Justice
An Oil Company Buys Out an Entire ZIP Code
One Detroit refinery's unusual approach to reducing negative health effects
An oil refinery in Detroit has a rather bold new plan to try to be a better neighbor: it's buying out the entire 48217 ZIP code. The Detroit Free Press reports that as part of plans to expand its refinery in southwest Detroit, the Marathon Petroleum company is offering to buy the properties of about 400 nearby homeowners. The buyout plan is worth about $50,000 per home, and would require anyone accepting the deal to move out of the neighborhood.
It’s an interesting move for Marathon because their planned expansion won’t actually be located on the land they're buying out. Rather it’s a sort of goodwill move to get people out of a neighborhood that will soon become even more unhealthy.