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"slug": "uc-berkeley-gives-names-to-the-feds-valeros-benicia-refinery-closing-and-waymos-at-the-airport",
"title": "UC Berkeley Gives Names to the Feds, Valero's Benicia Refinery Closing, and Robotaxis at the Airport",
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"content": "\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">In this edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Jessica, and KQED political correspondent Guy Marzorati discuss UC Berkeley’s decision to hand over more than 150 names to the Trump administration as part of a federal investigation into antisemitism. Plus, the Valero refinery in Benicia is on track to close, and Waymo driverless cars could be en route to the San Francisco and San José airports soon.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3550539483\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul class=\"sc-gsFSXq jSVEKt\" data-slate-node=\"element\" 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data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-kpDqfm ejcycC\" href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/uc-berkeley-turns-over-personal-information-of-more-than-150-students-and-staff-to-federal/article_a4aad3e1-bbba-42cc-92d7-a7964d9641c5.html\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">UC Berkeley turns over personal information of more than 150 students and staff to federal government\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-kpDqfm ejcycC\" href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/benicial-valero-refinery-21051229.php\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">Major Bay Area refinery on track to close, city official says\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-kpDqfm ejcycC\" href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/waymo-sfo-robotaxi-fleet-21050019.php\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">Waymo wins approval to pick up passengers at SFO, its robotaxis will start with human drivers\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:38] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara, and welcome to the Bay Local News to keep you rooted. And welcome to our September news roundup, where we talk about some of the other stories that we’ve been following this month. I am joined by Jessica Kariisa, our producer. Hey, Jessica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:54] \u003c/em>Hey, Ericka.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:55] \u003c/em>And our very special guest this month, Guy Marzorotti, politics and government correspondent for KQED. What’s up, Guy?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:02] \u003c/em>Hey, thanks for having me\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:03] \u003c/em>Thank you so much for being here. I am sitting here with two San Jose folks, South Bay folks. I take it you guys didn’t feel the earthquake, which had its epicenter in Berkeley. No, I definitely didn’t fell it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:21] \u003c/em>No, that was a fantastic night of sleep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:24] \u003c/em>I am curious. So I felt it, and I feel like a lot of people in my circles are just talking about it and freaking out about it. Are people in your orbits talking about the earthquake?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:35] \u003c/em>I was in the office the next day and there was a lot of buzz about it. It didn’t stand out to me statistically as like, oh, this is a massive number. But yeah, maybe it was just, you know, when it landed, people were talking about it\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:50] \u003c/em>Yeah, Jessica, you and I on Wednesday picked up emergency kits. So is it, it was on your mind, it seems like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:58] \u003c/em>It’s always been on my mind since I moved to California, to be honest with you, I just was aware of earthquakes being a possibility. So even though living in San Jose, I haven’t really felt much. I think there was one that was like really, really tiny. I just wanna be prepared. So I did pick up that go bag and it’s underneath my bed, ready to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>Yeah, I have to say that even though I felt the earthquake, I definitely woke up and then immediately went back to sleep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:28] \u003c/em>Yeah, no, I feel like that you have that like sense as working in news of like, okay, is this, does this meet the scale if I need to fully get out of bed? Like I remember that about the Napa earthquake. It was like, okay, this is not just a like roll back over type of shake. So yeah, your senses were on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:44] \u003c/em>But definitely a California girl a little too used to it. I guess we could just dive right into the stories that we’ve been following this month. I’m gonna stick here in Berkeley with my story actually, which is a story about UC Berkeley where earlier this month, the university confirmed that it sent the names of 160 students, staff and faculty members over to the federal government for its investigation into anti-Semitism on campus. Individuals were notified that their personal info was shared with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights earlier this month. And it’s drawn, as you can imagine, lots of criticism from folks who say that this is a violation of academic freedom and puts a lot of people at risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:45] \u003c/em>So why is this happening? Could you tell us a bit more about this investigation?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:50] \u003c/em>Yeah, so Cal is the subject of several federal investigations right now. It’s one of 60 universities facing a civil rights investigation into how the university handles complaints and allegations of anti-Semitism and or discrimination on campus. And these investigations really came out of the campus protests that we saw last summer over Israel’s war in Gaza. The university spokesperson said that its decision to share these names was really just in compliance with this federal investigation and its legal obligation to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:29] \u003c/em>So why these specific people? What was the federal government looking for about these specific folks?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:37] \u003c/em>So the San Francisco Chronicle got a hold of this letter that had been shared with each person whose name and information had been with the federal government. And the letter notes that the Federal Office of Civil Rights quote, required production of comprehensive documents, including files and reports related to alleged anti-Semitic incidents, unquote. There isn’t a ton of information about why these specific people had their names given to the federal government, but one grad student who got one of these letters from the university told the Daily Cal that they feel like the move seems to be targeting Arab and Muslim individuals who had expressed support for Palestine. If you recall, there were these protests on campus last summer. And there’s a feeling that many of the folks involved in that were among those targeted by this investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:44] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of us know the history of UC Berkeley as this center of student protests and just a lot of activism. What’s been the response? I can’t imagine that people are just sort of taking this lying down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:01] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, you’re hearing a lot of folks saying that this effectively represses folks’ First Amendment rights. There’s petitions circulating, including one that’s been signed by 600 university professors from around the world and professors who have worked with faculty at Cal saying that they’re truly concerned about the decision to share these names, these professors. Acknowledge that Berkeley has an obligation to comply with this federal investigation. But they criticized how those names were shared, specifically that the folks whose names were shared didn’t really have a chance to dispute the information that the university had collected on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:49] \u003c/em>OK, so I know UC has a new president. How has he been kind of factoring into all this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:55] \u003c/em>So I will say that UC Berkeley said that their decision to comply with these federal investigations was made by the University of California’s system-wide office of the general counsel. And so now there is a national coalition that’s calling for the removal of the head of the UC. That’s President James Millikan. And the petition is basically describing the UC’s move as a violation of academic freedom. And so some folks are looking to hold someone accountable for this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:30] \u003c/em>Wow, just a few months in already on the hot seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:33] \u003c/em>Right, intense time to run colleges, I guess, for anyone in that job. Well, that is it for my story this month. We’re going to take a quick break. But when we come back, we’ll talk about some of the other stories that we’ve been following this month Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:46] \u003c/em>And welcome back to the Bay September News Roundup where we talk about some of the other stories that we’ve been following this month. Our special guest, Guy, we’re gonna turn to you. I know you got a story on the biggest economic driver in Benicia closing down for good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:03] \u003c/em>Yes. So this is, you know, we’ve been following the saga I know you have on the Bay about the closure announcement from the Valero refinery in Benicia. And there’s a reporting in the San Francisco Chronicle by Julie Johnson that this refinery in Benisia is on track to close. There has been a lot of effort since Valero made this announcement to like keep the refinery open. Because when you combine that refinery closing with another refinery and LA closing, there could be like 20% of the state’s fuel refining capacity just gone overnight. So there’s been a lot of efforts to counteract that. There were some bills signed by the governor earlier this month to increase oil drilling in the state. But then we have this reporting in the San Francisco Chronicle where the city manager of Benicia said, quote, it seems there is now no path that remains for Valero to remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:55] \u003c/em>I mean, why is that guy after all that effort, after all this hubbub around trying to keep this thing open, the worries about the impact on Benicia, why couldn’t they make it happen?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:07] \u003c/em>I think this is something very immediate, right? This is a company that decided dollars and cents is not working for us. We’re gonna close our doors. I’ve heard about there have been some efforts to literally do like a bailout package, like literally have the state just give money to Valero to keep their refinery open because we are talking about jobs, talking about impact to the local city economy. That never came to fruition. And I think in absence of that, Valero made the decision, look, this still just doesn’t work for us and we’re gonna, you know. Close up our doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:38] \u003c/em>I mean, with two refineries in the state closing, does that mean that our gas is gonna get more expensive?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:45] \u003c/em>I think that’s the big fear, right? To counteract that, I think there is more and more conversation about bringing in fuel from elsewhere, right. Like, you know, California, it’s often described as like islands for fuel production because we have these really strict standards. We can’t necessarily import from other states. And so as you see the decline in actual like oil being drilled in California, it has to come from somewhere because even as there’s less demand for fuel in the state, people are still driving, right. California is still a state where people drive a lot. So I think the conversation might turn to like, can we import more of this? The thing that I’m really curious about is the impact on like the local city economies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:26] \u003c/em>Mm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:27] \u003c/em>Because I think it’s often like, okay, well, what about the people that are gonna work at the refineries, you know, what’s gonna happen to their jobs? I read this interview with the head of the refinery in LA and he’s like, oh, basically everyone from this refinery can find a job pretty easily. Like they’re getting new employment. But this Chronicle story says that Benicia will lose more than $10 million in taxes out of a $60 million budget when Valero closes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:53] \u003c/em>Yeah, I was gonna ask about that guy because I know that Valera was a major economic engine in the city of Benicia. I mean, what has the reaction from the local community been?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:06] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, it really seems like a scramble right now. Like there’s work being done to try to figure out, okay, how to, you know, prop up local businesses. But one city council member who’s quoted in this story said, we have a lot of businesses in Venetia where Valero is their only client. They might make a specific piece or part or some complicated refining equipment that’s really only built to serve Valero. So what is that business supposed to do right now? And when you talk about like the budget impact, yeah, you lose that much money overnight. Like how are you gonna pay the police, the fire, the like, you know, clean up people’s streets, fix the roads, all of that I think suddenly becomes like a really urgent question for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:49] \u003c/em>I’m curious too though, like at a statewide level, knowing that we’re a state that wants to move away from fossil fuels, how does the closing of this refinery like square with that? Like, does that get us closer to the goal in a weird way?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:06] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think it’s like, it’s a really delicate dance that the state is doing because they are pushing away from petroleum and they’re pushing towards like clean energy. At the same time, we still have a demand for those products and we still have, you know, people who are driving up to the pump every day and looking at the price and that’s affecting, you who they might vote for. So I think that when people say like, California is in mid-transition, like we are literally. In the middle of this transition and nowhere else is experiencing it like we are. Like people talk about, oh, climate change is coming, like we’re living it with wildfires and everything. We’re also living like what it means to transition away from fossil fuels. And it’s, you know, it’s kind of crazy being like living in the middle an experiment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:53] \u003c/em>Crazy way to think about it, guy. But it’s true and I guess it means that like whatever happens in Benicia over the next few months and years is gonna be something to like really watch closely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:06] \u003c/em>And I feel like there’s gonna be thousands of Benicas across the country in the next like few decades. So yeah, what happens here is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:14] \u003c/em>Well, guy, thank you so much for bringing that story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:16] \u003c/em>Yeah, absolutely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:22] \u003c/em>And last but not least, producer Jessica Kariisa, you brought a story about Waymo coming to an airport near you real soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:31] \u003c/em>Yes, living in San Jose, I don’t see a lot of Waymos, but I’m about to see Waymo. I thought about that on the train and I delivered. Yes. I wasn’t ready. Anyways, yes, Waymos are coming to the airport. They were first approved at San Jose’s airport, my airport of choice earlier this month. And then soon after SFO followed up. And so there isn’t an exact date, but. Waymos will be coming to the airports in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:04] \u003c/em>Why exactly. Is this happening?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:08] \u003c/em>Well, I mean, yeah. Like around KQED, we’re in the mission. We see Waymos all the time. We know that it’s a thing here. It’s become like a tourist attraction. And I think with a lot of big events coming to the Bay Area next year, namely the Super Bowl and the World Cup, San Jose and San Francisco want to capitalize on like another tourist experience for people coming into the city. And also Waymo was always gonna roll out across the Bay Area. Its plan is to expand in general. And so I think, you know, this is one step as they get closer to more penetration in other parts of the Bay area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:46] \u003c/em>I remember when Uber and Lyft, like when they were first trying to go to SFO and go to airports, it was like a huge deal. And it was a big fight with all the taxi drivers, a lot of the unions. Is there any opposition now this time around to these companies trying to create a foothold at the airports?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:03] \u003c/em>According to the reporting that I’ve seen in the Standard and the Chronicle, I haven’t heard of any opposition. There’s already rideshare options at the airport. This will just be an addition to that. And Waymo released a report back in March saying that there were over 13,000 searches for SFO in their app. And also there were 700 people that downloaded the app while at the airports. So, you know, it almost just kind of feels inevitable. I think we had the big sort of push and opposition when rideshare first emerged. But with Waymo, it’s just another option, you now. So just pick which one you prefer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:44] \u003c/em>Yeah, I remember that guy. Like it doesn’t feel that long ago when we were talking about like taxi medallions and people feeling really upset about, you know, paying a ton of money to have those and be able to drive folks from the airport. And now we’re talking about driverless cars at the airport, what is the timeline here, Jessica? Like how soon, I guess, are people gonna see Waymo’s at the airports?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:13] \u003c/em>Yeah, so we just know that it’s gonna be this year. At San Jose, they did testing last summer. At SFO, they’re gonna start off with a testing phase where there’ll be a human in the car, a safety driver is what they call it. And then after that, they are gonna open up the rides to Waymo employees and airport staff. And then, after that it’ll open up to everybody else. We don’t have an exact date yet, but that’s the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:42] \u003c/em>Well, Jessica, thank you so much for bringing that story. Thank you so. And that is it for our September news roundup. Thank you so much to producer Jessica Kariisa for joining me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:55] \u003c/em>Thank you, Ericka.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:57] \u003c/em>And Guy Marzorati, politics and government correspondent for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:00] \u003c/em>Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">In this edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Jessica, and KQED political correspondent Guy Marzorati discuss UC Berkeley’s decision to hand over more than 150 names to the Trump administration as part of a federal investigation into antisemitism. Plus, the Valero refinery in Benicia is on track to close, and Waymo driverless cars could be en route to the San Francisco and San José airports soon.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3550539483\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul class=\"sc-gsFSXq jSVEKt\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-fragment=\"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\">\n\u003cli data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-kpDqfm ejcycC\" href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/uc-berkeley-turns-over-personal-information-of-more-than-150-students-and-staff-to-federal/article_a4aad3e1-bbba-42cc-92d7-a7964d9641c5.html\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">UC Berkeley turns over personal information of more than 150 students and staff to federal government\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-kpDqfm ejcycC\" href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/benicial-valero-refinery-21051229.php\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">Major Bay Area refinery on track to close, city official says\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-kpDqfm ejcycC\" href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/waymo-sfo-robotaxi-fleet-21050019.php\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-kAyceB grEoze\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">Waymo wins approval to pick up passengers at SFO, its robotaxis will start with human drivers\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:38] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara, and welcome to the Bay Local News to keep you rooted. And welcome to our September news roundup, where we talk about some of the other stories that we’ve been following this month. I am joined by Jessica Kariisa, our producer. Hey, Jessica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:54] \u003c/em>Hey, Ericka.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:55] \u003c/em>And our very special guest this month, Guy Marzorotti, politics and government correspondent for KQED. What’s up, Guy?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:02] \u003c/em>Hey, thanks for having me\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:03] \u003c/em>Thank you so much for being here. I am sitting here with two San Jose folks, South Bay folks. I take it you guys didn’t feel the earthquake, which had its epicenter in Berkeley. No, I definitely didn’t fell it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:21] \u003c/em>No, that was a fantastic night of sleep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:24] \u003c/em>I am curious. So I felt it, and I feel like a lot of people in my circles are just talking about it and freaking out about it. Are people in your orbits talking about the earthquake?