Haifa resists efforts to repair missile-damaged refinery that is slated to be moved

The Haifa Municipality petitions the High Court to stop a move that would exempt the Bazan oil refineries from the need for a building permit to repair damage caused by Iranian ballistic missile hits last month, citing the fact that the refineries are scheduled to close in the coming years.

Haifa Deputy Mayor Aviya Han tells The Times of Israel, “I don’t think it’s right for the state (through property tax compensation) to invest huge sums in a factory that is supposed to close.”

The municipality’s petition asks the court to bar state planners from approving a draft Interior Ministry order allowing the refineries in the northern city to carry out repairs without getting a permit.

The ministry posted the draft order on its website on Monday evening for public comment. The National Planning and Building Council is scheduled to conduct a hearing on its approval on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

In the face of years of pressure from residents, environmental activists and others to close the polluting oil refineries down, the cabinet decided three years ago to shutter the compound and related oil storage complex by the decade’s end and to import the products, known as distillates, instead.

Last month, two missiles hit the compound, killing three workers and damaging pipelines and transition lines. The facility, which was closed for several days, is now undergoing repairs and aims to return to full operation by October.

The Interior Ministry says on its website that Bazan’s rapid restoration is needed as it supplies two thirds of Israel’s fuel and that a “temporary” three year exemption from planning permits is necessary given that licensing procedures take “a long time.”