforcement action involving Marathon facilities for alleged Clean Air Act violations, including violations involving refinery flaring and excess emissions.
I therefore strongly urge the EPA to launch an investigation into the incident and provide answers to the following:
Did Marathon violate any federal requirements, including the Clean Air Act or its Title V permit?
When did Marathon notify EPA and TCEQ, and what information did it provide?
Did Marathon follow its risk management plan triggered by the release of 1,3-Butadiene?
Why did Marathon not notify local officials or the public? What corrective actions are being taken by the EPA, TCEQ, or Marathon Petroleum to ensure that local communities receive timely and transparent communication following incidents of unexpected emissions?
What air monitoring was conducted during and after the incident, what pollutants were monitored, and what were the results?
Has EPA independently evaluated the potential health impacts of the reported releases, particularly sulfur dioxide and 1,3-butadiene?
What additional monitoring, investigation, or enforcement action does EPA believe is warranted?
Residents of El Paso deserve timely and accurate information when hazardous pollutants are released into their community. EPA and Region 6 must ensure that Marathon is held accountable for any violations and that appropriate measures are taken to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.
Please provide a written response addressing these questions and copies of relevant inspection reports, notices of violation, monitoring data, correspondence, and other records related to the August 4–5 incident by August 31, 2026. I also request that my office be kept informed of any investigation or enforcement action concerning Marathon’s El Paso Refinery.
I continue to support the contested case hearing scheduled for this fall to review Marathon’s air permit, building on the public comments I submitted in 2023 opposing renewal of the refinery’s TCEQ permit and calling for greater accountability and protection of public health. I look forward to your prompt response and to working with EPA and Region 6 to protect the health and safety of El Paso residents.
In response to our interview request, Marathon Petroleum said they do not respond to pending litigation but sent us this statement:
Safe and reliable operations are core principles of Marathon Petroleum, and we never want our operations to negatively impact our neighbors. We are sorry for the disturbance residents experienced due to the event on Aug. 4. We believe it is important to note the actions we took – and have taken – since the event:
In response to this event, our operators responded immediately. We shut down the affected equipment, stabilized the unit, deployed mobile off-site air monitoring, and notified the City and the TCEQ, following required notification and reporting protocols.
From that Tuesday night through the following Sunday, we monitored surrounding neighborhoods and locations as far as downtown, taking hundreds of individual readings. Although the odor Tuesday night was undoubtedly strong, our monitoring equipment is calibrated to detect levels that could represent a risk to health, and at the locations and times sampled, the monitoring did not detect levels indicating a health risk. We have shared air monitoring data with EPA.
After the incident, we filed our preliminary findings about the emissions through TCEQ’s reporting system. That report is available publicly and has been mentioned in several news stories. The report provides our initial estimate of source emissions on site at the refinery. Those are not the same as ground-level air monitoring in the neighborhoods beyond our fenceline.
On Aug. 18, we filed our final report on the incident with the TCEQ, including refined calculations of what was released. This is a transparent process; just like the initial report, this final report was made available publicly.
In addition, Marathon Petroleum provides fenceline emissions monitoring data to the EPA which is publicly available through EPA’s website. Also, TCEQ maintains air monitors, including the Womble Air Monitoring Station near the refinery, and makes air quality data from its monitors available through TCEQ’s website.
We support the idea of a better community notification system and have been working with the city of El Paso for the past year to establish a system that can directly call and inform residents of events at the refinery – even when health risks are not involved. This process would be in addition to Marathon’s 24-hour Community Helpline, which has been expanded to manage higher call volumes.
We are also investigating the Aug. 4 event, reviewing the cause, and identifying any appropriate corrective actions. Our trained professionals work every day to operate this refinery safely, reliably, and in compliance with environmental requirements.
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An aerial view of La Union’s maze for the 2026 fall season.(Courtesy: La Union Maze)
