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"content": "\u003cp>The industry group representing oil companies in California says if the state's utilities shut off power to refineries during periods of high fire danger, the facilities could be knocked offline, resulting in major pollution releases and increased gasoline prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Western States Petroleum Association asked California regulators in early May for exemptions from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11751074/regulators-ok-pges-big-wildfire-safety-program-and-set-new-rules-for-protective-power-shutoffs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">power shutoff plans\u003c/a> that the state and electrical utilities have adopted to reduce the chances of power lines starting fires during extremely windy and hot conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11767619,news_11750896,news_11750455\" label=\"PG&E and Wildfire Safety\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry group warned that an outage as short as a minute could result in refineries going off line for up to three weeks, triggering a series of ugly consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"An uncontrolled shutdown of a refinery from a de-energization action would result in immediate emergency load shedding, flaring and a heightened risk of a catastrophic event,\" the association wrote in a \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M292/K287/292287411.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter\u003c/a> to the California Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filing has prompted an angry reaction from a leading environmental group, which says it fears the oil companies will use a power shutdown as a justification for harmful emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's outrageous that action to protect against wildfire risk might result in dangerous pollution,\" said Clare Lakewood, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. \"Refineries shouldn't be allowed to use this as an excuse to contaminate the air we breathe.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked recently about the petroleum association's concerns, a PG&E representative said the utility would work to restore power faster for refineries after the shutoffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We are continually working to analyze our systems, refine our procedures and further assess how we can minimize the impacts of a public safety power shutoff. This includes working towards the ability to be able to prioritize the re-energization of critical infrastructure like oil refineries,\" said Jeff Smith, a PG&E spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two weeks after the association's filing, the commission \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M296/K598/296598822.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">approved PG&E's shutoff plans\u003c/a>. Oil companies did not get the break they wanted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the association's concerns have not faded. The head of the industry group continues to call on the state's utilities to keep the power flowing to refineries even during periods of high fire danger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Unplanned shutdowns imposed by a utility can result in health, safety and environmental impacts,\" Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the group's president, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If a utility's actions disrupt the fuel supply chain, this could significantly impact affordable fuel costs for businesses and consumers in California,\" Reheis-Boyd said. \"Utilities need to make sure that they are investing adequate resources to protect critical facilities to ensure that any de-energization event is used as an absolute last resort and does not cause more harm to Californians.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>PG&E Shutoff Plan Scrutinized\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry's concerns were highlighted last week when state lawmakers scrutinized PG&E's shutoff plans. State Sen. Scott Wiener. D-San Francisco, mentioned the refineries while questioning a PG&E executive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We saw the oil industry, and I'm not usually aligned with the oil industry, but their letter was very compelling. That's pretty problematic for that to happen,\" Wiener said during a state Senate subcommittee \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Very-broad-and-very-dangerous-PG-E-14304972.php?psid=amCL5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hearing\u003c/a> last Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E says it recently met with the industry to discuss its concerns, but it has not signaled an intention to alter its shutoff plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sumeet Singh, the PG&E vice president overseeing the company's wildfire safety program, told the panel that the transmission system serving refineries is built with redundancy in mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When you look at our transmission system, by nature, especially the 100-kilovolt and above ... there's quite a lot of reliability that's built into it,\" Singh said. That means \"if you lose a line, you have another\" line as a backup, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singh also suggested that the oil industries can take PG&E to court \"if they fundamentally believe that the decision that we made was inaccurate, inappropriate, targeted in some way, led to some harm.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2017 Power Outage at Valero Refinery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An oil company lawsuit against the utility would not be unprecedented. A May 2017 power failure at Valero's Benicia plant triggered a major release of toxic sulfur dioxide and prompted emergency shelter-in-place orders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CPUC blamed PG&E for the outage, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">declined to punish the company.\u003c/a> Valero filed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11541168/valero-sues-pge-for-reckless-outage-at-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit\u003c/a> against the utility, seeking more than $75 million in damages. That lawsuit is currently on hold pending the outcome of PG&E's bankruptcy proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry's filing with the commission says the 2017 Valero outage proves the dangers an electricity failure poses to a refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, the Valero refinery is not in an area designated by PG&E as one at high risk for a public safety power shutoff. Solano County inspectors and Benicia fire officials note that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2019/06/14/questions-on-pge-public-safety-shut-offs-prompt-benicia-response/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">refinery gets power from two separate lines\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terry Schmidtbauer, Solano County's assistant director of resource management, which oversees the Benicia facility, says the likelihood of Valero losing power from a pre-emptive shutoff is low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That being said, we are all aware of the past events where Valero did lose all power and had to shut down rather quickly. Such an event is not impossible, even if highly unlikely,\" Schmidtbauer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both in 2017 and last March, when Valero shut down due to two refinery component malfunctions, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cost of gasoline in California increased\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schmidtbauer said after the 2017 outage, county inspectors told Valero to set up a procedure by which it would rely more on fuel gas and steam to generate electricity at the plant to run the refinery if it were to lose power from PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County's refineries — the Chevron, Shell, Phillips 66 and Marathon plants — are expected to rely more on their cogeneration facilities and reduce refining in cases of power shutoffs, according to Randy Sawyer, the county's chief environmental health and hazardous materials officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I am expecting that they will cut back on their operations so they can continue to operate somewhat on their own,\" Sawyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shell's Martinez refinery has emergency backup systems, but they are not enough to power the entire plant, according to Shell spokeswoman Ann Notarangelo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We do not have enough onsite generation to sustain plant operations in the event of a complete loss of power from PG&E,\" Notarangelo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal Kheiry, a spokesman for Marathon, which also runs a refinery in Martinez, said the company is working with PG&E \"to ensure the reliability and safety of our operations.\" He did not provide specifics on those plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesman for Chevron's Richmond refinery referred questions on the issue to the petroleum association. A representative for Phillips 66 in Rodeo did not return a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The oil industry group also noted in its filing that while utilities like PG&E hope to give \"industrial customers\" an early heads up before they cut off electricity, it's possible they will not get advance notification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This message is shocking,\" WSPA's filing said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Center for Biological Diversity's Clare Lakewood doesn't buy the association's arguments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This situation is profoundly unfair to people living around these refineries,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These highly profitable enterprises are already responsible for shocking levels of air pollution and planet warming emissions,\" Lakewood said. \"If they can't find a way to obey the same rules as other businesses and operate safely as California tries to curb wildfire risk, they should shut their doors.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry group warned that an outage as short as a minute could result in refineries going off line for up to three weeks, triggering a series of ugly consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"An uncontrolled shutdown of a refinery from a de-energization action would result in immediate emergency load shedding, flaring and a heightened risk of a catastrophic event,\" the association wrote in a \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M292/K287/292287411.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter\u003c/a> to the California Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filing has prompted an angry reaction from a leading environmental group, which says it fears the oil companies will use a power shutdown as a justification for harmful emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's outrageous that action to protect against wildfire risk might result in dangerous pollution,\" said Clare Lakewood, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. \"Refineries shouldn't be allowed to use this as an excuse to contaminate the air we breathe.