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:35] \u003c/em>I was in the office the next day and there was a lot of buzz about it. It didn’t stand out to me statistically as like, oh, this is a massive number. But yeah, maybe it was just, you know, when it landed, people were talking about it\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:50] \u003c/em>Yeah, Jessica, you and I on Wednesday picked up emergency kits. So is it, it was on your mind, it seems like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:58] \u003c/em>It’s always been on my mind since I moved to California, to be honest with you, I just was aware of earthquakes being a possibility. So even though living in San Jose, I haven’t really felt much. I think there was one that was like really, really tiny. I just wanna be prepared. So I did pick up that go bag and it’s underneath my bed, ready to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>Yeah, I have to say that even though I felt the earthquake, I definitely woke up and then immediately went back to sleep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:28] \u003c/em>Yeah, no, I feel like that you have that like sense as working in news of like, okay, is this, does this meet the scale if I need to fully get out of bed? Like I remember that about the Napa earthquake. It was like, okay, this is not just a like roll back over type of shake. So yeah, your senses were on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:44] \u003c/em>But definitely a California girl a little too used to it. I guess we could just dive right into the stories that we’ve been following this month. I’m gonna stick here in Berkeley with my story actually, which is a story about UC Berkeley where earlier this month, the university confirmed that it sent the names of 160 students, staff and faculty members over to the federal government for its investigation into anti-Semitism on campus. Individuals were notified that their personal info was shared with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights earlier this month. And it’s drawn, as you can imagine, lots of criticism from folks who say that this is a violation of academic freedom and puts a lot of people at risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:45] \u003c/em>So why is this happening? Could you tell us a bit more about this investigation?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:50] \u003c/em>Yeah, so Cal is the subject of several federal investigations right now. It’s one of 60 universities facing a civil rights investigation into how the university handles complaints and allegations of anti-Semitism and or discrimination on campus. And these investigations really came out of the campus protests that we saw last summer over Israel’s war in Gaza. The university spokesperson said that its decision to share these names was really just in compliance with this federal investigation and its legal obligation to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:29] \u003c/em>So why these specific people? What was the federal government looking for about these specific folks?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:37] \u003c/em>So the San Francisco Chronicle got a hold of this letter that had been shared with each person whose name and information had been with the federal government. And the letter notes that the Federal Office of Civil Rights quote, required production of comprehensive documents, including files and reports related to alleged anti-Semitic incidents, unquote. There isn’t a ton of information about why these specific people had their names given to the federal government, but one grad student who got one of these letters from the university told the Daily Cal that they feel like the move seems to be targeting Arab and Muslim individuals who had expressed support for Palestine. If you recall, there were these protests on campus last summer. And there’s a feeling that many of the folks involved in that were among those targeted by this investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:44] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of us know the history of UC Berkeley as this center of student protests and just a lot of activism. What’s been the response? I can’t imagine that people are just sort of taking this lying down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:01] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, you’re hearing a lot of folks saying that this effectively represses folks’ First Amendment rights. There’s petitions circulating, including one that’s been signed by 600 university professors from around the world and professors who have worked with faculty at Cal saying that they’re truly concerned about the decision to share these names, these professors. Acknowledge that Berkeley has an obligation to comply with this federal investigation. But they criticized how those names were shared, specifically that the folks whose names were shared didn’t really have a chance to dispute the information that the university had collected on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:49] \u003c/em>OK, so I know UC has a new president. How has he been kind of factoring into all this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:55] \u003c/em>So I will say that UC Berkeley said that their decision to comply with these federal investigations was made by the University of California’s system-wide office of the general counsel. And so now there is a national coalition that’s calling for the removal of the head of the UC. That’s President James Millikan. And the petition is basically describing the UC’s move as a violation of academic freedom. And so some folks are looking to hold someone accountable for this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:30] \u003c/em>Wow, just a few months in already on the hot seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:33] \u003c/em>Right, intense time to run colleges, I guess, for anyone in that job. Well, that is it for my story this month. We’re going to take a quick break. But when we come back, we’ll talk about some of the other stories that we’ve been following this month Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:46] \u003c/em>And welcome back to the Bay September News Roundup where we talk about some of the other stories that we’ve been following this month. Our special guest, Guy, we’re gonna turn to you. I know you got a story on the biggest economic driver in Benicia closing down for good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:03] \u003c/em>Yes. So this is, you know, we’ve been following the saga I know you have on the Bay about the closure announcement from the Valero refinery in Benicia. And there’s a reporting in the San Francisco Chronicle by Julie Johnson that this refinery in Benisia is on track to close. There has been a lot of effort since Valero made this announcement to like keep the refinery open. Because when you combine that refinery closing with another refinery and LA closing, there could be like 20% of the state’s fuel refining capacity just gone overnight. So there’s been a lot of efforts to counteract that. There were some bills signed by the governor earlier this month to increase oil drilling in the state. But then we have this reporting in the San Francisco Chronicle where the city manager of Benicia said, quote, it seems there is now no path that remains for Valero to remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:55] \u003c/em>I mean, why is that guy after all that effort, after all this hubbub around trying to keep this thing open, the worries about the impact on Benicia, why couldn’t they make it happen?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:07] \u003c/em>I think this is something very immediate, right? This is a company that decided dollars and cents is not working for us. We’re gonna close our doors. I’ve heard about there have been some efforts to literally do like a bailout package, like literally have the state just give money to Valero to keep their refinery open because we are talking about jobs, talking about impact to the local city economy. That never came to fruition. And I think in absence of that, Valero made the decision, look, this still just doesn’t work for us and we’re gonna, you know. Close up our doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:38] \u003c/em>I mean, with two refineries in the state closing, does that mean that our gas is gonna get more expensive?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:45] \u003c/em>I think that’s the big fear, right? To counteract that, I think there is more and more conversation about bringing in fuel from elsewhere, right. Like, you know, California, it’s often described as like islands for fuel production because we have these really strict standards. We can’t necessarily import from other states. And so as you see the decline in actual like oil being drilled in California, it has to come from somewhere because even as there’s less demand for fuel in the state, people are still driving, right. California is still a state where people drive a lot. So I think the conversation might turn to like, can we import more of this? The thing that I’m really curious about is the impact on like the local city economies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:26] \u003c/em>Mm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:27] \u003c/em>Because I think it’s often like, okay, well, what about the people that are gonna work at the refineries, you know, what’s gonna happen to their jobs? I read this interview with the head of the refinery in LA and he’s like, oh, basically everyone from this refinery can find a job pretty easily. Like they’re getting new employment. But this Chronicle story says that Benicia will lose more than $10 million in taxes out of a $60 million budget when Valero closes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:53] \u003c/em>Yeah, I was gonna ask about that guy because I know that Valera was a major economic engine in the city of Benicia. I mean, what has the reaction from the local community been?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:06] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, it really seems like a scramble right now. Like there’s work being done to try to figure out, okay, how to, you know, prop up local businesses. But one city council member who’s quoted in this story said, we have a lot of businesses in Venetia where Valero is their only client. They might make a specific piece or part or some complicated refining equipment that’s really only built to serve Valero. So what is that business supposed to do right now? And when you talk about like the budget impact, yeah, you lose that much money overnight. Like how are you gonna pay the police, the fire, the like, you know, clean up people’s streets, fix the roads, all of that I think suddenly becomes like a really urgent question for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:49] \u003c/em>I’m curious too though, like at a statewide level, knowing that we’re a state that wants to move away from fossil fuels, how does the closing of this refinery like square with that? Like, does that get us closer to the goal in a weird way?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:06] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think it’s like, it’s a really delicate dance that the state is doing because they are pushing away from petroleum and they’re pushing towards like clean energy. At the same time, we still have a demand for those products and we still have, you know, people who are driving up to the pump every day and looking at the price and that’s affecting, you who they might vote for. So I think that when people say like, California is in mid-transition, like we are literally. In the middle of this transition and nowhere else is experiencing it like we are. Like people talk about, oh, climate change is coming, like we’re living it with wildfires and everything. We’re also living like what it means to transition away from fossil fuels. And it’s, you know, it’s kind of crazy being like living in the middle an experiment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:53] \u003c/em>Crazy way to think about it, guy. But it’s true and I guess it means that like whatever happens in Benicia over the next few months and years is gonna be something to like really watch closely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:06] \u003c/em>And I feel like there’s gonna be thousands of Benicas across the country in the next like few decades. So yeah, what happens here is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:14] \u003c/em>Well, guy, thank you so much for bringing that story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:16] \u003c/em>Yeah, absolutely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:22] \u003c/em>And last but not least, producer Jessica Kariisa, you brought a story about Waymo coming to an airport near you real soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:31] \u003c/em>Yes, living in San Jose, I don’t see a lot of Waymos, but I’m about to see Waymo. I thought about that on the train and I delivered. Yes. I wasn’t ready. Anyways, yes, Waymos are coming to the airport. They were first approved at San Jose’s airport, my airport of choice earlier this month. And then soon after SFO followed up. And so there isn’t an exact date, but. Waymos will be coming to the airports in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:04] \u003c/em>Why exactly. Is this happening?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:08] \u003c/em>Well, I mean, yeah. Like around KQED, we’re in the mission. We see Waymos all the time. We know that it’s a thing here. It’s become like a tourist attraction. And I think with a lot of big events coming to the Bay Area next year, namely the Super Bowl and the World Cup, San Jose and San Francisco want to capitalize on like another tourist experience for people coming into the city. And also Waymo was always gonna roll out across the Bay Area. Its plan is to expand in general. And so I think, you know, this is one step as they get closer to more penetration in other parts of the Bay area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:46] \u003c/em>I remember when Uber and Lyft, like when they were first trying to go to SFO and go to airports, it was like a huge deal. And it was a big fight with all the taxi drivers, a lot of the unions. Is there any opposition now this time around to these companies trying to create a foothold at the airports?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:03] \u003c/em>According to the reporting that I’ve seen in the Standard and the Chronicle, I haven’t heard of any opposition. There’s already rideshare options at the airport. This will just be an addition to that. And Waymo released a report back in March saying that there were over 13,000 searches for SFO in their app. And also there were 700 people that downloaded the app while at the airports. So, you know, it almost just kind of feels inevitable. I think we had the big sort of push and opposition when rideshare first emerged. But with Waymo, it’s just another option, you now. So just pick which one you prefer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:44] \u003c/em>Yeah, I remember that guy. Like it doesn’t feel that long ago when we were talking about like taxi medallions and people feeling really upset about, you know, paying a ton of money to have those and be able to drive folks from the airport. And now we’re talking about driverless cars at the airport, what is the timeline here, Jessica? Like how soon, I guess, are people gonna see Waymo’s at the airports?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:13] \u003c/em>Yeah, so we just know that it’s gonna be this year. At San Jose, they did testing last summer. At SFO, they’re gonna start off with a testing phase where there’ll be a human in the car, a safety driver is what they call it. And then after that, they are gonna open up the rides to Waymo employees and airport staff. And then, after that it’ll open up to everybody else. We don’t have an exact date yet, but that’s the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:42] \u003c/em>Well, Jessica, thank you so much for bringing that story. Thank you so. And that is it for our September news roundup. Thank you so much to producer Jessica Kariisa for joining me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:55] \u003c/em>Thank you, Ericka.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jessica Kariisa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:57] \u003c/em>And Guy Marzorati, politics and government correspondent for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:00] \u003c/em>Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:55 a.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia city leaders are taking initial steps to prepare for the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037668/potential-valero-refinery-closure-leaves-benicia-state-officials-scrambling-to-pick-up-pieces\"> likely closure of the Valero refinery\u003c/a>, a month after the oil giant \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">announced plans\u003c/a> to cease operations at its sprawling Solano County facility within a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the mayor’s proposal to \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3344895/Staff_Report_-_ACT_Task_Force_Groups.pdf\">create four economic and community-focused task forces\u003c/a> to “understand potential economic impacts, develop strategies to mitigate those impacts and plan for the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The groups are intended to ready the small North Bay city for the potentially seismic fallout if Valero makes good on its intent to cease operations at the refinery by April 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero is Benicia’s largest employer and accounts for almost 20% of its tax base.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we are taking some serious steps trying to address as many of the known and unknown facts that we have,” said Mayor Steve Young, who tapped specific council members to head each of the groups, and said no one attending the meeting voiced any opposition to the plan. “We’re basically trying to utilize the respective strengths of the council members, all of whom have significant things that they can bring to the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039648\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Benicia Mayor Steve Young sits in the City Hall offices in Benicia on May 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That includes a group to address economic recovery options for the city as it braces for a massive budget shortfall, and another to collaborate with nonprofits, schools and local sports leagues that have long relied on Valero’s donations, and now face losing their primary funding source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in a situation where we’re going to have $10 [million] to $12 million less than last year,” Young said. “The hit on the community is going to be severe. My main job is to ease that transition as much as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A third group would map out next steps for the city’s port and the many businesses in its industrial park that for decades have supplied equipment and services to Valero, while a fourth would tackle plans to redevelop the 930 acres of land the company owns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland-based Signature Development Group recently announced it was \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/valero-benicia-refinery-signature-development-group-consulted-site-future/\">in talks with Valero\u003c/a> to redevelop the land on the eastern side of the city into housing and commercial property.[aside postID=news_12039505 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-52-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Doing so, however, would require a costly remediation effort — one Valero is legally required to undertake— that would likely take a decade to complete before any development takes place. During that time, the city would receive no revenue, Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has taken the land off the market, which implies that it’s given Signature the exclusive right to negotiate for it, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So [Signature’s] got a year to sort of do their due diligence, look at redeveloping options and then at the end of that year presumably buy the site and then move forward with who knows what kind of development options,” Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He noted, however, “there are so many unknowns that probably things will pivot a month from now, three months from now. Six months from now, we might be doing something different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Terry Scott, whom Young asked to help lead the redevelopment group, said his priority is to focus on the 400 acres of the Valero property that haven’t been used for manufacturing and processing operations. That land wouldn’t require the same degree of remediation, and could potentially be turned into housing and other uses within several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the refinery property, he said, the city would need to court industries that could operate on land that will remain fairly contaminated, even after the remediation process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12038710\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12038710\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/Air-District-Valero-Benicia-e1746467055636.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fire at the Valero Oil Refinery in Benicia, California. The fire comes just weeks after Valero executives announced they were considering closing the sprawling refinery by next April. