Penalty for USVI refinery

The owner of a troubled large oil refinery on the US Virgin Islands (USVI) has agreed to spend more than $700 million on pollution controls after a series of environmental issues linked to the plant.



The US Department of Justice says Hovensa, the largest private employer in the US territory, will also pay a $5.4 million penalty for violating the Clean Air Act.



The department says the settlement with the second-largest refinery in the United States will result in significant improvements to human health and the environment of the Virgin Islands.



In early December, at least 16 students and teachers from a high school near the refinery were exposed to hydrocarbon fumes and were taken to hospital.