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked recently about the petroleum association's concerns, a PG&E representative said the utility would work to restore power faster for refineries after the shutoffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We are continually working to analyze our systems, refine our procedures and further assess how we can minimize the impacts of a public safety power shutoff. This includes working towards the ability to be able to prioritize the re-energization of critical infrastructure like oil refineries,\" said Jeff Smith, a PG&E spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two weeks after the association's filing, the commission \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M296/K598/296598822.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">approved PG&E's shutoff plans\u003c/a>. Oil companies did not get the break they wanted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the association's concerns have not faded. The head of the industry group continues to call on the state's utilities to keep the power flowing to refineries even during periods of high fire danger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Unplanned shutdowns imposed by a utility can result in health, safety and environmental impacts,\" Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the group's president, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If a utility's actions disrupt the fuel supply chain, this could significantly impact affordable fuel costs for businesses and consumers in California,\" Reheis-Boyd said. \"Utilities need to make sure that they are investing adequate resources to protect critical facilities to ensure that any de-energization event is used as an absolute last resort and does not cause more harm to Californians.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>PG&E Shutoff Plan Scrutinized\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry's concerns were highlighted last week when state lawmakers scrutinized PG&E's shutoff plans. State Sen. Scott Wiener. D-San Francisco, mentioned the refineries while questioning a PG&E executive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We saw the oil industry, and I'm not usually aligned with the oil industry, but their letter was very compelling. That's pretty problematic for that to happen,\" Wiener said during a state Senate subcommittee \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Very-broad-and-very-dangerous-PG-E-14304972.php?psid=amCL5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hearing\u003c/a> last Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E says it recently met with the industry to discuss its concerns, but it has not signaled an intention to alter its shutoff plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sumeet Singh, the PG&E vice president overseeing the company's wildfire safety program, told the panel that the transmission system serving refineries is built with redundancy in mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When you look at our transmission system, by nature, especially the 100-kilovolt and above ... there's quite a lot of reliability that's built into it,\" Singh said. That means \"if you lose a line, you have another\" line as a backup, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singh also suggested that the oil industries can take PG&E to court \"if they fundamentally believe that the decision that we made was inaccurate, inappropriate, targeted in some way, led to some harm.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2017 Power Outage at Valero Refinery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An oil company lawsuit against the utility would not be unprecedented. A May 2017 power failure at Valero's Benicia plant triggered a major release of toxic sulfur dioxide and prompted emergency shelter-in-place orders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CPUC blamed PG&E for the outage, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">declined to punish the company.\u003c/a> Valero filed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11541168/valero-sues-pge-for-reckless-outage-at-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit\u003c/a> against the utility, seeking more than $75 million in damages. That lawsuit is currently on hold pending the outcome of PG&E's bankruptcy proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry's filing with the commission says the 2017 Valero outage proves the dangers an electricity failure poses to a refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, the Valero refinery is not in an area designated by PG&E as one at high risk for a public safety power shutoff. Solano County inspectors and Benicia fire officials note that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2019/06/14/questions-on-pge-public-safety-shut-offs-prompt-benicia-response/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">refinery gets power from two separate lines\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terry Schmidtbauer, Solano County's assistant director of resource management, which oversees the Benicia facility, says the likelihood of Valero losing power from a pre-emptive shutoff is low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That being said, we are all aware of the past events where Valero did lose all power and had to shut down rather quickly. Such an event is not impossible, even if highly unlikely,\" Schmidtbauer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both in 2017 and last March, when Valero shut down due to two refinery component malfunctions, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cost of gasoline in California increased\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schmidtbauer said after the 2017 outage, county inspectors told Valero to set up a procedure by which it would rely more on fuel gas and steam to generate electricity at the plant to run the refinery if it were to lose power from PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County's refineries — the Chevron, Shell, Phillips 66 and Marathon plants — are expected to rely more on their cogeneration facilities and reduce refining in cases of power shutoffs, according to Randy Sawyer, the county's chief environmental health and hazardous materials officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I am expecting that they will cut back on their operations so they can continue to operate somewhat on their own,\" Sawyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shell's Martinez refinery has emergency backup systems, but they are not enough to power the entire plant, according to Shell spokeswoman Ann Notarangelo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We do not have enough onsite generation to sustain plant operations in the event of a complete loss of power from PG&E,\" Notarangelo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal Kheiry, a spokesman for Marathon, which also runs a refinery in Martinez, said the company is working with PG&E \"to ensure the reliability and safety of our operations.\" He did not provide specifics on those plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesman for Chevron's Richmond refinery referred questions on the issue to the petroleum association. A representative for Phillips 66 in Rodeo did not return a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The oil industry group also noted in its filing that while utilities like PG&E hope to give \"industrial customers\" an early heads up before they cut off electricity, it's possible they will not get advance notification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This message is shocking,\" WSPA's filing said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Center for Biological Diversity's Clare Lakewood doesn't buy the association's arguments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This situation is profoundly unfair to people living around these refineries,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These highly profitable enterprises are already responsible for shocking levels of air pollution and planet warming emissions,\" Lakewood said. \"If they can't find a way to obey the same rules as other businesses and operate safely as California tries to curb wildfire risk, they should shut their doors.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "After Two Major Refinery Accidents, Valero and Benicia Take Steps To Work Better Together",
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"content": "\u003cp>Benicia officials are set to consider a plan designed to keep the city and its residents better informed when the town's largest employer, the Valero refinery, has problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council on Tuesday plans to vote on an \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/383071/Staff_Report_-_Valero_Update_June_25_2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">agreement\u003c/a> with the company aimed at establishing a stronger air monitoring network, improving communication and giving the public more access to information about the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote comes three months after a series of serious refinery malfunctions and in the wake of a battle over operations at the facility that spilled over into the Solano County city's last council election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March the refinery sustained its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second major accident\u003c/a> in two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The malfunction led to a significant release of soot and smoke that prompted a brief health advisory and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more than 40-day shutdown\u003c/a> of the facility -- a closure that contributed to last spring's increase in gasoline prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/383072/1._Resolution.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new proposal\u003c/a> up for a vote on Tuesday, Valero would pay $278,000 a year to fund a division chief position at the Benicia Fire Department. The person who holds that job would work as a public liaison and be the point of contact for residents who have concerns or complaints about releases from the refinery. Valero would respond to the division chief's \"reasonable requests for information.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal also calls for Valero to give risk management and safety plans to the city, provide the Fire Department with incident reports 72 hours after significant refinery malfunctions and hand over investigative reports to city officials. The city would also work to create a \"single, easy\" place where residents can find such reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement also promises improved air monitoring by Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, the company completed installation of a set of air monitors along parts of the fence line of its refinery. But after the releases in March, the site that publishes the fence line data included a warning that all of its measurements should be considered \"questionable until further notice\" because several of its parts required adjustments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City staff say Valero plans to build, install and maintain more air monitors along its northwest boundary at a cost of $1.5 million. The company is also expected to spend $460,000 on adding \"community\" air monitors that would be located in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure has drawn mixed reaction from members of the City Council, which in the past has considered an industrial safety ordinance, or ISO, to give local officials more oversight of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson called the proposal a \"good first step\" but wanted assurances the new air monitors would be effective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We clearly need to improve our air quality and acknowledge all the sources of air pollution,\" Patterson said in an email Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This looks like a decent attempt to deal with all the issues that have been presented regarding air monitors and ISOs,\" said Councilman Tom Campbell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Campbell pointed out that there's no timetable for the proposed actions. He said if the Fire Department's new division chief who worked as a public liaison is aggressive, the agreement would work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The division chief is in our seat at the table,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilman Steve Young called the proposal \"an improvement\" over current practices, but said it should be stronger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There should also be warnings to the public prior to any planned instances of increased flaring, as happens during turnarounds or other major maintenance activities,\" Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Christina Strawbridge, the town's vice mayor, called the agreement \"well thought out and void of politics.