Major Bay Area Refinery to Pay $10 Million for Long Stretch of Violations

The Martinez Refining Company will pay a $10 million fine for 163 violations over four years, the Contra Costa County district attorney and the Bay Area Air District announced Thursday morning.

The violations at MRC stretched from early 2020 to 2024, according to a press release, and included the Thanksgiving Day 2022 release of 50,000 pounds of spent catalyst, a toxic ash-like substance that settled over residents’ cars, gardens and houses.

Other violations included “illegal flaring, fires, leaking tanks, public nuisance-level odors in downtown Martinez,” and releases of a byproduct of petroleum production called “coke dust,” a black powdery substance that spread to properties near the refinery in 2023.

The Contra Costa County district attorney’s office and the Bay Area Air District jointly prosecuted the sprawling case against MRC. The refinery is one of the largest remaining producers of gasoline and jet fuel in the Bay Area, sitting on unincorporated lands abutting the city of Martinez, with roughly 37,000 residents.

“ Our community deserves to feel safe with where they live and work,” District Attorney Diana Becton told KQED. “The judgment that we’re talking about sends a clear message that no company is above the law and that my office will not look the other way when our communities are harmed.”

The $10 million will be allocated to stakeholders:

• $6.35 million of the penalty will be allocated to the Air District to fund community mitigation projects in Martinez and other affected communities.
• $3.5 million of the penalty will support enforcement efforts at the district attorney’s office’s Environmental Unit.
• Contra Costa County Health Services will receive $100,000, and California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife will get $50,000.

MRC will also spend $600,000 on improvements to bring the refinery into compliance with environmental regulations and on projects to mitigate the refinery’s effects on Martinez and surrounding communities, such as installing air filtration in public schools.

“Strong enforcement ensures accountability while directing resources back to the communities most affected by pollution,” said Alexander Crockett, the Air District’s general counsel.

Contra Costa County Judge Benjamin Reyes II signed the final judgment on Wednesday, just days after the Martinez refinery resumed full production following a massive fire on Feb. 1, 2025, that injured six workers and led to a partial shelter-in-place order. That fire was not included in the judgment; air regulators plan to address it in a separate civil action.

This is a developing story, and it will be updated.