After a refinery becomes operational, the total number of employees 

 declines but is still a significant total for almost any community to 

 absorb. Wages coupled with the number of new residents will greatly 

 alter all aspects of community life. Pressure for construction of 

 residential and commercial buildings will be intense. New public 

 facilities and services will need to be provided as rapidly as possible. 

 In some cases, temporary facilities and services should be considered in 

 an attempt to coordinate the community investment level to the permanent 

 employment level [45] rather than the peak construction employment level 

 (2,900 to 3,000). 



The refinery could affect the water supply of the community. With 

 such large water requirements, surface and subsurface patterns could be 

 altered. The community will also be concerned about possible contamination 

 of local supplies and effects on recreational resources adjacent to the 

 refinery. 



An additional community concern is air pollution. Emissions and 

 odors are potential problems associated with refineries. Therefore, in 

 influencing the selection of a location, the community will encourage 

 the refinery to locate downwind, from any large settlements or heavily 

 used recreation areas. 



Effects on Living Resources 



A refinery has the following characteristics of particular concern 

 to fish and wildlife: (1) often a coastal location, usually on the 

 waterfront; (2) large acreage of cleared, level land; (3) deepwater 

 marine terminal; (4) navigation channel, berths, and turning basins; (5) 

 offshore/onshore pipeline; (6) crude oil processing and storage equipment; 

 (7) large amounts of cooling water; (8) access roads; and (9) potential 

 for air and water quality problems. 



Locations : Improperly located refineries and related facili- 

 ties can have serious impacts on coastal water, as well as on air 

 and aesthetic resources. For example, a 250,000 barrel -per-day 

 refinery would require at least 4 million gallons per day of 

 fresh water and would generate a variety of pollutants into the 

 water that must be treated. The waters may contain oil and 

 petroleum products, heavy metals, and process chemicals, which can 

 can cause oxygen depletion, sedimentation, salinity changes, and 

 toxicity. 



In planning a refinery the sponsor usually desires to situate 

 the facility as near the shorefront as possible to provide access to 

 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) or as large a vessel as possible and to 

 provide a source of cooling and process water. It is not imperative to 

 locate the facility on the shore because the crude oil, the end products. 



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