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokeswoman for Valero declined to comment on the proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The March problems were the latest in a series of incidents in which the city and company have sometimes been at odds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September 2016, the Benicia City Council \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/21/benicia-valero-crude-oil-by-rail-facility-rejected-by-city-council/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rejected Valero's plan\u003c/a> to build a railroad terminal that would allow trains to deliver crude petroleum to the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2017, the refinery suffered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a power outage\u003c/a> that triggered the release of more than 80,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That 2017 episode led to an effort by some on the council to consider an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11675407/in-wake-of-valero-refinery-incident-benicia-weighs-whether-to-pursue-safety-ordinance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">industrial safety ordinance\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Patterson, who complained that Valero and agencies that have oversight of its refinery have failed to provide the city \"a seat at the table\" when it comes to information about the facility's problems, championed the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11675407/in-wake-of-valero-refinery-incident-benicia-weighs-whether-to-pursue-safety-ordinance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rejected the ordinance\u003c/a> a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But debate over the regulations set the stage for last November's \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11704576/valero-backed-candidates-win-benicia-city-council-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hard-fought election\u003c/a> in which Strawbridge and another council candidate, both backed by a political action committee funded by Valero and its workers' unions, beat an environmentalist candidate backed by Patterson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Strawbridge, who voted against Valero's bid to build a crude-by-rail terminal, acknowledged in an email Sunday that \"tension had escalated with the refinery since the city went through that process. It intensified with last year's election.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The March malfunctions are the source of several ongoing investigations: Valero, the air district, state workplace regulators and Solano County inspectors are still looking into the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The releases \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exposed\u003c/a> weaknesses in how the air in Benicia is monitored after a refinery incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When soot began spewing from the refinery's stacks, for instance, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District had to send a van to Benicia because it does not run a stationary air monitoring device in the city's residential areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then the agency has been working on finding a monitoring site, air district spokeswoman Kristine Roselius said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District officials visited six potential sites and determined that it wants to place a new air monitor at Robert Semple Elementary School, which is three-quarters of a mile southwest of the refinery, Roselius said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Benicia officials are set to consider a plan designed to keep the city and its residents better informed when the town's largest employer, the Valero refinery, has problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council on Tuesday plans to vote on an \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/383071/Staff_Report_-_Valero_Update_June_25_2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">agreement\u003c/a> with the company aimed at establishing a stronger air monitoring network, improving communication and giving the public more access to information about the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote comes three months after a series of serious refinery malfunctions and in the wake of a battle over operations at the facility that spilled over into the Solano County city's last council election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March the refinery sustained its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second major accident\u003c/a> in two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The malfunction led to a significant release of soot and smoke that prompted a brief health advisory and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more than 40-day shutdown\u003c/a> of the facility -- a closure that contributed to last spring's increase in gasoline prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/383072/1._Resolution.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new proposal\u003c/a> up for a vote on Tuesday, Valero would pay $278,000 a year to fund a division chief position at the Benicia Fire Department. The person who holds that job would work as a public liaison and be the point of contact for residents who have concerns or complaints about releases from the refinery. Valero would respond to the division chief's \"reasonable requests for information.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal also calls for Valero to give risk management and safety plans to the city, provide the Fire Department with incident reports 72 hours after significant refinery malfunctions and hand over investigative reports to city officials. The city would also work to create a \"single, easy\" place where residents can find such reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement also promises improved air monitoring by Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, the company completed installation of a set of air monitors along parts of the fence line of its refinery. But after the releases in March, the site that publishes the fence line data included a warning that all of its measurements should be considered \"questionable until further notice\" because several of its parts required adjustments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City staff say Valero plans to build, install and maintain more air monitors along its northwest boundary at a cost of $1.5 million. The company is also expected to spend $460,000 on adding \"community\" air monitors that would be located in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure has drawn mixed reaction from members of the City Council, which in the past has considered an industrial safety ordinance, or ISO, to give local officials more oversight of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson called the proposal a \"good first step\" but wanted assurances the new air monitors would be effective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We clearly need to improve our air quality and acknowledge all the sources of air pollution,\" Patterson said in an email Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This looks like a decent attempt to deal with all the issues that have been presented regarding air monitors and ISOs,\" said Councilman Tom Campbell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Campbell pointed out that there's no timetable for the proposed actions. He said if the Fire Department's new division chief who worked as a public liaison is aggressive, the agreement would work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The division chief is in our seat at the table,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilman Steve Young called the proposal \"an improvement\" over current practices, but said it should be stronger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There should also be warnings to the public prior to any planned instances of increased flaring, as happens during turnarounds or other major maintenance activities,\" Young said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Christina Strawbridge, the town's vice mayor, called the agreement \"well thought out and void of politics.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokeswoman for Valero declined to comment on the proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The March problems were the latest in a series of incidents in which the city and company have sometimes been at odds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September 2016, the Benicia City Council \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/21/benicia-valero-crude-oil-by-rail-facility-rejected-by-city-council/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rejected Valero's plan\u003c/a> to build a railroad terminal that would allow trains to deliver crude petroleum to the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2017, the refinery suffered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a power outage\u003c/a> that triggered the release of more than 80,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That 2017 episode led to an effort by some on the council to consider an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11675407/in-wake-of-valero-refinery-incident-benicia-weighs-whether-to-pursue-safety-ordinance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">industrial safety ordinance\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Patterson, who complained that Valero and agencies that have oversight of its refinery have failed to provide the city \"a seat at the table\" when it comes to information about the facility's problems, championed the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11675407/in-wake-of-valero-refinery-incident-benicia-weighs-whether-to-pursue-safety-ordinance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rejected the ordinance\u003c/a> a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But debate over the regulations set the stage for last November's \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11704576/valero-backed-candidates-win-benicia-city-council-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hard-fought election\u003c/a> in which Strawbridge and another council candidate, both backed by a political action committee funded by Valero and its workers' unions, beat an environmentalist candidate backed by Patterson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Strawbridge, who voted against Valero's bid to build a crude-by-rail terminal, acknowledged in an email Sunday that \"tension had escalated with the refinery since the city went through that process. It intensified with last year's election.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The March malfunctions are the source of several ongoing investigations: Valero, the air district, state workplace regulators and Solano County inspectors are still looking into the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The releases \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exposed\u003c/a> weaknesses in how the air in Benicia is monitored after a refinery incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When soot began spewing from the refinery's stacks, for instance, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District had to send a van to Benicia because it does not run a stationary air monitoring device in the city's residential areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then the agency has been working on finding a monitoring site, air district spokeswoman Kristine Roselius said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District officials visited six potential sites and determined that it wants to place a new air monitor at Robert Semple Elementary School, which is three-quarters of a mile southwest of the refinery, Roselius said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "State Officials: High Gas Prices Could Be Due to Refinery Problems — and Market Manipulation",