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Bay Area Air District)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s gonna be some pretty bad brown spots there,” said Scott, who is hoping to attract less-polluting industries to replace the refinery. “This will not be growing gardens, and having front lawns and having kids running across it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">Valero’s announcement in mid-April\u003c/a> to “idle, restructure or cease” operations at the refinery that it’s operated since 2000, caught Young and other city officials completely off guard. The company cited California’s tough “regulatory and enforcement environment” as the main driver behind its move to consider closing the sixth-largest refinery in the state, which makes up about 9% of the state’s total crude oil capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news dropped less than two weeks after the City Council unanimously approved modest rules to increase their oversight of the refinery, and some six months since regional and state air regulators fined the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">a record $82 million\u003c/a> for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for more than 15 years.[aside postID=forum_2010101909783 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2025/05/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-1020x680.jpg']Although that money is reserved for future public health initiatives, Young said he is pressing regulators to consider “a lenient and liberal” interpretation of what they mean by public health, so that Benicia leaders may use those funds “to offset some of the losses that the city’s going to see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young also hopes he can help broker a deal with Valero and state officials to convince the company to continue operating the refinery for at least a few more years. He additionally intends to make the case that closing the facility next year could pose a serious national security threat, as it’s currently the sole provider of roughly 50 million gallons of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which it delivers via a direct pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The threat of no jet fuel for Travis potentially puts the future of the whole base at risk,” he said. “If we could get three years instead of one year, that certainly eases the transition period for the city and gives us a little bit of breathing room to try to stabilize the financial hit that we’re going to see, and at the same time, plan for the eventual closure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young said members of the City Council and community leaders have so far been generally supportive of the proposal to form task forces as part of the city’s abrupt effort to begin processing and planning for an uncertain future. People, he said, are glad to see that the city is at least trying to create a blueprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though a lot of it is out of our hands, we are addressing it to the best of our ability so far,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott called Valero’s announcement last month “a warning shot” that he hopes will galvanize the community into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot let weeks or months go by without really looking at the future and saying, what are the things that we can do?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:55 a.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia city leaders are taking initial steps to prepare for the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037668/potential-valero-refinery-closure-leaves-benicia-state-officials-scrambling-to-pick-up-pieces\"> likely closure of the Valero refinery\u003c/a>, a month after the oil giant \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">announced plans\u003c/a> to cease operations at its sprawling Solano County facility within a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the mayor’s proposal to \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3344895/Staff_Report_-_ACT_Task_Force_Groups.pdf\">create four economic and community-focused task forces\u003c/a> to “understand potential economic impacts, develop strategies to mitigate those impacts and plan for the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The groups are intended to ready the small North Bay city for the potentially seismic fallout if Valero makes good on its intent to cease operations at the refinery by April 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero is Benicia’s largest employer and accounts for almost 20% of its tax base.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we are taking some serious steps trying to address as many of the known and unknown facts that we have,” said Mayor Steve Young, who tapped specific council members to head each of the groups, and said no one attending the meeting voiced any opposition to the plan. “We’re basically trying to utilize the respective strengths of the council members, all of whom have significant things that they can bring to the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039648\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Benicia Mayor Steve Young sits in the City Hall offices in Benicia on May 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That includes a group to address economic recovery options for the city as it braces for a massive budget shortfall, and another to collaborate with nonprofits, schools and local sports leagues that have long relied on Valero’s donations, and now face losing their primary funding source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in a situation where we’re going to have $10 [million] to $12 million less than last year,” Young said. “The hit on the community is going to be severe. My main job is to ease that transition as much as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A third group would map out next steps for the city’s port and the many businesses in its industrial park that for decades have supplied equipment and services to Valero, while a fourth would tackle plans to redevelop the 930 acres of land the company owns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland-based Signature Development Group recently announced it was \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/valero-benicia-refinery-signature-development-group-consulted-site-future/\">in talks with Valero\u003c/a> to redevelop the land on the eastern side of the city into housing and commercial property.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Doing so, however, would require a costly remediation effort — one Valero is legally required to undertake— that would likely take a decade to complete before any development takes place. During that time, the city would receive no revenue, Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has taken the land off the market, which implies that it’s given Signature the exclusive right to negotiate for it, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So [Signature’s] got a year to sort of do their due diligence, look at redeveloping options and then at the end of that year presumably buy the site and then move forward with who knows what kind of development options,” Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He noted, however, “there are so many unknowns that probably things will pivot a month from now, three months from now. Six months from now, we might be doing something different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Terry Scott, whom Young asked to help lead the redevelopment group, said his priority is to focus on the 400 acres of the Valero property that haven’t been used for manufacturing and processing operations. That land wouldn’t require the same degree of remediation, and could potentially be turned into housing and other uses within several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the refinery property, he said, the city would need to court industries that could operate on land that will remain fairly contaminated, even after the remediation process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12038710\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12038710\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/Air-District-Valero-Benicia-e1746467055636.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fire at the Valero Oil Refinery in Benicia, California. The fire comes just weeks after Valero executives announced they were considering closing the sprawling refinery by next April. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Bay Area Air District)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s gonna be some pretty bad brown spots there,” said Scott, who is hoping to attract less-polluting industries to replace the refinery. “This will not be growing gardens, and having front lawns and having kids running across it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">Valero’s announcement in mid-April\u003c/a> to “idle, restructure or cease” operations at the refinery that it’s operated since 2000, caught Young and other city officials completely off guard. The company cited California’s tough “regulatory and enforcement environment” as the main driver behind its move to consider closing the sixth-largest refinery in the state, which makes up about 9% of the state’s total crude oil capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news dropped less than two weeks after the City Council unanimously approved modest rules to increase their oversight of the refinery, and some six months since regional and state air regulators fined the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">a record $82 million\u003c/a> for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for more than 15 years.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Although that money is reserved for future public health initiatives, Young said he is pressing regulators to consider “a lenient and liberal” interpretation of what they mean by public health, so that Benicia leaders may use those funds “to offset some of the losses that the city’s going to see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young also hopes he can help broker a deal with Valero and state officials to convince the company to continue operating the refinery for at least a few more years. He additionally intends to make the case that closing the facility next year could pose a serious national security threat, as it’s currently the sole provider of roughly 50 million gallons of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which it delivers via a direct pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The threat of no jet fuel for Travis potentially puts the future of the whole base at risk,” he said. “If we could get three years instead of one year, that certainly eases the transition period for the city and gives us a little bit of breathing room to try to stabilize the financial hit that we’re going to see, and at the same time, plan for the eventual closure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young said members of the City Council and community leaders have so far been generally supportive of the proposal to form task forces as part of the city’s abrupt effort to begin processing and planning for an uncertain future. People, he said, are glad to see that the city is at least trying to create a blueprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though a lot of it is out of our hands, we are addressing it to the best of our ability so far,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott called Valero’s announcement last month “a warning shot” that he hopes will galvanize the community into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot let weeks or months go by without really looking at the future and saying, what are the things that we can do?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "a-bay-area-refinery-town-contemplates-future-without-big-oil",
"title": "A Bay Area Refinery Town Contemplates a Future Without Big Oil",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/benicia-refinery\">Benicia\u003c/a> Mayor Steve Young poked at his shrimp Louie salad as he glanced wistfully out the window of a local seafood restaurant perched on the banks of an unusually serene stretch of the Carquinez Strait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve had better months. Let’s put it that way,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young, 73, looked grateful for the lunch break. He has been deep in damage control mode since last month, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/valero\">Texas-based oil giant Valero\u003c/a>, the city’s largest employer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">announced plans\u003c/a> to “idle, restructure or cease” operations at its Benicia refinery within a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent earnings call, Valero CEO Lane Riggs cited California’s tough “regulatory and enforcement environment” as the main driver behind the company’s intent to close California’s sixth-largest refinery, accounting for about 9% of the state’s total production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery makes up nearly 20% of Benicia’s tax base, and shutting down the facility, which dominates much of the eastern side of this small, relatively affluent Solano County city, could have a catastrophic impact on the city’s financial well-being.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in a situation where we’re going to have $10 (million) to $12 million less than last year,” said Young, a tall, gray-haired man with a gravelly voice. “The hit on the community is going to be severe. My main job is to ease that transition as much as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia is known as a “full-service city,” he said, “which means we do every conceivable municipal service there is.” That’s part of what makes this community of well-kept yards and century-old homes feel so safe and pleasant, with its abundance of parks, libraries and subsidized artists’ studios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039648\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Benicia Mayor Steve Young sits in the City Hall offices in Benicia on May 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But a decent portion of those amenities are funded, in part, by the property taxes Valero pays the city — leaving Young with the unenviable task of recommending which services to potentially cut, whether it’s the public pool, the summer concert series or even the dog poop bag dispensers in the parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything we cut has a passionate base,” Young said, grimacing slightly in anticipation of the inevitable budgeting battles to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shutting down the refinery, he added, would also be a major blow to the hundreds of residents who work there, not to mention the restaurants, hotels and businesses in the city’s industrial park that provide services to the facility and its workers, as well as the many local nonprofits that have long depended on Valero’s donations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero didn’t respond to KQED’s multiple requests for comments for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young rose to local political prominence nearly a decade ago by pushing back against the company’s strong influence in a place many here consider a “refinery town.”[aside postID=news_12036242 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/ValeroBenicia-1020x765.jpg']In 2016, Young, a former local government administrator, stepped out of retirement to join the planning commission, where he successfully led the opposition against the company’s proposal to start bringing in crude oil by rail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, Valero was accustomed to being “the big dog in town,” and expected the City Council to rubber stamp the proposal, much like it had for many of the company’s other requests, Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had been joined at the hip,” he said. “Valero was used to having things slide through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it came as a shock to the company when the City Council voted down the proposal, citing major public safety and congestion concerns about having a constant flow of trains bringing volatile materials through town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was a big deal. It kind of set the tone,” said Young, who went on to win a seat on the Council later that year. He successfully ran for mayor in 2020, despite intense opposition from Valero, which spent some $250,000 in attack ads and campaign mailers opposing him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years later, voters elected two additional candidates to the five-member Council — Kari Birdseye and Terry Scott — who, like Young, pledged to stand up to Valero when its actions compromised public safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039647\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039647 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Young and his allies now find themselves in the awkward position of beseeching the very company they’ve challenged to stick around — at least for a few more years — to buy the city more time to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to get moving on this quickly, because 12 months is not a long time given the severity of the economic impact,” Young said, acknowledging that his bargaining chips are limited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One option, he said, is appealing directly to the state to ease some of the regulations that Valero finds so burdensome. Young appreciates California’s efforts to address climate change, but he questions the practicality of the current approach, especially when it results in frontline communities like his losing their refineries and being forced to suddenly fend for themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand these are necessary steps going forward,” he said. “But the state passes many laws without any consequence or understanding of how they’re going to be implemented and who’s going to have to pay for it. That’s, I think, part of my frustration as a local official.”[aside postID=news_12038707 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/Air-District-Valero-Benicia-1020x765.jpg']Young said he intends to make the case that closing the refinery could pose a national security threat, as it’s currently the sole provider of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which is delivered via a direct pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If that is stopped, what does that mean to the base?” Young said. “Travis uses an amazing amount of fuel to fly all their planes, much more than can be easily replaced and certainly not replaced within a year. So I think that this becomes a matter of real concern to the defense department.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a possibility that the 900 total acres of land Valero owns, which has unobstructed views of the scenic bluffs and straits that funnel into the mouth of the Sacramento Delta, could be redeveloped into housing and commercial property. Oakland-based Signature Development Group \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/04/28/bay-area-oil-refinery-benicia-build-property-home-jobs-energy-economy/\">recently announced\u003c/a> it was in talks with the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so, however, would require a costly remediation effort — one Valero is legally required to do — that would likely take a decade to complete before any development takes place, Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This would be a good long-term development — to have an outside entity pressing Valero to do the remediation,” Young said. “But in the meantime, we’re not going to have any money at all coming in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city may ultimately need to ask for another tax increase, Young said — a request he believes voters in the city, many of whom have lived here for decades and pay low property taxes, will approve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039779\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural depicts downtown Benicia in the city on May 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It may come down to that,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to cut our way to $10 (million) or $12 million and maintain any level of similar services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downtown Benicia has a quaint, small-town feel that belies its proximity to San Francisco, less than 40 miles south. Drivers turning off Interstate 780 are greeted by a sign for an American Legion rib cookoff before passing a large white gazebo in a small park on the edge of downtown. The main drag is filled with restaurants, cafes and galleries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A monument in a nearby park reminds visitors that Benicia was once the state capital — though only for a year, in 1853.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From many vantage points in this charming city of some 27,000 residents on the outer edge of the Bay Area, it’s easy to forget the refinery is there at all, its stacks, holding tanks and billowing steam hidden from view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero, which has operated the nearly 60-year-old Benicia refinery since buying it from Exxon in 2000, dropped its bombshell announcement on April 16, roughly six months after regional and state air regulators fined the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">a record $82 million\u003c/a> for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for more than 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, city leaders unanimously approved modest rules to increase their oversight of the refinery, despite staunch opposition from the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ If you keep poking that golden goose, one day it’s going to fly away,” Mark Hughes, a former council member, said during a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029845/benicia-moves-toward-tougher-oversight-of-valero-refinery\">packed Council meeting in March\u003c/a> ahead of the vote. “And that’s not a threat, that’s not any inside information I have about Valero. It’s just the likely outcome of a company that constantly feels that it’s being pushed away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing of Valero’s closure announcement, less than two weeks later, sparked speculation that the industrial safety ordinance was the final straw for the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039650 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorney Terry Mollica stands outside his home in Benicia on May 8, 2025, near the Valero Benicia Refinery. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Terry Mollica, who helped lead a group of residents that pushed for the city’s new safety rules, the ordinance is a significantly watered-down version of the original. It merely requires the company to conduct internal reviews following safety incidents and disclose findings to the city, which can then request upgrades if public safety is at risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ISO, at least the version that was adopted, couldn’t possibly require them to do that much that they would close down a $1.2 billion facility,” he said. “Now, it’s possible that that was part of the reason, but that scenario only makes sense if there was something very seriously wrong with the refinery that they didn’t want disclosed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are serious risks that come from living with a refinery in your backyard, Mollica said, noting the exposure to toxic emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a great little town and a great little community, and we love living here. But that is the one negative about being here,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That risk was underscored last week when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12038707/valero-refinery-fire-in-benicia-spurs-warnings-to-stay-indoors\">a major fire ignited at the facility\u003c/a> after part of a furnace stack broke off and struck other equipment in a gasoline production area, according to the company’s incident report. The fire sent black plumes of smoke into the air and prompted a brief shelter-in-place order for surrounding neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorney Terry Mollica holds a photo on his phone at his home in Benicia on May 8, 2025, of a flare at the Valero Benicia Refinery seen from his neighborhood. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incident followed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025377/huge-martinez-refinery-fire-renews-neighbors-fear-frustration\">multi-day blaze\u003c/a> in early February at PBF Energy’s Martinez Refining Co., just across the strait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spend a lot of time in the garden, and when these incidents occur, you’re not allowed to go outside. You just don’t know what you’re being exposed to. The history of it has been bad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Danny Bernardini, business manager of the Napa-Solano Building & Construction Trades Council — a group of 15 unions that represent hundreds of boilermakers, laborers, plumbers and steamfitters, many of whom work intermittently at the refinery — thinks the company grew weary of the regulations “pile-on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is the toughest place to have a refinery. And so at some point they have to say, ‘Does this make business sense for us to stay in California or not?’” Bernardini said. “And I think their announcement was them saying, ‘We can’t do business like this.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The facility’s likely closure comes amid a growing exodus of traditional oil refiners in California, raising serious concerns about potential gas shortages and rising prices at the pump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039642\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039642\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices work on a project at the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 16 Training Center in Benicia on May 9, 2025. The training center teaches apprentices to install and maintain insulation systems that conserve energy and protect equipment, skills that are essential for safe and efficient operations in refineries and other industrial facilities. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/phillips-66-rodeo-conversion-project-to-begin-operations-in-q1\">Phillips 66’s refinery in Rodeo\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/marathon-martinez-biorefinery-to-reach-full-capacity-by-year-end\">Marathon’s facility in Martinez\u003c/a> both recently converted operations to biofuel production. Phillips 66 also \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-10-16/phillips-66-will-shut-historic-wilmington-refinery\">plans to close\u003c/a> its Los Angeles-area refinery — the seventh largest in the state — later this year. And Valero executives recently hinted they may soon consider “strategic alternatives” for the company’s only other California refinery located near Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until there’s an alternative to refineries, we need to keep them,” Bernardini said. “And yes, they need to be safe. They need to not pollute. They need not have incidents. But at the same time, they’re a necessary thing right now because everybody drives in a car.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the workers in his unions are highly skilled technicians who have relied on consistent jobs at the Valero refinery, but many of their skills don’t transfer to other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Refinery work is very specific to their trade,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That specialization is on full display at the Heat & Frost Insulators Local 16 apprenticeship facility in Benicia, just down the road from the refinery’s towering stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039644\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039644 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coordinator Jonathan Blaine stands in the workshop at the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 16 Training Center in Benicia on May 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“For any pipe, duct or vessel that has to maintain a specific temperature, we’re going to insulate those to stay that temperature within the pipe,” said Jonathan Blaine, the apprenticeship coordinator, as about a dozen apprentices practiced on piping models in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apprentices, he said, have to train for 8,000 hours before contractors can hire them. It’s difficult, sometimes dangerous work, but it pays upward of $80 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody says, ‘Hey, you need to go to college. That’s the only way that you can afford to live.’ And then you find out about the union building trades,” he said. “It offers a really good career path. You just have to work hard for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But much of that is dependent on the refineries staying open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of man-hours that are worked in refineries throughout the year,” he said. “There’s been a lot of questions, and at this point, we don’t really know exactly what’s going to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christian Ochoa, an apprentice from Fairfield specializing in installation, said he chose the career path because it would allow him to provide for his two kids and “live a comfortable life” without having to hold down multiple jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039643\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039643 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyler Fleming (left) and Levi Humphries, both 5th-year apprentices, work on a project at the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 16 Training Center in Benicia on May 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said he’s confident he’ll still be able to find work at power plants and other industrial facilities if the refinery closes. But he said the news is still disheartening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can see this whole town collapsing, man. A lot of people from around this area work there,” he said. “Less work for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young is more optimistic, despite the severe budget shortfall that the city will likely soon be forced to confront. If Valero skips town, there will no doubt be some short-term pain, he acknowledged. But that may be worth the price of no longer having to live in the shadow of a refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Losing the refinery would force Benicia to diversify its economy, which “would certainly be a healthier thing for the city,” Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have the highest rate of asthma and the highest rate of cancer in Solano County, which is not something that you would typically expect in a city that also has the highest income and the highest education levels,” he said. “So I think from a health perspective, we would be better off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Valero’s Benicia refinery accounts for nearly 20% of the city’s tax base, and its expected shutdown could have a catastrophic impact on the city’s financial health. ",
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"title": "A Bay Area Refinery Town Contemplates a Future Without Big Oil | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/benicia-refinery\">Benicia\u003c/a> Mayor Steve Young poked at his shrimp Louie salad as he glanced wistfully out the window of a local seafood restaurant perched on the banks of an unusually serene stretch of the Carquinez Strait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve had better months. Let’s put it that way,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young, 73, looked grateful for the lunch break. He has been deep in damage control mode since last month, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/valero\">Texas-based oil giant Valero\u003c/a>, the city’s largest employer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">announced plans\u003c/a> to “idle, restructure or cease” operations at its Benicia refinery within a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent earnings call, Valero CEO Lane Riggs cited California’s tough “regulatory and enforcement environment” as the main driver behind the company’s intent to close California’s sixth-largest refinery, accounting for about 9% of the state’s total production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery makes up nearly 20% of Benicia’s tax base, and shutting down the facility, which dominates much of the eastern side of this small, relatively affluent Solano County city, could have a catastrophic impact on the city’s financial well-being.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in a situation where we’re going to have $10 (million) to $12 million less than last year,” said Young, a tall, gray-haired man with a gravelly voice. “The hit on the community is going to be severe. My main job is to ease that transition as much as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia is known as a “full-service city,” he said, “which means we do every conceivable municipal service there is.” That’s part of what makes this community of well-kept yards and century-old homes feel so safe and pleasant, with its abundance of parks, libraries and subsidized artists’ studios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039648\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-56-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Benicia Mayor Steve Young sits in the City Hall offices in Benicia on May 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But a decent portion of those amenities are funded, in part, by the property taxes Valero pays the city — leaving Young with the unenviable task of recommending which services to potentially cut, whether it’s the public pool, the summer concert series or even the dog poop bag dispensers in the parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything we cut has a passionate base,” Young said, grimacing slightly in anticipation of the inevitable budgeting battles to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shutting down the refinery, he added, would also be a major blow to the hundreds of residents who work there, not to mention the restaurants, hotels and businesses in the city’s industrial park that provide services to the facility and its workers, as well as the many local nonprofits that have long depended on Valero’s donations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero didn’t respond to KQED’s multiple requests for comments for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young rose to local political prominence nearly a decade ago by pushing back against the company’s strong influence in a place many here consider a “refinery town.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In 2016, Young, a former local government administrator, stepped out of retirement to join the planning commission, where he successfully led the opposition against the company’s proposal to start bringing in crude oil by rail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, Valero was accustomed to being “the big dog in town,” and expected the City Council to rubber stamp the proposal, much like it had for many of the company’s other requests, Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had been joined at the hip,” he said. “Valero was used to having things slide through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it came as a shock to the company when the City Council voted down the proposal, citing major public safety and congestion concerns about having a constant flow of trains bringing volatile materials through town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was a big deal. It kind of set the tone,” said Young, who went on to win a seat on the Council later that year. He successfully ran for mayor in 2020, despite intense opposition from Valero, which spent some $250,000 in attack ads and campaign mailers opposing him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years later, voters elected two additional candidates to the five-member Council — Kari Birdseye and Terry Scott — who, like Young, pledged to stand up to Valero when its actions compromised public safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039647\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039647 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-42-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Young and his allies now find themselves in the awkward position of beseeching the very company they’ve challenged to stick around — at least for a few more years — to buy the city more time to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to get moving on this quickly, because 12 months is not a long time given the severity of the economic impact,” Young said, acknowledging that his bargaining chips are limited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One option, he said, is appealing directly to the state to ease some of the regulations that Valero finds so burdensome. Young appreciates California’s efforts to address climate change, but he questions the practicality of the current approach, especially when it results in frontline communities like his losing their refineries and being forced to suddenly fend for themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand these are necessary steps going forward,” he said. “But the state passes many laws without any consequence or understanding of how they’re going to be implemented and who’s going to have to pay for it. That’s, I think, part of my frustration as a local official.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Young said he intends to make the case that closing the refinery could pose a national security threat, as it’s currently the sole provider of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which is delivered via a direct pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If that is stopped, what does that mean to the base?” Young said. “Travis uses an amazing amount of fuel to fly all their planes, much more than can be easily replaced and certainly not replaced within a year. So I think that this becomes a matter of real concern to the defense department.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a possibility that the 900 total acres of land Valero owns, which has unobstructed views of the scenic bluffs and straits that funnel into the mouth of the Sacramento Delta, could be redeveloped into housing and commercial property. Oakland-based Signature Development Group \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/04/28/bay-area-oil-refinery-benicia-build-property-home-jobs-energy-economy/\">recently announced\u003c/a> it was in talks with the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so, however, would require a costly remediation effort — one Valero is legally required to do — that would likely take a decade to complete before any development takes place, Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This would be a good long-term development — to have an outside entity pressing Valero to do the remediation,” Young said. “But in the meantime, we’re not going to have any money at all coming in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city may ultimately need to ask for another tax increase, Young said — a request he believes voters in the city, many of whom have lived here for decades and pay low property taxes, will approve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039779\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-60-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural depicts downtown Benicia in the city on May 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It may come down to that,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to cut our way to $10 (million) or $12 million and maintain any level of similar services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downtown Benicia has a quaint, small-town feel that belies its proximity to San Francisco, less than 40 miles south. Drivers turning off Interstate 780 are greeted by a sign for an American Legion rib cookoff before passing a large white gazebo in a small park on the edge of downtown. The main drag is filled with restaurants, cafes and galleries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A monument in a nearby park reminds visitors that Benicia was once the state capital — though only for a year, in 1853.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From many vantage points in this charming city of some 27,000 residents on the outer edge of the Bay Area, it’s easy to forget the refinery is there at all, its stacks, holding tanks and billowing steam hidden from view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero, which has operated the nearly 60-year-old Benicia refinery since buying it from Exxon in 2000, dropped its bombshell announcement on April 16, roughly six months after regional and state air regulators fined the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">a record $82 million\u003c/a> for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for more than 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, city leaders unanimously approved modest rules to increase their oversight of the refinery, despite staunch opposition from the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ If you keep poking that golden goose, one day it’s going to fly away,” Mark Hughes, a former council member, said during a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029845/benicia-moves-toward-tougher-oversight-of-valero-refinery\">packed Council meeting in March\u003c/a> ahead of the vote. “And that’s not a threat, that’s not any inside information I have about Valero. It’s just the likely outcome of a company that constantly feels that it’s being pushed away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing of Valero’s closure announcement, less than two weeks later, sparked speculation that the industrial safety ordinance was the final straw for the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039650 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-58-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorney Terry Mollica stands outside his home in Benicia on May 8, 2025, near the Valero Benicia Refinery. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Terry Mollica, who helped lead a group of residents that pushed for the city’s new safety rules, the ordinance is a significantly watered-down version of the original. It merely requires the company to conduct internal reviews following safety incidents and disclose findings to the city, which can then request upgrades if public safety is at risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ISO, at least the version that was adopted, couldn’t possibly require them to do that much that they would close down a $1.2 billion facility,” he said. “Now, it’s possible that that was part of the reason, but that scenario only makes sense if there was something very seriously wrong with the refinery that they didn’t want disclosed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are serious risks that come from living with a refinery in your backyard, Mollica said, noting the exposure to toxic emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a great little town and a great little community, and we love living here. But that is the one negative about being here,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That risk was underscored last week when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12038707/valero-refinery-fire-in-benicia-spurs-warnings-to-stay-indoors\">a major fire ignited at the facility\u003c/a> after part of a furnace stack broke off and struck other equipment in a gasoline production area, according to the company’s incident report. The fire sent black plumes of smoke into the air and prompted a brief shelter-in-place order for surrounding neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-57-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorney Terry Mollica holds a photo on his phone at his home in Benicia on May 8, 2025, of a flare at the Valero Benicia Refinery seen from his neighborhood. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incident followed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025377/huge-martinez-refinery-fire-renews-neighbors-fear-frustration\">multi-day blaze\u003c/a> in early February at PBF Energy’s Martinez Refining Co., just across the strait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spend a lot of time in the garden, and when these incidents occur, you’re not allowed to go outside. You just don’t know what you’re being exposed to. The history of it has been bad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Danny Bernardini, business manager of the Napa-Solano Building & Construction Trades Council — a group of 15 unions that represent hundreds of boilermakers, laborers, plumbers and steamfitters, many of whom work intermittently at the refinery — thinks the company grew weary of the regulations “pile-on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is the toughest place to have a refinery. And so at some point they have to say, ‘Does this make business sense for us to stay in California or not?’” Bernardini said. “And I think their announcement was them saying, ‘We can’t do business like this.