Refinery to Buy Oil-Damaged Homes

Coffeyville Resources estimates that it will offer to buy 300 homes that were badly damaged by the flood-related spill.

COFFEYVILLE, Kan. — A refinery involved in the spill of crude oil into the rain-swollen Verdigris River last month has agreed to buy the homes that were most damaged by the oily mess.

An estimated 42,000 gallons of oil leaked into the river after floodwaters inundated the Coffeyville Resources refinery June 30.

The flooding caused the closing of the refinery and a neighboring nitrogen fertilizer plant, which has since restarted operations.

Coffeyville Resources has announced that operations at the refinery are expected to resume by mid-September.

After the floodwaters receded, a coat of oil was left on residences, businesses and vehicles in the area.

Coffeyville Resources and city officials announced the residential purchase program. The company will offer to buy the residential properties in the city that were most affected by the flooding and subsequent oil spill.

The voluntary program will allow homeowners who qualify to sell the company their homes at a price calculated using the property’s market value before the flood.

The company estimated that it will offer to buy about 300 homes through the program.

Officials said the company would announce next week which areas will qualify for the program.

After the spill, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed against Coffeyville Resources, according to Andrew Hutton, a Wichita, Kan., lawyer who is involved in the litigation.

The lawsuit alleges that more than 200 properties were destroyed in connection with the spill.

For more information about the buyout program, call (800) 958- 5380.

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