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"content": "\u003cp>Refinery outages and potential market manipulation could be to blame for California's high gas prices, according to the California Energy Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission's analysis comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101870725/governor-seeks-answers-as-california-gas-prices-pass-4-per-gallon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asked the state agency in April\u003c/a> to investigate what he called an \"unaccounted-for price differential\" in the state. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6015287-Letter-to-Governor-Newsom-Regardin-Gas-Prices.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">memo to Newsom on Wednesday\u003c/a>, Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said California gas prices have been higher than the national average since 2015, and \"most recently, that difference has soared to more than a dollar.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=”right” citation=\"Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court\"]'Oil companies should not be able to use this state like an ATM anymore. It's time to reverse the cash flow.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6015285-CEC-MEMO-Gasoline-Price-Final-05-15-2019.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">agency's analysis\u003c/a>, the phenomenon can roughly be traced to early 2015, when an \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-exxon-mobil-refinery-20170502-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">explosion at Exxon Mobil's Torrance refinery\u003c/a> prompted state officials to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-exxon-mobil-refinery-explosion-20150813-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">order the company\u003c/a> to shut down the refinery until it could demonstrate safe operation. While the ensuing outage at that refinery only lasted about a year and a half, the commission said spiking prices at the pump in California \"remained well after the restoration of normal operations at Torrance.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2015, the analysis found — after accounting for the state's additional taxes and other program costs — that price increases have ranged between 17 cents and 24 cents per gallon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission said those price increases may be due, in part, to some oil companies charging more than others for the same product. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"While this practice is not necessarily illegal,\" the report says, \"it may be an effort of a segment of the market to artificially inflate prices to the detriment of California consumers.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The analysis found a number of other reasons for the continued differences between California prices and the U.S. average, including crude oil prices and other recent refinery outages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the full analysis:\u003cbr>\n[documentcloud url=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6015285-CEC-MEMO-Gasoline-Price-Final-05-15-2019.html\" responsive=true height=800]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KQED reported\u003c/a> that a recent shutdown of Valero's Benicia refinery may have contributed to increasing prices at the pump in California this year. Valero \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">began restarting\u003c/a> operations at the facility earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer advocates are applauding the Energy Commission's analysis and Newsom's call for the investigation. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/consumer-watchdog-applauds-governor-newsoms-energy-commission-report-taking-gas-price\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement\u003c/a>, the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog said they have issued a series of reports since 2015 finding that oil companies may be manipulating the market in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Governor Newsom's Energy Commission has finally acknowledged that the extra dollar we pay at the pump is likely highway robbery because it's not justified by production costs,\" said Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court in the statement. \"At last we have a real investigation into the Golden State Gouge.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his letter to Newsom, Energy Commission Chair Hochschild proposed spending another five months further examining the causes of skyrocketing gas prices. Consumer Watchdog is asking Newsom and the state Legislature to take action against oil companies before that full investigation is complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Californians need relief now,\" Court said. \"Oil companies should not be able to use this state like an ATM anymore. It's time to reverse the cash flow.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Refinery outages and potential market manipulation could be to blame for California's high gas prices, according to the California Energy Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission's analysis comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101870725/governor-seeks-answers-as-california-gas-prices-pass-4-per-gallon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asked the state agency in April\u003c/a> to investigate what he called an \"unaccounted-for price differential\" in the state. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6015287-Letter-to-Governor-Newsom-Regardin-Gas-Prices.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">memo to Newsom on Wednesday\u003c/a>, Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said California gas prices have been higher than the national average since 2015, and \"most recently, that difference has soared to more than a dollar.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6015285-CEC-MEMO-Gasoline-Price-Final-05-15-2019.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">agency's analysis\u003c/a>, the phenomenon can roughly be traced to early 2015, when an \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-exxon-mobil-refinery-20170502-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">explosion at Exxon Mobil's Torrance refinery\u003c/a> prompted state officials to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-exxon-mobil-refinery-explosion-20150813-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">order the company\u003c/a> to shut down the refinery until it could demonstrate safe operation. While the ensuing outage at that refinery only lasted about a year and a half, the commission said spiking prices at the pump in California \"remained well after the restoration of normal operations at Torrance.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2015, the analysis found — after accounting for the state's additional taxes and other program costs — that price increases have ranged between 17 cents and 24 cents per gallon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission said those price increases may be due, in part, to some oil companies charging more than others for the same product. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"While this practice is not necessarily illegal,\" the report says, \"it may be an effort of a segment of the market to artificially inflate prices to the detriment of California consumers.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The analysis found a number of other reasons for the continued differences between California prices and the U.S. average, including crude oil prices and other recent refinery outages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the full analysis:\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KQED reported\u003c/a> that a recent shutdown of Valero's Benicia refinery may have contributed to increasing prices at the pump in California this year. Valero \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">began restarting\u003c/a> operations at the facility earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer advocates are applauding the Energy Commission's analysis and Newsom's call for the investigation. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/consumer-watchdog-applauds-governor-newsoms-energy-commission-report-taking-gas-price\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement\u003c/a>, the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog said they have issued a series of reports since 2015 finding that oil companies may be manipulating the market in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Governor Newsom's Energy Commission has finally acknowledged that the extra dollar we pay at the pump is likely highway robbery because it's not justified by production costs,\" said Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court in the statement. \"At last we have a real investigation into the Golden State Gouge.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his letter to Newsom, Energy Commission Chair Hochschild proposed spending another five months further examining the causes of skyrocketing gas prices. Consumer Watchdog is asking Newsom and the state Legislature to take action against oil companies before that full investigation is complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Californians need relief now,\" Court said. \"Oil companies should not be able to use this state like an ATM anymore. It's time to reverse the cash flow.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Valero Says It Faces $342,000 in Penalties Over Benicia Refinery Pollution Incident",
"title": "Valero Says It Faces $342,000 in Penalties Over Benicia Refinery Pollution Incident",