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The facility’s likely closure comes amid a growing exodus of traditional oil refiners in California, raising serious concerns about potential gas shortages and rising prices at the pump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039642\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039642\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-05-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices work on a project at the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 16 Training Center in Benicia on May 9, 2025. The training center teaches apprentices to install and maintain insulation systems that conserve energy and protect equipment, skills that are essential for safe and efficient operations in refineries and other industrial facilities. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/phillips-66-rodeo-conversion-project-to-begin-operations-in-q1\">Phillips 66’s refinery in Rodeo\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/marathon-martinez-biorefinery-to-reach-full-capacity-by-year-end\">Marathon’s facility in Martinez\u003c/a> both recently converted operations to biofuel production. Phillips 66 also \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-10-16/phillips-66-will-shut-historic-wilmington-refinery\">plans to close\u003c/a> its Los Angeles-area refinery — the seventh largest in the state — later this year. And Valero executives recently hinted they may soon consider “strategic alternatives” for the company’s only other California refinery located near Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until there’s an alternative to refineries, we need to keep them,” Bernardini said. “And yes, they need to be safe. They need to not pollute. They need not have incidents. But at the same time, they’re a necessary thing right now because everybody drives in a car.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the workers in his unions are highly skilled technicians who have relied on consistent jobs at the Valero refinery, but many of their skills don’t transfer to other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Refinery work is very specific to their trade,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That specialization is on full display at the Heat & Frost Insulators Local 16 apprenticeship facility in Benicia, just down the road from the refinery’s towering stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039644\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039644 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-18-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coordinator Jonathan Blaine stands in the workshop at the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 16 Training Center in Benicia on May 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“For any pipe, duct or vessel that has to maintain a specific temperature, we’re going to insulate those to stay that temperature within the pipe,” said Jonathan Blaine, the apprenticeship coordinator, as about a dozen apprentices practiced on piping models in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apprentices, he said, have to train for 8,000 hours before contractors can hire them. It’s difficult, sometimes dangerous work, but it pays upward of $80 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody says, ‘Hey, you need to go to college. That’s the only way that you can afford to live.’ And then you find out about the union building trades,” he said. “It offers a really good career path. You just have to work hard for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But much of that is dependent on the refineries staying open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of man-hours that are worked in refineries throughout the year,” he said. “There’s been a lot of questions, and at this point, we don’t really know exactly what’s going to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christian Ochoa, an apprentice from Fairfield specializing in installation, said he chose the career path because it would allow him to provide for his two kids and “live a comfortable life” without having to hold down multiple jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039643\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039643 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BENICIAREFINERY-09-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyler Fleming (left) and Levi Humphries, both 5th-year apprentices, work on a project at the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 16 Training Center in Benicia on May 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said he’s confident he’ll still be able to find work at power plants and other industrial facilities if the refinery closes. But he said the news is still disheartening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can see this whole town collapsing, man. A lot of people from around this area work there,” he said. “Less work for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young is more optimistic, despite the severe budget shortfall that the city will likely soon be forced to confront. If Valero skips town, there will no doubt be some short-term pain, he acknowledged. But that may be worth the price of no longer having to live in the shadow of a refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Losing the refinery would force Benicia to diversify its economy, which “would certainly be a healthier thing for the city,” Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have the highest rate of asthma and the highest rate of cancer in Solano County, which is not something that you would typically expect in a city that also has the highest income and the highest education levels,” he said. “So I think from a health perspective, we would be better off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Potential Valero Refinery Closure Leaves Benicia, State Officials Scrambling for Alternatives",
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"headTitle": "Potential Valero Refinery Closure Leaves Benicia, State Officials Scrambling for Alternatives | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A week after Valero \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036695/shocking-news-valero-announces-plans-to-end-operations-at-benicia-refinery\">announced plans\u003c/a> to “idle, restructure or cease” operations at its massive Benicia oil refinery by next April, company executives said that while the plant’s closure was more than likely, it was not yet a foregone conclusion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://seekingalpha.com/article/4777736-valero-energy-corporation-vlo-q1-2025-earnings-call-transcript\">earnings call\u003c/a> Thursday, Valero executives left open the possibility of a Hail Mary, saying they had plans to meet with state and local officials to discuss potential options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do think there’s a genuine interest in California to avoid the closure,” Richard Walsh, Valero’s executive vice president, said during the call. But he quickly added, “Our current intent right now is to close the refinery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero CEO Lane Riggs cited California’s tough “regulatory and enforcement environment” as the main driver behind the company’s intent to cease operations at the sprawling North Bay facility. The sixth-largest refinery in the state, it currently produces up to 145,000 barrels of crude oil a day, accounting for \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/californias-petroleum-market/californias-oil-refineries\">about 9%\u003c/a> of the state’s production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has been pursuing policies to move away from fossil fuels for really the past 20 years,” Riggs said, calling the state’s regulations “the most stringent and difficult of anywhere else in North America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia Mayor Steve Young doesn’t disagree with the assessment, but said he wishes the company had provided more lead time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12036242 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/ValeroBenicia-1020x765.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to get moving on this quickly because 12 months is not a long time given the severity of the economic impact,” said Young, noting that nearly 20% of Benicia’s $60 million budget comes from the refinery. “I think that’s part of my frustration, is how little time we have to try to plan for some kind of an alternative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shutting down the facility, he added, would also be a major blow to the hundreds of residents who work there, not to mention the scores of restaurants, hotels and other businesses that provide services to those workers in this city of some 27,000 residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery is also the exclusive supplier of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which it delivers through a direct pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If that is stopped, what does that mean to the base?” Young said. “Travis uses an amazing amount of fuel to fly all their planes, much more than can be easily replaced, and certainly not replaced within a year. So I think that this becomes a matter of real concern to the Defense Department and it’s potentially a national security issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero dropped its bombshell April 16 announcement roughly six months after regional and state air regulators fined the company a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">record $82 million\u003c/a> for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for at least 15 years. And last month, city leaders voted unanimously to impose moderate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029845/benicia-moves-toward-tougher-oversight-of-valero-refinery\">new safety regulations\u003c/a> on the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906319\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 345px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-11906319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery.png\" alt=\"Map showing location of Valero's Benicia refinery\" width=\"345\" height=\"362\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery.png 940w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery-800x839.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery-160x168.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 345px) 100vw, 345px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003ci>Map by Matthew Green/KQED\u003c/i>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I suspect that compared to other refinery operators, they’re a pretty good business operator. But they’ve also had a pretty bad track record on public safety,” said Terry Mollica, who leads a group of residents that pushed for the city’s new safety rules to increase oversight of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mollica said that he doesn’t think anybody in his group is particularly excited about the possibility of the facility closing altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There would be long-term and short-term impacts on the community,” he said. “People would lose their jobs. None of us want to see that happen particularly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has owned and operated the Benicia refinery since 2000. The refinery was originally built in 1968 for Humble Oil, later called Exxon, and began operations the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its possible closure comes amid a growing exodus of traditional oil refiners in California. \u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/phillips-66-rodeo-conversion-project-to-begin-operations-in-q1\">Phillips 66’s refinery in Rodeo\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/marathon-martinez-biorefinery-to-reach-full-capacity-by-year-end\">Marathon’s facility in Martinez \u003c/a>both recently converted operations to biofuel production. Phillips 66 also \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-10-16/phillips-66-will-shut-historic-wilmington-refinery\">plans to close\u003c/a> its Los Angeles-area refinery — the seventh largest in the state — later this year.[aside postID=news_12011785 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Refinery-1920x1440.jpg']And Valero executives, in this week’s earnings call, hinted that they may also soon consider “strategic alternatives” for the company’s only other California refinery, located near Los Angeles, which accounts for more than 5% of the state’s crude oil supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is phasing out its gasoline consumption and refiners see that coming,” said Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley energy economist. “We should be seriously concerned about how all that gasoline supply is going to get replaced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has dramatically reduced its reliance on fossil fuels in recent decades, but most residents still drive gas-powered cars and will continue to do so for years to come, Borenstein said, even though the state already has some of the highest gas prices in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom underscored that sense of urgency this week \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/GovNewsomLetterCECGunda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a letter (PDF)\u003c/a> to California Energy Commission Vice Chair Siva Gunda. He urged the commission to “redouble” its efforts to ensure refiners “continue to see the value in serving the California market, even as demand for fossil fuels continues its gradual decline over the coming decades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am directing you … to reinforce the State’s openness to a collaborative relationship and our firm belief that Californians can be protected from price spikes and refiners can profitably operate in California — a market where demand for gasoline will still exist for years to come,” Newsom wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037805\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1947px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037805\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1947\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed.jpg 1947w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-800x548.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-1020x698.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-1536x1052.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-1920x1315.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1947px) 100vw, 1947px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A customer prepares to pump gas into his truck at a Valero gas station on July 22, 2013 in Mill Valley. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Almost immediately after Valero’s announcement, Newsom was lambasted by state Assembly Republicans, who said the potential closure was among the growing number of “real-world consequences” of [his] war on California energy producers that was “becoming clearer by the day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his letter, Newsom defended two different laws he signed in the last two years that give the state more oversight of the oil industry and regulate backup supply when refineries go offline in order to prevent market irregularities. He also asked state energy and environmental officials to produce a report by July 1 on “any changes in the State’s approach that are needed to ensure adequate supply during this transition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The California Energy Commission continues to be committed to working with stakeholders to explore options to ensure an affordable, reliable, and safe transportation fuel supply,” Sandy Louey, a spokesperson for the commission, said in an email in response to Newsom’s letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young, whose city has long felt the health impacts of the refinery’s toxic releases, said he understands the motivation behind California’s ambitious regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think certainly [California’s] done them for lots of good environmental reasons, and that obviously climate change is a real thing and burning fossil fuels is a direct contributor to it,” he said. “Did they go too far? I don’t want to say that. But it certainly has created an environment where oil companies feel that either they’ve been unfairly targeted or they are just seeing this as perhaps a way to negotiate some rollbacks of some of those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young acknowledged that the refinery’s closure would yield some “net benefit” to the health and safety of his community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so from an environmental point of view, sure, it’s certainly possible to look at it as a silver lining,” he said. “But overall, given how quick this is unfolding, I’m certainly not celebrating it by any means.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The potential closure of the massive Benicia oil refinery by next April would have a major impact on the city’s economy and the state’s oil supply. ",
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"title": "Potential Valero Refinery Closure Leaves Benicia, State Officials Scrambling for Alternatives | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A week after Valero \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036695/shocking-news-valero-announces-plans-to-end-operations-at-benicia-refinery\">announced plans\u003c/a> to “idle, restructure or cease” operations at its massive Benicia oil refinery by next April, company executives said that while the plant’s closure was more than likely, it was not yet a foregone conclusion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://seekingalpha.com/article/4777736-valero-energy-corporation-vlo-q1-2025-earnings-call-transcript\">earnings call\u003c/a> Thursday, Valero executives left open the possibility of a Hail Mary, saying they had plans to meet with state and local officials to discuss potential options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do think there’s a genuine interest in California to avoid the closure,” Richard Walsh, Valero’s executive vice president, said during the call. But he quickly added, “Our current intent right now is to close the refinery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero CEO Lane Riggs cited California’s tough “regulatory and enforcement environment” as the main driver behind the company’s intent to cease operations at the sprawling North Bay facility. The sixth-largest refinery in the state, it currently produces up to 145,000 barrels of crude oil a day, accounting for \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/californias-petroleum-market/californias-oil-refineries\">about 9%\u003c/a> of the state’s production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has been pursuing policies to move away from fossil fuels for really the past 20 years,” Riggs said, calling the state’s regulations “the most stringent and difficult of anywhere else in North America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia Mayor Steve Young doesn’t disagree with the assessment, but said he wishes the company had provided more lead time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to get moving on this quickly because 12 months is not a long time given the severity of the economic impact,” said Young, noting that nearly 20% of Benicia’s $60 million budget comes from the refinery. “I think that’s part of my frustration, is how little time we have to try to plan for some kind of an alternative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shutting down the facility, he added, would also be a major blow to the hundreds of residents who work there, not to mention the scores of restaurants, hotels and other businesses that provide services to those workers in this city of some 27,000 residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery is also the exclusive supplier of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which it delivers through a direct pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If that is stopped, what does that mean to the base?” Young said. “Travis uses an amazing amount of fuel to fly all their planes, much more than can be easily replaced, and certainly not replaced within a year. So I think that this becomes a matter of real concern to the Defense Department and it’s potentially a national security issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero dropped its bombshell April 16 announcement roughly six months after regional and state air regulators fined the company a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">record $82 million\u003c/a> for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for at least 15 years. And last month, city leaders voted unanimously to impose moderate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029845/benicia-moves-toward-tougher-oversight-of-valero-refinery\">new safety regulations\u003c/a> on the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906319\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 345px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-11906319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery.png\" alt=\"Map showing location of Valero's Benicia refinery\" width=\"345\" height=\"362\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery.png 940w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery-800x839.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/BeniciaRefinery-160x168.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 345px) 100vw, 345px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003ci>Map by Matthew Green/KQED\u003c/i>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I suspect that compared to other refinery operators, they’re a pretty good business operator. But they’ve also had a pretty bad track record on public safety,” said Terry Mollica, who leads a group of residents that pushed for the city’s new safety rules to increase oversight of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mollica said that he doesn’t think anybody in his group is particularly excited about the possibility of the facility closing altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There would be long-term and short-term impacts on the community,” he said. “People would lose their jobs. None of us want to see that happen particularly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has owned and operated the Benicia refinery since 2000. The refinery was originally built in 1968 for Humble Oil, later called Exxon, and began operations the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its possible closure comes amid a growing exodus of traditional oil refiners in California. \u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/phillips-66-rodeo-conversion-project-to-begin-operations-in-q1\">Phillips 66’s refinery in Rodeo\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/marathon-martinez-biorefinery-to-reach-full-capacity-by-year-end\">Marathon’s facility in Martinez \u003c/a>both recently converted operations to biofuel production. Phillips 66 also \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-10-16/phillips-66-will-shut-historic-wilmington-refinery\">plans to close\u003c/a> its Los Angeles-area refinery — the seventh largest in the state — later this year.