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| Learn about Flint Hills Resources' pollution prevention efforts and how you too can make a difference. |
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| On report pages, click here to see how much of the selected pollutant was emitted from the refinery. |
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A growing number of companies are devoting more attention to the environmental impact
of their activities. They are finding out that good environmental practices can lead to a
competitive advantage. "Eco-efficiency" is a term used to represent those practices and activities
that foster economic value for a company while at the same time reduce a company's ecological
impact and resource use. Many organizations have been developing systems to measure corporate
eco-efficiency, also referred to as "sustainability metrics." Sustainability, in this context,
means meeting present day development needs without compromising the needs of future
generations. . For more information, and a listing of over 700 companies preparing sustainability reports, go to: www.globalreporting.org.
On the pages in this section, FHR's impact on the air, water, and soil & groundwater of the Pine Bend area is
reported. It is not possible to separate out FHR's contribution, particularly for air and Mississippi River water
quality, so the condition of the air and river are presented as impacted by all sources of pollution, including
cars and trucks, homes, and other businesses and industry.
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The overall quality of the environment in the Pine Bend area is good. Air quality meets all federal and state ambient air quality standards. The MPCA continuously monitors the air in Pine Bend at five monitoring sites funded by Flint Hills Resources, and the MN DNR monitors the condition of the Mississippi River. FHR, MPCA and MDH continue to monitor groundwater quality. Pine Bend is one of the best monitored areas of the state of Minnesota.
Flint Hills continues to work with its Community Advisory Council (CAC) to analyze environmental quality in the area. Flint Hills has worked with the CAC to relocate ambient air monitors around the refinery and to begin measuring for metals. The CAC also works with an independent expert to analyze the data and report those results to the community.< |
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The monitoring and measuring methods described on the following pages do not represent all the impacts on the environment from the Pine Bend refinery. We have provided information on these various monitors because these are the stations currently collecting information on air quality around the refinery. There are many other ways in which the environment is impacted by the refinery. Examples include: traffic, noise, odors, aesthetics, habitat, shoreland etc… Some of these impacts are not easy to measure or monitor. Also, the monitoring that is done of the air and river quality around the refinery only looks at a small group of chemicals compared to what is actually emitted. |
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