"headTitle": "The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>Valero says it's facing $342,000 or more in fines from county and regional agencies after a major air pollution incident earlier this year at its Benicia refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"http://www.investorvalero.com/static-files/9441629f-ad5a-4573-b98f-1953160586a8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filing\u003c/a> last week with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the company says it expects to face $242,840 in proposed penalties from the Solano County Department of Resource Management and at least another $100,000 in fines to settle a dozen notices of violation from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=”right” citation=\"Hollin Kretzmann, Oakland-based lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity\"]'These fines don't mean much to a giant oil company worth tens of billions of dollars.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reported penalty amount is about 1/100th of 1% of the San Antonio, Texas-based company's reported adjusted net profit for 2018 — $3.2 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"While it is not possible to predict the outcome of the following environmental proceedings, if any one or more of them were decided against us, we believe that there would be no material effect on our financial position, results of operators, or liquidity,\" the company said in its filing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SEC document also reported a \u003ca href=\"https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2019/05/14/valero-says-could-facing-1-3-m-fine-texas-attorney-general/1192540001/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">much larger penalty\u003c/a>, $1.3 million, that Valero believes it faces in connection with an incident in the Texas city of Corpus Christi, where contaminated backflow from a company asphalt plant contaminated the area's water supply for several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia's mayor and a local environmentalist who has followed the Benicia refinery's \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recent problems\u003c/a> said the penalties barely amount to a drop in the bucket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fines are the cost of doing business,\" said Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, who says Valero should reimburse the city for the money it spent on handling the refinery accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These fines don't mean much to a giant oil company worth tens of billions of dollars,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, an Oakland-based lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Valero Refinery Coverage\" tag=\"valero\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's likely only a matter of time before we see another incident, so the communities near these dangerous refineries deserve better protection from toxic air pollution,\" Kretzmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lillian Riojas, a Valero spokeswoman, said the company would not comment beyond its public filing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ralph Borrmann, a spokesman for the BAAQMD, emphasized that the Valero fines were not settled yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district tends to spend several years negotiating settlements with local refineries, bringing together a handful of violations into a package long after they are the subject of media coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, the district announced in March that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11732859/shell-martinez-refinery-fine-for-2016-air-pollution-incident\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shell\u003c/a> had agreed to pay $165,000 to settle violations at its Martinez refinery that took place in 2015 and 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency's violations associated with a larger problem at Valero, the full facility power outage in May 2017 that caused a more significant pollution release, have been not been resolved yet, according to Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County's investigation into Valero's most recent incident is ongoing, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, the county's assistant director or resource management, who emphasized that the agency has yet to produce or negotiate any final violations in connection with Valero's March releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Schmidtbauer said it was typical for his department to discuss tentative findings and potential penalties with companies it's investigating, talks he said would be preliminary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Two refinery components\u003c/a> — a processing unit called a fluid coker, which heats up and \"cracks\" the thickest and heaviest components of crude oil, and a flue gas scrubber, which is supposed to remove fine particles before they're released from the facility's smokestacks — are under scrutiny in Solano County's probe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They began malfunctioning on March 11, resulting in the release of sooty smoke from the refinery. The releases intensified two weeks later when the facility belched out a large amount of black soot, leading to elevated levels of particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The smoke prompted county officials to issue a health advisory for those with respiratory problems. Refinery managers shut down the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's SEC filing came as the Benicia refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">began a gradual process of restarting\u003c/a> after being offline for more than 40 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The resumption of operations at the facility coincided with a slow and very small drop in gas prices, after two months of increases. On March 24, the day Valero shutdown, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in California was $3.49, according to AAA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On May 7, as the Benicia refinery gradually got back online, the the average price was $4.10. On Tuesday, it had dipped slightly to $4.07.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Energy experts have said Valero's shutdown, coupled with other refinery problems in California and the high cost of crude oil globally, led to the state's recent gas price hikes, which are currently the subject of a state Energy Commission investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Valero says it's facing $342,000 or more in fines from county and regional agencies after a major air pollution incident earlier this year at its Benicia refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"http://www.investorvalero.com/static-files/9441629f-ad5a-4573-b98f-1953160586a8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filing\u003c/a> last week with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the company says it expects to face $242,840 in proposed penalties from the Solano County Department of Resource Management and at least another $100,000 in fines to settle a dozen notices of violation from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reported penalty amount is about 1/100th of 1% of the San Antonio, Texas-based company's reported adjusted net profit for 2018 — $3.2 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"While it is not possible to predict the outcome of the following environmental proceedings, if any one or more of them were decided against us, we believe that there would be no material effect on our financial position, results of operators, or liquidity,\" the company said in its filing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SEC document also reported a \u003ca href=\"https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2019/05/14/valero-says-could-facing-1-3-m-fine-texas-attorney-general/1192540001/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">much larger penalty\u003c/a>, $1.3 million, that Valero believes it faces in connection with an incident in the Texas city of Corpus Christi, where contaminated backflow from a company asphalt plant contaminated the area's water supply for several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia's mayor and a local environmentalist who has followed the Benicia refinery's \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recent problems\u003c/a> said the penalties barely amount to a drop in the bucket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fines are the cost of doing business,\" said Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, who says Valero should reimburse the city for the money it spent on handling the refinery accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These fines don't mean much to a giant oil company worth tens of billions of dollars,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, an Oakland-based lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's likely only a matter of time before we see another incident, so the communities near these dangerous refineries deserve better protection from toxic air pollution,\" Kretzmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lillian Riojas, a Valero spokeswoman, said the company would not comment beyond its public filing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ralph Borrmann, a spokesman for the BAAQMD, emphasized that the Valero fines were not settled yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district tends to spend several years negotiating settlements with local refineries, bringing together a handful of violations into a package long after they are the subject of media coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, the district announced in March that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11732859/shell-martinez-refinery-fine-for-2016-air-pollution-incident\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shell\u003c/a> had agreed to pay $165,000 to settle violations at its Martinez refinery that took place in 2015 and 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency's violations associated with a larger problem at Valero, the full facility power outage in May 2017 that caused a more significant pollution release, have been not been resolved yet, according to Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County's investigation into Valero's most recent incident is ongoing, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, the county's assistant director or resource management, who emphasized that the agency has yet to produce or negotiate any final violations in connection with Valero's March releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Schmidtbauer said it was typical for his department to discuss tentative findings and potential penalties with companies it's investigating, talks he said would be preliminary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Two refinery components\u003c/a> — a processing unit called a fluid coker, which heats up and \"cracks\" the thickest and heaviest components of crude oil, and a flue gas scrubber, which is supposed to remove fine particles before they're released from the facility's smokestacks — are under scrutiny in Solano County's probe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They began malfunctioning on March 11, resulting in the release of sooty smoke from the refinery. The releases intensified two weeks later when the facility belched out a large amount of black soot, leading to elevated levels of particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The smoke prompted county officials to issue a health advisory for those with respiratory problems. Refinery managers shut down the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's SEC filing came as the Benicia refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11745576/valero-restarts-benicia-refinery-helping-to-slow-statewide-gas-price-hike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">began a gradual process of restarting\u003c/a> after being offline for more than 40 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The resumption of operations at the facility coincided with a slow and very small drop in gas prices, after two months of increases. On March 24, the day Valero shutdown, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in California was $3.49, according to AAA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On May 7, as the Benicia refinery gradually got back online, the the average price was $4.10. On Tuesday, it had dipped slightly to $4.07.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Energy experts have said Valero's shutdown, coupled with other refinery problems in California and the high cost of crude oil globally, led to the state's recent gas price hikes, which are currently the subject of a state Energy Commission investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Valero Restarts Benicia Refinery, Further Easing Statewide Gas Price Spike",