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>And Valero executives, in this week’s earnings call, hinted that they may also soon consider “strategic alternatives” for the company’s only other California refinery, located near Los Angeles, which accounts for more than 5% of the state’s crude oil supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is phasing out its gasoline consumption and refiners see that coming,” said Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley energy economist. “We should be seriously concerned about how all that gasoline supply is going to get replaced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has dramatically reduced its reliance on fossil fuels in recent decades, but most residents still drive gas-powered cars and will continue to do so for years to come, Borenstein said, even though the state already has some of the highest gas prices in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom underscored that sense of urgency this week \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/GovNewsomLetterCECGunda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a letter (PDF)\u003c/a> to California Energy Commission Vice Chair Siva Gunda. He urged the commission to “redouble” its efforts to ensure refiners “continue to see the value in serving the California market, even as demand for fossil fuels continues its gradual decline over the coming decades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am directing you … to reinforce the State’s openness to a collaborative relationship and our firm belief that Californians can be protected from price spikes and refiners can profitably operate in California — a market where demand for gasoline will still exist for years to come,” Newsom wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037805\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1947px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037805\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1947\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed.jpg 1947w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-800x548.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-1020x698.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-1536x1052.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/174246469_qed-1920x1315.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1947px) 100vw, 1947px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A customer prepares to pump gas into his truck at a Valero gas station on July 22, 2013 in Mill Valley. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Almost immediately after Valero’s announcement, Newsom was lambasted by state Assembly Republicans, who said the potential closure was among the growing number of “real-world consequences” of [his] war on California energy producers that was “becoming clearer by the day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his letter, Newsom defended two different laws he signed in the last two years that give the state more oversight of the oil industry and regulate backup supply when refineries go offline in order to prevent market irregularities. He also asked state energy and environmental officials to produce a report by July 1 on “any changes in the State’s approach that are needed to ensure adequate supply during this transition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The California Energy Commission continues to be committed to working with stakeholders to explore options to ensure an affordable, reliable, and safe transportation fuel supply,” Sandy Louey, a spokesperson for the commission, said in an email in response to Newsom’s letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young, whose city has long felt the health impacts of the refinery’s toxic releases, said he understands the motivation behind California’s ambitious regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think certainly [California’s] done them for lots of good environmental reasons, and that obviously climate change is a real thing and burning fossil fuels is a direct contributor to it,” he said. “Did they go too far? I don’t want to say that. But it certainly has created an environment where oil companies feel that either they’ve been unfairly targeted or they are just seeing this as perhaps a way to negotiate some rollbacks of some of those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young acknowledged that the refinery’s closure would yield some “net benefit” to the health and safety of his community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so from an environmental point of view, sure, it’s certainly possible to look at it as a silver lining,” he said. “But overall, given how quick this is unfolding, I’m certainly not celebrating it by any means.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "'Shocking News': Valero Announces Plans to End Operations at Benicia Refinery",
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"headTitle": "‘Shocking News’: Valero Announces Plans to End Operations at Benicia Refinery | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last week, the oil giant Valero announced that it will “idle, restructure, or cease operations” at its Benicia refinery that employs more than 400 workers. KQED’s Julie Small tells us how officials are reacting, and why many view this decision as a response to state and local regulations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC5832771063&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oil Giant Valero Looks to Shutter Troubled Bay Area Refinery. It’s ‘a Big Surprise’\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bay Area Air District Hits Valero’s Benicia Refinery With ‘Historic’ $82 Million Fine\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029845/benicia-moves-toward-tougher-oversight-of-valero-refinery\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Benicia Moves Toward Tougher Oversight of Valero Refinery\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated program. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:24] Before we get into the latest news here, remind folks about the Valero refinery in Benicia. Where is it exactly and what goes on there?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:01:36] Well, it’s right on the Carquinez Strait in Benicia.Built in 1968 for Humble Oil, which later became Exxon, and it was sold to Valero in 2000. I got to tour the facility about 10 years ago, and it’s like a town within a town. They even have their own fire brigade, made up of refinery operators who, like during an incident, will respond. They refine crude oil into gasoline, and they refine a lot of it, about 145,000 barrels per day. They also employ 400 workers and lots of contractors, people who come in to help with specific operations like ironworks, steam fitters, boil makers, painters. Suffice it to say, it’s a major employer in the San Francisco Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:02:34] And what can you tell us about Valero, the company which bought this refinery, as you said, in 2000? What do we know about them?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:02:43] Well, they are the second largest U.S. Refiner in the United States. They have headquarters in Texas, but they have refineries all over the country. They also operate a second refinery in Southern California. It’s the Wilmington refinery, and it produces a little less than the one up here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:03] And I imagine plays a big role in the city of Benicia, which is a pretty small city. I mean, what role does Valero as a company play in the City?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:03:18] It’s the major economic engine of the city of Benicia. They pay taxes that make up about 10 to 12% of the City budget. It’s also a big client for a lot of local businesses that supply services, goods, or labor, and, you know, restaurants in the area. They donate to nonprofits, and they lend financial support for Benicia’s school district. So they’re very, very deeply involved in the community in all those good ways and some not so great ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:48] How would you describe the relationship between Valero and the city of Benicia, especially over the last couple of years?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:03:56] Well, it’s complicated. It’s interesting how people are very quick to praise the company, but also quick to criticize the company and the refinery specifically and the operations there. Air regulators just last year fined the company a record $82 million for exceeding toxic emissions standards, not for an hour or a day, but for over a decade. And that has really blown the trust. For a lot of people. They are even those people in Benicia who were always supportive of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:36] Yeah, sort of this love-hate relationship that I feel like you kind of see in refinery towns all over the Bay Area that rely on the jobs, but that also bear the brunt of the environmental impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:04:49] That’s right. There was one woman who spoke at a city council meeting and she said, yeah, it’s great that Valero is helping the school district, but what good does it do if all of our kids have asthma? And asthma has been a big issue in Benicia. And according to state health data from 2020, nearly 15% of the people in the county of Solano, which includes Benicia, have asthma, which is about 70% higher than the statewide average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:22] Okay Julie, so I mean we’re talking because Valero actually made a really surprising announcement last week. What did the company announce?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:05:33] That the company is going to idle, restructure, or cease operations at its Benicia refinery by the end of April, 2026. And in a press release, the CEO and president of Valero said that they understand the impact that it may have on employees, business partners, and the community as a whole, and they’ll continue to work with them through this period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:06:00] Okay, “idle, restructure, or cease operations, those are three very different things. And it sounds like no clear decision has necessarily been made quite yet, but it sounds something is going to change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:06:20] They could pause their operations and wait to see if the Trump administration takes action against some of our environmental standards, or they could try to sell the facility. Something’s gotta give, either California is gonna make life easier for refineries or deal with the sudden loss of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:06:38] I mean, has Valero said anything about why they are doing this, either in the announcement or in interviews with the media?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:06:47] Valero didn’t say this in their press release, but Valero has been signaling that they’re pretty unhappy with California as an environment to do business. As everybody knows, California is committed to reducing our use of fossil fuels and we are passing laws and creating a climate where we’re moving towards that goal and refineries don’t like it. That got particularly worse in the last year because California regulators accused Valero of price gouging. There were some words exchanged with the California Energy Commission that basically said, we’re not price gouging. Your gas in California is more expensive because of all the regulations you’ve put on it. And there have been some other laws passed very recently that really get into the nitty gritty of how the, you know, the refinery operates. They described it as a hostile environment that California has created towards refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Severin Borenstein \u003c/strong>[00:07:57] It is a harbinger of the larger issues that California faces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:08:02] I talked with Severin Borenstein, he’s with the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and an economics and energy expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Severin Borenstein \u003c/strong>[00:08:11] California is phasing out its gasoline consumption and refiner see that coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:08:17] In California, you have the market for that fuel, for what you’re refining, the very product you’re making is actually shrinking, you know, and the idea is that we will not be reliant on that fuel anymore in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Severin Borenstein \u003c/strong>[00:08:30] This refinery in Benicia has had a lot of production problems and emissions problems that make it look like they’re going to have to make some significant investments in order to maintain production and still obey environmental rules. So I think they looked at that and said, is it worth making that investment?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:08:58] I mean, you’re seeing this, like we saw it, Phillips 66 decided to close their refinery in Southern California. That’s gonna close at the end of this year. They said, poor profits, we’re not making profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:16] Coming up, how locals are reacting to Valero’s announcement. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:29] Whatever happens, it sounds like, is going to have a big impact, especially on the city of Benicia. What have you heard locally from people in the city? I mean, was this a big surprise?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:09:41] Yeah, it was. I think they felt like they were still in dialogue with Valero about how to make things better, how to work better together, and they wake up to this news. And for them, it’s like the nuclear option they were most afraid of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kari Birdseye \u003c/strong>[00:09:56] Well, we woke up to a big surprise this morning. It is some shocking news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:10:03] I talked to city council member, Kari Birdseye. She is one of the people who was really pushed for increased oversight and accountability at Valero. And she called it shocking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kari Birdseye \u003c/strong>[00:10:14] First of all, my thoughts go to our local workers and other small businesses that will be impacted by this news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:10:26] I think the big concern in Benicia is how do you replace an economic powerhouse like a refinery? I mean, and Birdseye talked about possibilities of like getting involved in some offshore wind projects, ship building, but it’s really clear they don’t have a plan in place. They’re not ready for this to happen so quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kari Birdseye \u003c/strong>[00:10:46] We will be resilient and we will figure out, you know, who we want to bring to our town and you know make sure that whoever comes to town isn’t going to increase our asthma rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:11:00] I feel like she really kind of captures this tension of this just transition in California away from oil refineries, but also the reality, which is that a lot of people rely on these refinerys for work. I mean, what have you heard from workers? There’s a lot people who could possibly lose their job if Valero ceases operation in Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:11:24] That’s right, 400 employees at the refinery itself and then hundreds of union contract workers who cycle through the refineries every year, different times of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Danny Bernardini \u003c/strong>[00:11:35] You’re hopeful, but you’re also realistic that it’s California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:11:39] Danny Bernardini with the Napa-Solano Building and Construction Trade Council. He wasn’t surprised. He says anyone who’s been paying attention knows that the future of refining in California is dim. He’d just been talking to Valero about renewing contracts for his members. He was excited and then he wakes up to the news that there may be no contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Danny Bernardini \u003c/strong>[00:12:00] We have state and local governments that are not fond of refinery those people drive cars and they have reliance on oil but they also you know there’s a lot of laws and ordinances that have a path that make it hard to do business and so this is the other side of that coin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:26] Well, Julie, this announcement last week was a pretty big shock, it sounds like, but April 2026, that’s still a year away from now, so I guess what happens in between now and then?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:12:40] Well, you know, local officials, you know, are saying they’re going to be looking for new industry partners and trying to develop a plan. They expect they’ll be losing $8 million a year if Valero closes. They’re going turn to the state to ask for help. They’re gonna ask other cities that were refinery towns how they’ve made the transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Gavin Newsom \u003c/strong>[00:13:04] Just briefly on that, respecting the importance of that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:13:08] Gavin Newsom, our governor, was asked about the closure. You know, I guess he was contacted the night before the news came out and the morning after. And he made a comment and he said, you know, we’re all hands on deck dealing with this and we’re gonna make sure that this doesn’t disrupt the markets and, you know doesn’t hurt anything and we are on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Gavin Newsom \u003c/strong>[00:13:28] Beginning last night, we had all hands and we’re in the process of addressing any anxiety that may be created or any market disruption that may be created by that announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:13:39] The other thing that could happen is that the Trump administration could roll back some of the environmental regulations and standards that California has fought so hard to get. And if that happens, that might change the equation for Valero, at least in the short\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:14:04] Julie, we’ve talked on this show about the various refineries around the Bay Area in cities like Benicia and Richmond and Martinez and Rodeo. And I know each one of these cities is very different, but do you think this story tells us anything about the future of oil refinerys here in the Bay area?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:14:24] I do. You know, when I heard the news, I thought immediately of the fact that Phillips 66 had announced that they were closing in Southern California. And I thought, oh, here we go. To me, it’s kind of like the writing on the wall. Refineries are having to convert or close their operations, and that is our goal in California. It just may be happening faster than places like Venetia are prepared for, or even faster than the states prepared for. I was thinking about, it’s kind of like a breakup. You’re planning to break up with someone, but before you get a chance, they break up with you, or you get fired from a job while you’re still looking for a new one. California’s decided we want to head in this other direction. Refineries aren’t waiting for that day to arrive. They’re just pulling up stakes. They’re making their decisions based on a bottom line.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last week, the oil giant Valero announced that it will “idle, restructure, or cease operations” at its Benicia refinery that employs more than 400 workers. KQED’s Julie Small tells us how officials are reacting, and why many view this decision as a response to state and local regulations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC5832771063&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036242/oil-giant-valero-announces-plans-to-shutter-troubled-benicia-refinery\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oil Giant Valero Looks to Shutter Troubled Bay Area Refinery. It’s ‘a Big Surprise’\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011785/bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bay Area Air District Hits Valero’s Benicia Refinery With ‘Historic’ $82 Million Fine\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029845/benicia-moves-toward-tougher-oversight-of-valero-refinery\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Benicia Moves Toward Tougher Oversight of Valero Refinery\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated program. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:24] Before we get into the latest news here, remind folks about the Valero refinery in Benicia. Where is it exactly and what goes on there?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:01:36] Well, it’s right on the Carquinez Strait in Benicia.Built in 1968 for Humble Oil, which later became Exxon, and it was sold to Valero in 2000. I got to tour the facility about 10 years ago, and it’s like a town within a town. They even have their own fire brigade, made up of refinery operators who, like during an incident, will respond. They refine crude oil into gasoline, and they refine a lot of it, about 145,000 barrels per day. They also employ 400 workers and lots of contractors, people who come in to help with specific operations like ironworks, steam fitters, boil makers, painters. Suffice it to say, it’s a major employer in the San Francisco Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:02:34] And what can you tell us about Valero, the company which bought this refinery, as you said, in 2000? What do we know about them?