"This went beyond a lawsuit. Rather than destroy the neighborhood by simply buying-out the neighbors, Jones Walker and the company negotiated a unique program of investing in the neighborhood so that it could flourish."
Progress can be painful and costly. Starting up a new industrial facility can be a frustrating experience, pitting differing political constituencies against one another in an emotional fight for the neighborhood. The need for new industrial capacity is a given, but "NIMBY," or not-in-my-back-yard, is the typical neighborhood battle cry. Attempting a seamless start-up of a totally reconstructed refinery, a refining company instead faced pressures from environmental regulators, neighborhood groups and environmental activists. It contacted Jones Walker to help it sort out its problems.
The company acquired an old moth-balled refinery and rebuilt it into a modern integrated refinery. In 1999 and 2000, it attempted the first new refinery start-up in the United States in decades. From the beginning, there were problems, and, with no real life experience to draw upon, creativity and American ingenuity had to prevail. Ultimately, the company, with Jones Walkers’ assistance, successfully worked out its problems, with federal and state regulatory agencies and its neighbors.
Jones Walker and the company worked tirelessly to meet and exceed the regulatory agencies' demands for operation of the new refinery. Jones Walker assisted in negotiating a complex settlement of federal New Source Review issues, with the company committing to spend millions of dollars to install newer and better pollution control equipment while reducing emissions over the next decade. Additionally, Jones Walker helped negotiate settlement of a series of issues raised by state multi-media inspections.
The company also faced a federal citizen suit brought by certain members of the neighboring community and supported by sophisticated environmental activist organizations. The start-up's success depended on satisfying the neighborhood that the company was "doing right." This went beyond a lawsuit. Rather than destroy the neighborhood by simply buying-out the neighbors, Jones Walker and the company negotiated a unique program of investing in the neighborhood so that it could flourish. At the same time, the company sought and created a working relationship with its neighbors to keep them advised of progress, and any problems, in the operations of the refinery.