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"content": "\u003cp>Valero is restarting its Benicia refinery more than 40 days after a major malfunction and pollution release forced the energy giant to shut down the facility, contributing to the state's recent spike in fuel costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related\" tag=\"valero\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The Valero Benicia refinery has commenced the startup process, which is a multi-day sequenced event,\" the company said in a notification sent to Benicia city officials over the weekend. The message warned of potential \"visible, intermittent flaring\" as a necessary safety precaution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That flaring began Tuesday morning, according to a state hazardous materials database, and included a \u003ca href=\"https://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f1841a103c102734882563e200760c4a/7a2d6d5a9ff37ac9882583f3004557c2?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,valero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">release of sulfur dioxide\u003c/a>. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District sent staff to the refinery to observe the flaring, said agency spokesman Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has also been in touch with the Benicia Fire Department about the startup and flaring, according to Fire Chief Josh Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Valero shut down the refinery\u003c/a> on March 24 after ongoing equipment problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district, along with California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) and Solano County inspectors, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investigating\u003c/a> the refinery's problems since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The focus of the county investigation centers on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two key refinery components\u003c/a> that malfunctioned, allowing petroleum coke (petcoke), an oil processing residue, to escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For several hours on March 24, county officials issued a health advisory, warning residents with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The petcoke releases later prompted Benicia's mayor and air quality advocates to call for local air regulators and the city to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">create a more robust and coordinated strategy\u003c/a> to measure what gushes out of the refinery. Two years earlier, the same facility experienced a full outage and a much \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more extreme pollution release\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district, which issued 12 notices of violation against Valero for the most recent releases, does not have a stationary air monitoring device in Benicia's residential areas and had to drive a van to the area to monitor the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shutdown took place several weeks after California's gas prices began to increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Energy experts correctly predicted\u003c/a> that the refinery's problems, coupled with maintenance issues at several other California refineries, would prompt an increase in crude oil prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">'The news about Valero was actually a pretty big reason for the prices evening out.'\u003ccite>Mike Blasky, AAA spokesman\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in California on the day Valero shut down its Benicia refinery was $3.49, according to the American Automobile Association. It has increased by more than 60 cents since then, and on Tuesday stood at $4.10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101870725/governor-seeks-answers-as-california-gas-prices-pass-4-per-gallon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ordered the California Energy Commission to investigate\u003c/a> the hikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the average price increases have slowed in recent days, and an AAA representative said Tuesday that costs may be beginning to stabilize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The news about Valero was actually a pretty big reason for the prices evening out,\" said AAA Northern California spokesman Mike Blasky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said just the talk of the Benicia refinery restarting contributed to a recent 8-cent drop in the average wholesale cost of a gallon of gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When those units do restart, that's going to really contribute to a higher utilization rate, which will lower prices as we see our stocks resupplied,\" Blasky said. \"Any major refinery shutdown in California tends to really throw things out of whack.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED's Peter Jon Shuler contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Valero is restarting its Benicia refinery more than 40 days after a major malfunction and pollution release forced the energy giant to shut down the facility, contributing to the state's recent spike in fuel costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The Valero Benicia refinery has commenced the startup process, which is a multi-day sequenced event,\" the company said in a notification sent to Benicia city officials over the weekend. The message warned of potential \"visible, intermittent flaring\" as a necessary safety precaution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That flaring began Tuesday morning, according to a state hazardous materials database, and included a \u003ca href=\"https://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f1841a103c102734882563e200760c4a/7a2d6d5a9ff37ac9882583f3004557c2?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,valero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">release of sulfur dioxide\u003c/a>. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District sent staff to the refinery to observe the flaring, said agency spokesman Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has also been in touch with the Benicia Fire Department about the startup and flaring, according to Fire Chief Josh Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Valero shut down the refinery\u003c/a> on March 24 after ongoing equipment problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district, along with California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) and Solano County inspectors, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investigating\u003c/a> the refinery's problems since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The focus of the county investigation centers on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two key refinery components\u003c/a> that malfunctioned, allowing petroleum coke (petcoke), an oil processing residue, to escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For several hours on March 24, county officials issued a health advisory, warning residents with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The petcoke releases later prompted Benicia's mayor and air quality advocates to call for local air regulators and the city to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">create a more robust and coordinated strategy\u003c/a> to measure what gushes out of the refinery. Two years earlier, the same facility experienced a full outage and a much \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more extreme pollution release\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district, which issued 12 notices of violation against Valero for the most recent releases, does not have a stationary air monitoring device in Benicia's residential areas and had to drive a van to the area to monitor the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shutdown took place several weeks after California's gas prices began to increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Energy experts correctly predicted\u003c/a> that the refinery's problems, coupled with maintenance issues at several other California refineries, would prompt an increase in crude oil prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">'The news about Valero was actually a pretty big reason for the prices evening out.'\u003ccite>Mike Blasky, AAA spokesman\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in California on the day Valero shut down its Benicia refinery was $3.49, according to the American Automobile Association. It has increased by more than 60 cents since then, and on Tuesday stood at $4.10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101870725/governor-seeks-answers-as-california-gas-prices-pass-4-per-gallon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ordered the California Energy Commission to investigate\u003c/a> the hikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the average price increases have slowed in recent days, and an AAA representative said Tuesday that costs may be beginning to stabilize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The news about Valero was actually a pretty big reason for the prices evening out,\" said AAA Northern California spokesman Mike Blasky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said just the talk of the Benicia refinery restarting contributed to a recent 8-cent drop in the average wholesale cost of a gallon of gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When those units do restart, that's going to really contribute to a higher utilization rate, which will lower prices as we see our stocks resupplied,\" Blasky said. \"Any major refinery shutdown in California tends to really throw things out of whack.