Detroit RefineryDetroit Refinery

Detroit Refinery Community Site

Celebrating 60 Years in our Community

Fall Fest a Fun Family Day in Detroit

 

It was a sunny October Saturday morning when the Southwest Detroit neighborhood came together at the Kemeny Center. There was food and games, pumpkins and cookies to decorate, free haircuts and bike repair, and a whole lot of Marathon community support.

In all, more than 800 residents spent time with nearly 50 members of the Detroit Refinery team who volunteered their time for the Fall Fest celebration. Those in attendance enjoyed several actives and stations, as well as giveaways that included hoodies – which were a huge hit.

Fall Fest was an opportunity for the Detroit Refinery to engage with Southwest Detroit residents and continue to break down barriers of communications and understanding.

“Today was all about the community, as our goal for Fall Fest was to bring everyone together, engage them in family fun activities, and educate them about Marathon’s operations and community presence,” said Detroit Refinery Human Resources Consultant Cam Thoroughman. “I had many opportunities to assess the success of our goal throughout the day, and seeing so many happy, smiling parents and children participating in all of the planned activities, I’d have to say Marathon made a positive difference in their lives today.

Fall Fest comes on the heels of a successful end of summer event earlier in the year, and builds upon the ongoing efforts to strengthen ties between the Refinery and the community. 

 

Community Invited to Free Fall Festival at Kemeny Center – Saturday, October 19th

Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit refinery is sponsoring a Fall Festival at the Kemeny Center, 2260 S. Fort Street, Detroit on Saturday, October 19th from 10am to 2 pm.

Activities include:

-Pumpkin Painting

-Cookie Decorating

-Free Hoodies

-Hair Cuts

-Bike repairs

-Pizza

-Cider and donuts

-Inflatables

All actives are free and open to the public while supplies last.

 

Marathon Petroleum accepts Sierra Club apology and retraction of erroneous press release

We are publishing  below the Sierra Club’s statement retracting inaccurate information published in a press release they issued on Sept. 16. We welcome their acknowledgment of this mistake and  remain committed to working with partners who seek constructive solutions toward creating a safer, cleaner environment, based on fact.

Correction of Previous Sierra Club Press Release on Marathon Petroleum

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Contact: 

April Thomas, 206.321.3850, april.thomas@sierraclub.org

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Sierra Club issued an update to a previous press release issued on September 16th, regarding therecent release of oil vapor at the Marathon Refinery in Southwest Detroit.

Sierra Club’s press release stated that a letter had been sent to the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board raising concerns about the potential release of hydrogen fluoride at the refinery.

After conversations with Marathon representatives, Sierra Club officials were pleased to learn that hydrogen fluoride is not stored at the Marathon Refinery. We apologize for the incorrect information and retract that incorrect information.

In response, Justin Onwenu issued the following statement:

“We were pleased to learn that hydrogen fluoride is not stored at the Marathon Refinery. We apologize for the incorrect information in a previous release and retract it.

“We’re still committed to working with front-line communities and the authorities to ensure full information about these releases is made available and acted upon.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

Marathon Welcomes House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee Field Hearing

Marathon Petroleum welcomes the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Environment field hearing. We are honored that Rep. Harley Rouda, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Vice Chair, selected the Kemeny Center, a facility Marathon Petroleum recently supported with a $2 million contribution for its renovation.

We are fully supportive of every effort to improve the air quality of Southwest Detroit, a neighborhood we’ve called home for the past 60 years.

In 2016, the latest year for which figures are available, the Detroit refinery’s emissions comprised less than 3% of all emissions within a two-mile radius of the refinery. We would be happy to work with the Subcommittee members to address possible solutions for the other 97% of emissions impacting the air quality in our community.

Additionally, Marathon Petroleum would like to invite Rep. Rouda and Rep. Tlaib to visit our Detroit refinery. Our track record of reducing emissions by 80% over the past 20 years puts us in a unique position to share best practices and demonstrate our safety standards.

We look forward to an open and honest discussion. We are always ready to listen.