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:02:43] Well, they are the second largest U.S. Refiner in the United States. They have headquarters in Texas, but they have refineries all over the country. They also operate a second refinery in Southern California. It’s the Wilmington refinery, and it produces a little less than the one up here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:03] And I imagine plays a big role in the city of Benicia, which is a pretty small city. I mean, what role does Valero as a company play in the City?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:03:18] It’s the major economic engine of the city of Benicia. They pay taxes that make up about 10 to 12% of the City budget. It’s also a big client for a lot of local businesses that supply services, goods, or labor, and, you know, restaurants in the area. They donate to nonprofits, and they lend financial support for Benicia’s school district. So they’re very, very deeply involved in the community in all those good ways and some not so great ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:48] How would you describe the relationship between Valero and the city of Benicia, especially over the last couple of years?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:03:56] Well, it’s complicated. It’s interesting how people are very quick to praise the company, but also quick to criticize the company and the refinery specifically and the operations there. Air regulators just last year fined the company a record $82 million for exceeding toxic emissions standards, not for an hour or a day, but for over a decade. And that has really blown the trust. For a lot of people. They are even those people in Benicia who were always supportive of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:36] Yeah, sort of this love-hate relationship that I feel like you kind of see in refinery towns all over the Bay Area that rely on the jobs, but that also bear the brunt of the environmental impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:04:49] That’s right. There was one woman who spoke at a city council meeting and she said, yeah, it’s great that Valero is helping the school district, but what good does it do if all of our kids have asthma? And asthma has been a big issue in Benicia. And according to state health data from 2020, nearly 15% of the people in the county of Solano, which includes Benicia, have asthma, which is about 70% higher than the statewide average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:22] Okay Julie, so I mean we’re talking because Valero actually made a really surprising announcement last week. What did the company announce?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:05:33] That the company is going to idle, restructure, or cease operations at its Benicia refinery by the end of April, 2026. And in a press release, the CEO and president of Valero said that they understand the impact that it may have on employees, business partners, and the community as a whole, and they’ll continue to work with them through this period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:06:00] Okay, “idle, restructure, or cease operations, those are three very different things. And it sounds like no clear decision has necessarily been made quite yet, but it sounds something is going to change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:06:20] They could pause their operations and wait to see if the Trump administration takes action against some of our environmental standards, or they could try to sell the facility. Something’s gotta give, either California is gonna make life easier for refineries or deal with the sudden loss of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:06:38] I mean, has Valero said anything about why they are doing this, either in the announcement or in interviews with the media?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:06:47] Valero didn’t say this in their press release, but Valero has been signaling that they’re pretty unhappy with California as an environment to do business. As everybody knows, California is committed to reducing our use of fossil fuels and we are passing laws and creating a climate where we’re moving towards that goal and refineries don’t like it. That got particularly worse in the last year because California regulators accused Valero of price gouging. There were some words exchanged with the California Energy Commission that basically said, we’re not price gouging. Your gas in California is more expensive because of all the regulations you’ve put on it. And there have been some other laws passed very recently that really get into the nitty gritty of how the, you know, the refinery operates. They described it as a hostile environment that California has created towards refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Severin Borenstein \u003c/strong>[00:07:57] It is a harbinger of the larger issues that California faces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:08:02] I talked with Severin Borenstein, he’s with the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and an economics and energy expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Severin Borenstein \u003c/strong>[00:08:11] California is phasing out its gasoline consumption and refiner see that coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:08:17] In California, you have the market for that fuel, for what you’re refining, the very product you’re making is actually shrinking, you know, and the idea is that we will not be reliant on that fuel anymore in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Severin Borenstein \u003c/strong>[00:08:30] This refinery in Benicia has had a lot of production problems and emissions problems that make it look like they’re going to have to make some significant investments in order to maintain production and still obey environmental rules. So I think they looked at that and said, is it worth making that investment?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:08:58] I mean, you’re seeing this, like we saw it, Phillips 66 decided to close their refinery in Southern California. That’s gonna close at the end of this year. They said, poor profits, we’re not making profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:16] Coming up, how locals are reacting to Valero’s announcement. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:29] Whatever happens, it sounds like, is going to have a big impact, especially on the city of Benicia. What have you heard locally from people in the city? I mean, was this a big surprise?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:09:41] Yeah, it was. I think they felt like they were still in dialogue with Valero about how to make things better, how to work better together, and they wake up to this news. And for them, it’s like the nuclear option they were most afraid of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kari Birdseye \u003c/strong>[00:09:56] Well, we woke up to a big surprise this morning. It is some shocking news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:10:03] I talked to city council member, Kari Birdseye. She is one of the people who was really pushed for increased oversight and accountability at Valero. And she called it shocking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kari Birdseye \u003c/strong>[00:10:14] First of all, my thoughts go to our local workers and other small businesses that will be impacted by this news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:10:26] I think the big concern in Benicia is how do you replace an economic powerhouse like a refinery? I mean, and Birdseye talked about possibilities of like getting involved in some offshore wind projects, ship building, but it’s really clear they don’t have a plan in place. They’re not ready for this to happen so quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kari Birdseye \u003c/strong>[00:10:46] We will be resilient and we will figure out, you know, who we want to bring to our town and you know make sure that whoever comes to town isn’t going to increase our asthma rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:11:00] I feel like she really kind of captures this tension of this just transition in California away from oil refineries, but also the reality, which is that a lot of people rely on these refinerys for work. I mean, what have you heard from workers? There’s a lot people who could possibly lose their job if Valero ceases operation in Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:11:24] That’s right, 400 employees at the refinery itself and then hundreds of union contract workers who cycle through the refineries every year, different times of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Danny Bernardini \u003c/strong>[00:11:35] You’re hopeful, but you’re also realistic that it’s California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:11:39] Danny Bernardini with the Napa-Solano Building and Construction Trade Council. He wasn’t surprised. He says anyone who’s been paying attention knows that the future of refining in California is dim. He’d just been talking to Valero about renewing contracts for his members. He was excited and then he wakes up to the news that there may be no contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Danny Bernardini \u003c/strong>[00:12:00] We have state and local governments that are not fond of refinery those people drive cars and they have reliance on oil but they also you know there’s a lot of laws and ordinances that have a path that make it hard to do business and so this is the other side of that coin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:26] Well, Julie, this announcement last week was a pretty big shock, it sounds like, but April 2026, that’s still a year away from now, so I guess what happens in between now and then?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:12:40] Well, you know, local officials, you know, are saying they’re going to be looking for new industry partners and trying to develop a plan. They expect they’ll be losing $8 million a year if Valero closes. They’re going turn to the state to ask for help. They’re gonna ask other cities that were refinery towns how they’ve made the transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Gavin Newsom \u003c/strong>[00:13:04] Just briefly on that, respecting the importance of that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:13:08] Gavin Newsom, our governor, was asked about the closure. You know, I guess he was contacted the night before the news came out and the morning after. And he made a comment and he said, you know, we’re all hands on deck dealing with this and we’re gonna make sure that this doesn’t disrupt the markets and, you know doesn’t hurt anything and we are on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Gavin Newsom \u003c/strong>[00:13:28] Beginning last night, we had all hands and we’re in the process of addressing any anxiety that may be created or any market disruption that may be created by that announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:13:39] The other thing that could happen is that the Trump administration could roll back some of the environmental regulations and standards that California has fought so hard to get. And if that happens, that might change the equation for Valero, at least in the short\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:14:04] Julie, we’ve talked on this show about the various refineries around the Bay Area in cities like Benicia and Richmond and Martinez and Rodeo. And I know each one of these cities is very different, but do you think this story tells us anything about the future of oil refinerys here in the Bay area?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Julie Small \u003c/strong>[00:14:24] I do. You know, when I heard the news, I thought immediately of the fact that Phillips 66 had announced that they were closing in Southern California. And I thought, oh, here we go. To me, it’s kind of like the writing on the wall. Refineries are having to convert or close their operations, and that is our goal in California. It just may be happening faster than places like Venetia are prepared for, or even faster than the states prepared for. I was thinking about, it’s kind of like a breakup. You’re planning to break up with someone, but before you get a chance, they break up with you, or you get fired from a job while you’re still looking for a new one. California’s decided we want to head in this other direction. Refineries aren’t waiting for that day to arrive. They’re just pulling up stakes. They’re making their decisions based on a bottom line.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Benicia City Council plans to vote on a controversial industrial safety ordinance next month despite fierce opposition from oil giant Valero and other industrial businesses that operate in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil executives, employees and residents packed a City Council meeting Tuesday to weigh in on the proposal, which would create a citizens’ oversight commission, boost community air quality monitoring and empower city officials to issue fines for safety and air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new law would replace an existing agreement with Benicia. Valero has threatened to sue the city if it moves ahead with the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a governmental overreach, significant governmental overreach — even in California!” Lauren Bird, general manager and vice president of the Benicia refinery, told the council. He touted the facility’s track record of responding to and containing plant malfunctions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ We work hard every day to maintain a safe operation,” Bird said. “Are we perfect? Absolutely not. But we work round the clock, 24/7, 365 days, multiple times a shift, multiple people, dedicated people who work hard, who are well trained, who are capable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of refinery employees and company supporters praised Valero for financial contributions to the community and warned against alienating the town’s largest taxpayer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ If you keep poking that golden goose, one day it’s going to fly away,” said Mark Hughes, a former council member. “And that’s not a threat, that’s not any inside information I have about Valero. It’s just the likely outcome of a company that constantly feels that it’s being pushed away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Anthony Bernasconi said residents like him are paying too high a price for Valero’s community investments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Valero can build baseball fields and donate to the schools, and that is good,” Burnasconi said. “But Valero is also a multibillion-dollar corporation that can spill poison into our air.”[aside postID=news_12011785 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Refinery-1920x1440.jpg']Last year, the regional air district fined the company $82 million for failing to report excess toxic emissions at the Benicia refinery. Those releases occurred between 2003 and 2019 and were not disclosed to the public \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11905065/first-i-had-heard-of-it-valeros-benicia-refinery-secretly-released-toxic-chemicals-for-years\">until 2022\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More important than the amount of money involved was the number of years that the problems had been ignored,” said ordinance proponent Terry Mollica, speaking after Tuesday’s vote. “Sixteen years of just sweeping the problem under the rug. That’s what people want the ISO to address.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Benicia showed up tonight,” said Councilmember Kari Birdseye, who, along with Councilmember Terry Scott and Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick, refined the industrial safety ordinance over 14 months and held dozens of meetings with stakeholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether they were for or against it, all of the testimony was very impactful and meaningful to our final decision, and I am over the moon with the 5–0 vote,” Birdseye said. “It showed that our council takes the health and safety of Benicia very seriously.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the ordinance held sunflowers while the dozens who came to speak against the ordinance sported Valero’s dark blue uniforms and T-shirts. Parents on both sides brought their children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resident Julian Christi put it simply, saying, “I just want to keep my family safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His daughter Charlotte also addressed the council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am 10 years old, and I’ve lived in Benicia all my life — it’s all I know,” she said. “I go to Joe Henderson Elementary, and I would like to say that I am also in favor of the ISO.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>9:35 a.m. March 6: An earlier version of this story said Mayor Steve Young was part of the work to refine the industrial safety ordinance. It has been updated to replace Young with Councilmember Terry Scott.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Benicia City Council plans to vote on a controversial industrial safety ordinance next month despite fierce opposition from oil giant Valero and other industrial businesses that operate in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil executives, employees and residents packed a City Council meeting Tuesday to weigh in on the proposal, which would create a citizens’ oversight commission, boost community air quality monitoring and empower city officials to issue fines for safety and air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new law would replace an existing agreement with Benicia. Valero has threatened to sue the city if it moves ahead with the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a governmental overreach, significant governmental overreach — even in California!” Lauren Bird, general manager and vice president of the Benicia refinery, told the council. He touted the facility’s track record of responding to and containing plant malfunctions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ We work hard every day to maintain a safe operation,” Bird said. “Are we perfect? Absolutely not. But we work round the clock, 24/7, 365 days, multiple times a shift, multiple people, dedicated people who work hard, who are well trained, who are capable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of refinery employees and company supporters praised Valero for financial contributions to the community and warned against alienating the town’s largest taxpayer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ If you keep poking that golden goose, one day it’s going to fly away,” said Mark Hughes, a former council member. “And that’s not a threat, that’s not any inside information I have about Valero. It’s just the likely outcome of a company that constantly feels that it’s being pushed away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Anthony Bernasconi said residents like him are paying too high a price for Valero’s community investments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Valero can build baseball fields and donate to the schools, and that is good,” Burnasconi said. “But Valero is also a multibillion-dollar corporation that can spill poison into our air.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last year, the regional air district fined the company $82 million for failing to report excess toxic emissions at the Benicia refinery. Those releases occurred between 2003 and 2019 and were not disclosed to the public \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11905065/first-i-had-heard-of-it-valeros-benicia-refinery-secretly-released-toxic-chemicals-for-years\">until 2022\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More important than the amount of money involved was the number of years that the problems had been ignored,” said ordinance proponent Terry Mollica, speaking after Tuesday’s vote. “Sixteen years of just sweeping the problem under the rug. That’s what people want the ISO to address.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Benicia showed up tonight,” said Councilmember Kari Birdseye, who, along with Councilmember Terry Scott and Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick, refined the industrial safety ordinance over 14 months and held dozens of meetings with stakeholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether they were for or against it, all of the testimony was very impactful and meaningful to our final decision, and I am over the moon with the 5–0 vote,” Birdseye said. “It showed that our council takes the health and safety of Benicia very seriously.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the ordinance held sunflowers while the dozens who came to speak against the ordinance sported Valero’s dark blue uniforms and T-shirts. Parents on both sides brought their children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resident Julian Christi put it simply, saying, “I just want to keep my family safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His daughter Charlotte also addressed the council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am 10 years old, and I’ve lived in Benicia all my life — it’s all I know,” she said. “I go to Joe Henderson Elementary, and I would like to say that I am also in favor of the ISO.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>9:35 a.m. March 6: An earlier version of this story said Mayor Steve Young was part of the work to refine the industrial safety ordinance. It has been updated to replace Young with Councilmember Terry Scott.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Bay Area Air District Hits Valero's Benicia Refinery With 'Historic' $82 Million Fine",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:35 a.