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED's Peter Jon Shuler contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Valero's Benicia refinery, shut down since last month because of equipment malfunctions, could be back online by mid-May, Benicia city officials and state regulators say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the company won't provide a date that it plans to restart the Solano County facility, Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick said Monday he estimates the refinery will be back online in the next three to four weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chadwick said a Solano County hazardous materials specialist assigned to Valero provided him with the estimated timetable. County officials did make the specialist available for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Energy Commission said Monday that the Benicia refinery is one of three California crude oil processing facilities that the agency expects to be restarted over the next several weeks. Shutdowns at the refineries — including two in the Los Angeles area — have helped drive up the cost of gasoline statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero powered down its Benicia facility on March 24 after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">failing to resolve\u003c/a> malfunctions that led to the release of soot-laden smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident prompted Solano County to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health advisory\u003c/a> for people with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero representative said the company will not disclose its restart date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I know we shared information about the status of the refinery on March 24, but beyond that, it is Valero's policy to not comment on operations or possible outages/restarts at its facilities beyond what is publicly reported,\" said Lillian Riojas, a company spokeswoman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Energy Commission has been in touch with Valero but does not release certain data about its operations due to regulatory restrictions, according to agency spokeswoman Sandy Louey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Louey said refinery issues that have played a part in recent gas price increases — including the Valero shutdown — would be coming to an end in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The Energy Commission can say that the three large refinery maintenance issues are scheduled to be resolved over a period beginning late April through the middle of May,\" she said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides Valero, the facilities involve two in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson: a Phillips 66 refinery that suffered a fire and a Marathon Oil refinery that's been down for planned maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statewide average cost of a gallon of regular has increased 62 cents since Valero's March 24 shutdown, according to \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AAA\u003c/a>. It now stands at $4.006.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've had major refinery issues all spring,\" said AAA Northern California spokesman Michael Blasky. \"I've heard it referred to as a perfect storm in the industry, with a lot of refinery incidents of flaring or shutting down for days or weeks at time.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Chevron's Richmond refinery experienced its seventh \u003ca href=\"https://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f1841a103c102734882563e200760c4a/4f3f06b2dc673589882583db002cb46c?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,chevron\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flaring incident\u003c/a> of the year on Saturday, according to Contra Costa County's chief environmental and hazardous materials officer, Randy Sawyer. The incident caught the attention of the Oil Price Information Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/OPIS_WestCoast/status/1117816827608993792\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monday's price marks the first time the statewide average cost for a gallon of regular has topped $4 in close to five years, Blasky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that while other factors have played a part in the rise — for instance, an increase in the price of crude oil worldwide — the refinery issues have been a major contributing factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I would hope, as refineries come back to their normal levels of production, that we start to see prices level out and hopefully start to come down by mid-May,\" Blasky said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Solano County facility is one of three where problems have curtailed gasoline production, helping drive up prices at the pump to more than $4 a gallon. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Valero's Benicia refinery, shut down since last month because of equipment malfunctions, could be back online by mid-May, Benicia city officials and state regulators say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the company won't provide a date that it plans to restart the Solano County facility, Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick said Monday he estimates the refinery will be back online in the next three to four weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chadwick said a Solano County hazardous materials specialist assigned to Valero provided him with the estimated timetable. County officials did make the specialist available for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Energy Commission said Monday that the Benicia refinery is one of three California crude oil processing facilities that the agency expects to be restarted over the next several weeks. Shutdowns at the refineries — including two in the Los Angeles area — have helped drive up the cost of gasoline statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero powered down its Benicia facility on March 24 after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">failing to resolve\u003c/a> malfunctions that led to the release of soot-laden smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident prompted Solano County to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11737076/valeros-pollution-release-exposes-weaknesses-in-benicias-air-monitoring-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health advisory\u003c/a> for people with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero representative said the company will not disclose its restart date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I know we shared information about the status of the refinery on March 24, but beyond that, it is Valero's policy to not comment on operations or possible outages/restarts at its facilities beyond what is publicly reported,\" said Lillian Riojas, a company spokeswoman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Energy Commission has been in touch with Valero but does not release certain data about its operations due to regulatory restrictions, according to agency spokeswoman Sandy Louey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Louey said refinery issues that have played a part in recent gas price increases — including the Valero shutdown — would be coming to an end in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The Energy Commission can say that the three large refinery maintenance issues are scheduled to be resolved over a period beginning late April through the middle of May,\" she said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides Valero, the facilities involve two in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson: a Phillips 66 refinery that suffered a fire and a Marathon Oil refinery that's been down for planned maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statewide average cost of a gallon of regular has increased 62 cents since Valero's March 24 shutdown, according to \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AAA\u003c/a>. It now stands at $4.006.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've had major refinery issues all spring,\" said AAA Northern California spokesman Michael Blasky. \"I've heard it referred to as a perfect storm in the industry, with a lot of refinery incidents of flaring or shutting down for days or weeks at time.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Chevron's Richmond refinery experienced its seventh \u003ca href=\"https://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f1841a103c102734882563e200760c4a/4f3f06b2dc673589882583db002cb46c?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,chevron\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flaring incident\u003c/a> of the year on Saturday, according to Contra Costa County's chief environmental and hazardous materials officer, Randy Sawyer. The incident caught the attention of the Oil Price Information Service.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Monday's price marks the first time the statewide average cost for a gallon of regular has topped $4 in close to five years, Blasky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that while other factors have played a part in the rise — for instance, an increase in the price of crude oil worldwide — the refinery issues have been a major contributing factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I would hope, as refineries come back to their normal levels of production, that we start to see prices level out and hopefully start to come down by mid-May,\" Blasky said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Valero's March Pollution Release Exposes Weaknesses in Benicia's Air Monitoring System",
"title": "Valero's March Pollution Release Exposes Weaknesses in Benicia's Air Monitoring System",
"headTitle": "The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>When a major malfunction caused Valero's Benicia refinery to spew out pollution last month, leading city officials to warn residents with respiratory issues to stay indoors, the agency that regulates air in the Bay Area had to send a van to monitor the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Benicia's Valero Refinery\" tag=\"valero-refinery\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because there is no stationary air monitoring device in Benicia's residential areas, even though the city is home to one of the largest refineries in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District took a series of air samples, but none during the height of the emergency that Sunday morning of March 24, when a plume of black smoke filled the air for hours, convincing officials to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\">health advisory\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several people called 911 to report breathing problems at the time of the refinery breakdown. The air district said it received about a dozen complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's also no evidence that Valero monitored the air in those residential areas during the time period when the releases were most extreme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery problems sent soot into the air and followed two weeks of more minor releases that regulators thought were tapering off. The plume that morning eventually led Valero to shut down a large part of its facility, a move that has contributed to the increase in the cost of gas statewide in recent weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several public agencies and companies conducted air monitoring work to measure for a variety of chemicals that may have spewed from the refinery's stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some local officials say those tests may prove that, for the most part, elevated levels of particulate matter and toxic gases did not waft into nearby residential neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, it looks so far like the pollution was not as bad as the extreme release of toxic sulfur dioxide that accompanied \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11681218/cpuc-probe-says-pge-mistakes-led-to-benicia-refinery-outage\">Valero's May 2017 power outage\u003c/a>, one of the Bay Area's worst refinery accidents in years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/TedrickG/status/1109828119693684736\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Benicia's