Governor de Jongh and Senate President Ronald E. Russell hosted a joint meeting of the 29th Legislature at Government House on St. Thomas. Also attending the meeting were Lt. Governor Francis and by telephone, Congressional Delegate Donna Christian Christensen.

“The Legislature and I came out of today’s meeting with a shared commitment to define clear strategies as we work through the economic challenges presented by HOVENSA’s decision to close its refinery on St. Croix’s south shore,” the governor said this evening. The governor noted that all were in agreement on a plan to establish working groups to address five initial areas of focus. These are: alternative uses of the HOVENSA facility; legal issues surrounding the closure; labor and workforce issues; the leveraging of available federal resources and economic sustainability. 

At the meeting, Senate President Russell announced that HOVENSA officials had agreed to participate in a Senate Committee of the Whole hearing which is now scheduled for January 26. “This meeting will provide one forum at which all information about the refinery’s closure can be publicly disclosed and discussed. I proposed a single meeting in order to preclude each Senate oversight committee from holding separate and fragmented hearings,” Russell said. “I am pleased at how the legislature, the governor and the delegate have begun to work together to address the different impacts that the refinery’s closure will have.”

The governor opened the meeting with an overview of the steps taken by the administration in the two days since the announcement of the HOVENSA shutdown. The steps have included outreach to the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, discussions with WAPA with respect to securing alternative suppliers of fuel so as to avoid interruption of electrical generation, instructing the Department of Justice to review the agreement between HOVENSA and the government, the Department of Human Services to ensure the continued availability of all social services programs those impacted by the closure, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs to monitor the pricing practices during the transition period, the Labor Department to work with HOVENSA to establish rapid response services for the terminated workers and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources to review the status of the various permits held by the refinery. 

The governor also informed the senators that he will be meeting with top HOVENSA officials by month’s end.