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regional and state air pollution regulators have hit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/valero-refinery\">oil company Valero\u003c/a> with a penalty of $82 million for at least 15 years of unreported toxic emissions and other alleged air quality violations by its refinery in the Solano County town of Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The penalty, part of a settlement involving the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area-air-quality-management-district\">Bay Area Air Quality Management District\u003c/a>, the California Air Resources Board and Texas-based Valero, is the largest ever levied by the district and is among the biggest imposed nationwide as the result of refinery operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement calls for $64 million of the settlement amount to be used for projects that will address the refinery’s air pollution impacts in Benicia, a city of 26,000 on the northern shore of the Carquinez Strait. The air district said those projects would be chosen in a process involving residents, community groups, advocates and elected officials. Some $16 million of the penalty will be devoted to projects in other Bay Area communities identified by regulators as “overburdened” by air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This penalty sends a strong message; adherence to air quality standards is both necessary and expected, and failure to do so can lead to significant fines,” Steve Young, Benicia mayor and member of the air district board, said in a statement. “Benicia residents need to know that air quality violations are taken seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25260383/valero-baaqmd-carb_agreement-241024.pdf\">32-page settlement \u003c/a>(PDF) released Thursday details dozens of alleged violations of air district regulations and state law, including a long history of unreported emissions of toxic chemicals that began in 2003 or earlier but were not discovered by the air district until 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district said the refinery systems that generate and channel hydrogen throughout the facility emitted substances, including organic compounds that worsen smog and particulate pollution, as well as benzene, toluene and other compounds that cause cancer, reproductive harm and other health concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators also accused the refinery of releasing an estimated 8,400 tons of these substances between 2003 and 2019. That’s about 2.7 tons for each day on which violations occurred, or 360 times the legal limit, the district said, adding that refinery management knew for years that its system contained the harmful contaminants “but did not report them or take any steps to prevent them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero said in the settlement document that it aimed to avoid litigation and that it “does not admit or necessarily agree with” the allegations against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.beniciarefinery.com/air-district-settlement\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an online statement\u003c/a>, the company said it had “endeavored to comply with federal rules associated with the hydrogen system; however, the district has much more stringent regulations.” The company characterized the releases as “trace levels of organic compounds” and added that the air district’s own health risk assessment found they posed only “negligible” health risks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11905065/first-i-had-heard-of-it-valeros-benicia-refinery-secretly-released-toxic-chemicals-for-years\">As first reported by KQED in 2022\u003c/a>, the air district aroused the anger of Benicia residents and elected officials by failing to alert the community about the emissions for nearly three years after they became aware of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12010828 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/GETTYIMAGES-2053492564-KQED-e1729796821581-1020x683.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Philip Fine, the air district’s executive officer, called the settlement “historic” and said it shows “the air district’s unwavering commitment to holding polluters accountable and safeguarding the health of those living in refinery communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district’s initial failure to alert Benicia residents to the refinery’s unreported emissions was “frustrating and disturbing,” Mayor Young said in an interview Thursday. The Valero settlement “will go a long way to rebuilding that faith and trust in the air district’s operations going forward,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the monetary penalties, the settlement gives Valero 30 months to design, get permits for and install systems to prevent toxic releases from its hydrogen units. The company also agreed to train key employees on the air district regulations for the refinery’s various processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero settlement is the latest in a series of high-profile enforcement actions the district has undertaken against Bay Area refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, the agency hit Chevron with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">$20 million in penalties\u003c/a> for 678 violations of air district regulations at its Richmond refinery. The district also won an agreement from the oil company to drop its opposition to new regulations that require refineries to clean up particulate emissions. Chevron could face further penalties — more than $80 million — if it fails to implement measures to meet particulate emission standards within four years of a 2026 deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the agency fined the Marathon Martinez refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/news-and-events/page-resources/2024-news/100224-ymarathon-penalty\">$5 million\u003c/a> for 59 air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:35 a.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regional and state air pollution regulators have hit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/valero-refinery\">oil company Valero\u003c/a> with a penalty of $82 million for at least 15 years of unreported toxic emissions and other alleged air quality violations by its refinery in the Solano County town of Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The penalty, part of a settlement involving the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area-air-quality-management-district\">Bay Area Air Quality Management District\u003c/a>, the California Air Resources Board and Texas-based Valero, is the largest ever levied by the district and is among the biggest imposed nationwide as the result of refinery operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement calls for $64 million of the settlement amount to be used for projects that will address the refinery’s air pollution impacts in Benicia, a city of 26,000 on the northern shore of the Carquinez Strait. The air district said those projects would be chosen in a process involving residents, community groups, advocates and elected officials. Some $16 million of the penalty will be devoted to projects in other Bay Area communities identified by regulators as “overburdened” by air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This penalty sends a strong message; adherence to air quality standards is both necessary and expected, and failure to do so can lead to significant fines,” Steve Young, Benicia mayor and member of the air district board, said in a statement. “Benicia residents need to know that air quality violations are taken seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25260383/valero-baaqmd-carb_agreement-241024.pdf\">32-page settlement \u003c/a>(PDF) released Thursday details dozens of alleged violations of air district regulations and state law, including a long history of unreported emissions of toxic chemicals that began in 2003 or earlier but were not discovered by the air district until 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district said the refinery systems that generate and channel hydrogen throughout the facility emitted substances, including organic compounds that worsen smog and particulate pollution, as well as benzene, toluene and other compounds that cause cancer, reproductive harm and other health concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators also accused the refinery of releasing an estimated 8,400 tons of these substances between 2003 and 2019. That’s about 2.7 tons for each day on which violations occurred, or 360 times the legal limit, the district said, adding that refinery management knew for years that its system contained the harmful contaminants “but did not report them or take any steps to prevent them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero said in the settlement document that it aimed to avoid litigation and that it “does not admit or necessarily agree with” the allegations against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.beniciarefinery.com/air-district-settlement\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an online statement\u003c/a>, the company said it had “endeavored to comply with federal rules associated with the hydrogen system; however, the district has much more stringent regulations.” The company characterized the releases as “trace levels of organic compounds” and added that the air district’s own health risk assessment found they posed only “negligible” health risks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11905065/first-i-had-heard-of-it-valeros-benicia-refinery-secretly-released-toxic-chemicals-for-years\">As first reported by KQED in 2022\u003c/a>, the air district aroused the anger of Benicia residents and elected officials by failing to alert the community about the emissions for nearly three years after they became aware of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Philip Fine, the air district’s executive officer, called the settlement “historic” and said it shows “the air district’s unwavering commitment to holding polluters accountable and safeguarding the health of those living in refinery communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district’s initial failure to alert Benicia residents to the refinery’s unreported emissions was “frustrating and disturbing,” Mayor Young said in an interview Thursday. The Valero settlement “will go a long way to rebuilding that faith and trust in the air district’s operations going forward,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the monetary penalties, the settlement gives Valero 30 months to design, get permits for and install systems to prevent toxic releases from its hydrogen units. The company also agreed to train key employees on the air district regulations for the refinery’s various processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero settlement is the latest in a series of high-profile enforcement actions the district has undertaken against Bay Area refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, the agency hit Chevron with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">$20 million in penalties\u003c/a> for 678 violations of air district regulations at its Richmond refinery. The district also won an agreement from the oil company to drop its opposition to new regulations that require refineries to clean up particulate emissions. Chevron could face further penalties — more than $80 million — if it fails to implement measures to meet particulate emission standards within four years of a 2026 deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the agency fined the Marathon Martinez refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/news-and-events/page-resources/2024-news/100224-ymarathon-penalty\">$5 million\u003c/a> for 59 air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Thanksgiving morning in 2022, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/martinez\">Martinez\u003c/a> residents awoke to a powdery substance containing high levels of heavy metals, blanketing everything outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release of toxic materials began the night before, but the \u003ca href=\"https://martinezrefiningcompany.com/refinery-events/#:~:text=The%20entire%20Martinez%20Refining%20Company,night%20of%20November%2024%2C%202022.\">Martinez Refining Company (MRC) did not activate the county’s community warning system\u003c/a>, which would have notified those who signed up for the opt-in system. It was just one of 272 releases of hazardous materials that occurred in a 13-month period from the four fuel refineries in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, on the heels of a grand jury report finding that the county’s alerts are failing to reach most residents for less-impactful chemical releases, officials are taking action. At its Tuesday meeting, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will vote to move forward with plans for a more robust warning system in response to the grand jury’s recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people like Heidi Taylor, the change would be a long time coming. She was among many who packed their local city council chambers after the Thanksgiving 2022 incident, and she went on to form the group \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthymartinez.org/\">Healthy Martinez\u003c/a> to hold the refinery accountable and continue to push for better warnings from Contra Costa County Health and Human Services and the sheriff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to be notified every time there is a flaring or any kind of release,” Taylor said. “And what’s been missing from the community warning system has been accountability. We know they’re releasing things. We are tired of living in this beautiful community and being showered with all kinds of toxic dust, toxic air. We deserve better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cc-courts.org/civil/docs/grandjury/2023-2024/2404/2404-Final_Report.pdf\">Contra Costa grand jury report\u003c/a> in June found the county has no way to directly notify residents of smaller instances of hazardous releases from refineries, such as flaring events that last under 20 minutes. \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/plans-and-climate/air-quality-plans/flare-minimization-plans\">Flaring\u003c/a>, the intentional burning of hydrocarbon gasses to prevent larger malfunctions, represents the most common form of release from refineries in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the county’s current \u003ca href=\"https://cwsalerts.com/\">community warning system\u003c/a> sends people alerts for only the most dangerous releases — but only about 30% of residents have signed up for it, the grand jury found. That system allows residents to pick which chemical facilities in the county they want notifications from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal recommended by the grand jury would modify the current system that notifies the public through phone calls, text messages and emails to include Level One releases, or those not expected to have health consequences outside the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter to the grand jury, the Board of Supervisors said that the recommendation has not been implemented, but the health department plans to bring the board its plans for doing so before the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[aside postID=news_11988025 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/231228-MARATHON-REFINERY-MD-04_qut-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor said she appreciates the improvements but wants a more rigorous warning system in place like the one PBF Energy — the owner of MRC — has for its Torrance facility. There, residents are notified every time a pollutant goes over a certain threshold. Taylor said the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is working on a similar requirement, but that’s taking some time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are constantly in a holding pattern, waiting, waiting for things to be the way they should have been a long time ago,” she said. “I’m tired of waiting. I want that information now, and I want it publicly accessible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A bill in the California Legislature, \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB674/id/2839409\">SB 674\u003c/a>, would go further, requiring all refineries to have air monitoring systems and requiring notice to the community when pollution goes over a threshold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who represents the area that includes Chevron’s Richmond refinery, said the county is working on letting people customize which events they’re alerted to in real time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People deserve to be notified if they see an industrial release and wonder what’s in question, what’s going on, even if there’s no off-site health impact,” Gioia said. “But if there’s a very minor flaring incident that you can’t see or smell, and there’s no impacts off-site, then we didn’t want those all pushed out because it’s like crying wolf.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gioia said the health department, which oversees hazardous materials, is working on guidance for the alerts for the sheriff’s department, which oversees the county’s warning system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, in response to the grand jury’s recommendations, the county increased the number of employees in its hazardous materials department, adding a few specialists and putting a toxicologist on retainer to help the public better understand potential health effects when the next release occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Thanksgiving morning in 2022, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/martinez\">Martinez\u003c/a> residents awoke to a powdery substance containing high levels of heavy metals, blanketing everything outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release of toxic materials began the night before, but the \u003ca href=\"https://martinezrefiningcompany.com/refinery-events/#:~:text=The%20entire%20Martinez%20Refining%20Company,night%20of%20November%2024%2C%202022.\">Martinez Refining Company (MRC) did not activate the county’s community warning system\u003c/a>, which would have notified those who signed up for the opt-in system. It was just one of 272 releases of hazardous materials that occurred in a 13-month period from the four fuel refineries in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, on the heels of a grand jury report finding that the county’s alerts are failing to reach most residents for less-impactful chemical releases, officials are taking action. At its Tuesday meeting, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will vote to move forward with plans for a more robust warning system in response to the grand jury’s recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people like Heidi Taylor, the change would be a long time coming. She was among many who packed their local city council chambers after the Thanksgiving 2022 incident, and she went on to form the group \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthymartinez.org/\">Healthy Martinez\u003c/a> to hold the refinery accountable and continue to push for better warnings from Contra Costa County Health and Human Services and the sheriff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to be notified every time there is a flaring or any kind of release,” Taylor said. “And what’s been missing from the community warning system has been accountability. We know they’re releasing things. We are tired of living in this beautiful community and being showered with all kinds of toxic dust, toxic air. We deserve better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cc-courts.org/civil/docs/grandjury/2023-2024/2404/2404-Final_Report.pdf\">Contra Costa grand jury report\u003c/a> in June found the county has no way to directly notify residents of smaller instances of hazardous releases from refineries, such as flaring events that last under 20 minutes. \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/plans-and-climate/air-quality-plans/flare-minimization-plans\">Flaring\u003c/a>, the intentional burning of hydrocarbon gasses to prevent larger malfunctions, represents the most common form of release from refineries in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the county’s current \u003ca href=\"https://cwsalerts.com/\">community warning system\u003c/a> sends people alerts for only the most dangerous releases — but only about 30% of residents have signed up for it, the grand jury found. That system allows residents to pick which chemical facilities in the county they want notifications from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal recommended by the grand jury would modify the current system that notifies the public through phone calls, text messages and emails to include Level One releases, or those not expected to have health consequences outside the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter to the grand jury, the Board of Supervisors said that the recommendation has not been implemented, but the health department plans to bring the board its plans for doing so before the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taylor said she appreciates the improvements but wants a more rigorous warning system in place like the one PBF Energy — the owner of MRC — has for its Torrance facility. There, residents are notified every time a pollutant goes over a certain threshold. Taylor said the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is working on a similar requirement, but that’s taking some time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are constantly in a holding pattern, waiting, waiting for things to be the way they should have been a long time ago,” she said. “I’m tired of waiting. I want that information now, and I want it publicly accessible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A bill in the California Legislature, \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB674/id/2839409\">SB 674\u003c/a>, would go further, requiring all refineries to have air monitoring systems and requiring notice to the community when pollution goes over a threshold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who represents the area that includes Chevron’s Richmond refinery, said the county is working on letting people customize which events they’re alerted to in real time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People deserve to be notified if they see an industrial release and wonder what’s in question, what’s going on, even if there’s no off-site health impact,” Gioia said. “But if there’s a very minor flaring incident that you can’t see or smell, and there’s no impacts off-site, then we didn’t want those all pushed out because it’s like crying wolf.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gioia said the health department, which oversees hazardous materials, is working on guidance for the alerts for the sheriff’s department, which oversees the county’s warning system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, in response to the grand jury’s recommendations, the county increased the number of employees in its hazardous materials department, adding a few specialists and putting a toxicologist on retainer to help the public better understand potential health effects when the next release occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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