REFINERY PERMIT REFERENCE TO DISCHARGE OFFSETS STIRS CONTROVERSY

The San Francisco Bay regional water board's recent approval of a controversial oil refinery permit also includes a provision that appears to open the door for dioxin discharge offset trading, according to sources. Environmentalists, however, strongly oppose any offset program in water discharge permits and say a recent court decision requires the refinery to avoid discharging any dioxins after 2010. Approved Sept. 21 by the San Francisco Bay regional water board, the Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co.'s most recent National...