Congressman Says Philadelphia Area Refinery Closures Could Threaten National Security

Southeast Pennsylvania Congressman Pat Meehan says the closures at the Sunoco and ConocoPhillips refineries in Delaware County may pose a security threat. Meehan, a Republican from Delaware County who is a member on the Homeland Security Committee, announced that a subcommittee will hold a hearing on refinery closures nationwide.

“Two of our local refineries have closed and one is slated for closure – together they account for 50 percent of the Northeast’s entire refinery capacity,” said Meehan in a press release. “More than 30 U.S. refineries have closed in the last decade. This hearing will help us understand the homeland security consequences of our declining domestic refining capacity, both in terms of threats to critical infrastructure and our dependence on imports from unstable parts of the world.”

The announcement comes as the clock continues to tick on finding a buyer for the ConocoPhillips plant. The company says they will demolish the refinery if no purchaser is found by the end of March. Several hundred union workers are down in Washington, D.C. today to lobby Congress and demonstrate outside of the headquarters of Sunoco and ConocoPhillips.

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