mayor, along with a leading air quality expert and two local environmentalists, say these most recent releases confirm that the small North Bay city needs a more robust and coordinated strategy to measure what gushes out of its largest employer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It seems that right now, if there's an incident, what happens is folks kind of drive around and see if they can catch the plume,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Valero's data:\"Questionable until further notice\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\">Three government agencies are investigating\u003c/a> the most recent malfunction at the Valero refinery. The focus of at least one of those investigations centers on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\">two key components at the refinery\u003c/a> that experienced problems, allowing petroleum coke, an oil processing residue, to escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery malfunctions began on March 11. Two days later, Valero hired an Arkansas-based consulting firm, the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH), to take air samples around the refinery to test for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During eight consecutive days of testing, the firm detected more than a thousand small readings for particulate matter less than 10 microns wide and 2.5 microns wide, known as PM 10 and PM 2.5, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That work ended when regulators and Valero believed the releases were coming to an end. On March 23, petroleum coke began again belching from the refinery's stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the CTEH did not restart air sampling until the following afternoon, well after the health advisory had ended and officials told the public the air was OK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney with the Oakland-based Center for Biological Diversity, said it's concerning that the CTEH data does not include the time period during the height of the releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There is a huge gap of data that we are missing,\" Kretzmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A CTEH spokesman referred questions to Valero, which declined to answer questions about the firm’s work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero runs fence line monitors around the refinery, but the \u003ca href=\"https://beniciarefineryairmonitors.org/measurements.html\">site\u003c/a> that publishes its data includes a warning that all of its measurements should be considered \"questionable until further notice\" because several of its parts require adjustments before they can produce reliable and accurate data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Air district monitoring efforts\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright noborder\">\u003cstrong>Benicia Air Quality Records\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5816584-Valero-Coke-Sample.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"350\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5816582-2019-Scrubber-Monitoring-Log.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"350\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>On March 24 and 25, BAAQMD inspectors drove the agency's mobile monitoring van near the refinery to measure for hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as benzene, toluene and butadiene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency compared those concentrations for acute, chronic and work-time exposure to state health standards, according to Eric Stevenson, the district's director of meteorology and measurements\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What we saw in these results was nothing above those levels,\" Stevenson said. \"That being said, we did them on Sunday after a lot of the worst visual impacts were detected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stevenson said the district did not collect air monitoring data when the health advisory was in effect in order to protect the health of its staff and because county officials did not request it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When the health department declares a shelter in place, we do our best to provide any information that they request. They didn't request any information from us prior to that shelter in place,\" Stevenson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County spokesman Matthew Davis confirmed that the county did not request tests from the air district before it issued the health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\"All of the air readings up to that point, during and afterwards, were 'good' to 'moderate' and at no time did the county or CTEH results show 'unhealthy' levels for sensitive individuals or the general public,\" Davis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elevated particulate levels\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, an air monitoring log from the Benicia Fire Department shows six occurrences when particulate readings were elevated in the early morning hours before the advisory. Fire crews did not take any samples during the hours-long health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fire department's monitoring shows particulate matter pollution repeatedly spiked to very high levels, far higher than what would be considered safe for daily air quality,\" Kretzmann said. \"It raises big concerns for vulnerable people, like kids with asthma.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire department's log also includes several instances in which crews noted moderate to strong petroleum byproduct odors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is concerning since those could be toxic,\" said Wexler, the UC Davis air quality expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time Solano County inspectors restarted tests that morning, at 9:45 a.m., the particulate levels had dropped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county also tested areas in the refinery on one day to determine whether high levels of heavy metals were in the petroleum coke dust coming from the stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those tests revealed that the releases did not include elevated levels of heavy metals, according to Jag Sahota, the county's environmental health manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Calls for change\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You can't fix what you don't know,\" Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said in an interview on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patterson said the city needs a stronger air monitoring program, money to run it and expertise to understand it, similar to the one in Richmond, where Chevron's refinery is located. A \u003ca href=\"http://fenceline.org/richmond/index.htm\">program\u003c/a> there provides air quality readings from monitors in three neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not helpful if you don't know the full extent of the public impact,\" said Patterson. \"If you don't have the personnel and you don't have the funds and you don't have a clear path of information, you don't know what's going on. You can't take measures to protect public health and safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wexler agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We really need to surround the plant with monitors in the neighborhoods where people are living and breathing,\" he said. \"If the facility can't get control of its situation, it should incur some costs to protect the people who live in the region.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andres Soto, a Benicia resident and organizer for Communities for a Better Environment, said the city has gone too long without an efficient and robust air monitoring program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We need to have a very comprehensive monitoring system that is looking at both the greenhouse gases as well as the particulate matter,\" Soto said. \"We needed to do that 10 years ago. It's beyond critical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kretzmann, from the Center for Biological Diversity, said the refinery and air district do not have a plan in place to capture the most critical data when pollution threatens Benicia residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's no telling what information we're missing, and the community still doesn't know the true extent of danger it’s facing,\" he said. \"The city needs a system that can accurately and comprehensively measure air pollution when dangerous events occur.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>More monitoring on the horizon\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district said it’s planning to add monitoring stations to areas near all five of the Bay Area's refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These stations will be sited to help evaluate and track refinery emission impacts in the surrounding communities,\" said air district spokesman Ralph Borrmann, adding that the agency is \"identifying and attempting to secure suitable space for the site in Benicia.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero also plans to help fund work on community monitoring devices, as part of a 2003 settlement with a local environmental group. That group, called the Good Neighbor Steering Committee, is planning to hire staff to run a community air monitoring device in the city’s northwest corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That might ease the community's concern but not lead to the best data, said Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County's health officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More monitors would clearly give more refined information,\" Matyas said. \"But in places where that's been done, that does not yield more accurate estimates of risk over the long term over that area.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During major incidents, like Valero's recent malfunction, he added, mobile air monitoring is still necessary to capture data that a stationary device would not be able to collect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When a major malfunction caused Valero's Benicia refinery to spew out pollution last month, leading city officials to warn residents with respiratory issues to stay indoors, the agency that regulates air in the Bay Area had to send a van to monitor the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because there is no stationary air monitoring device in Benicia's residential areas, even though the city is home to one of the largest refineries in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District took a series of air samples, but none during the height of the emergency that Sunday morning of March 24, when a plume of black smoke filled the air for hours, convincing officials to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\">health advisory\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several people called 911 to report breathing problems at the time of the refinery breakdown. The air district said it received about a dozen complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's also no evidence that Valero monitored the air in those residential areas during the time period when the releases were most extreme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery problems sent soot into the air and followed two weeks of more minor releases that regulators thought were tapering off. The plume that morning eventually led Valero to shut down a large part of its facility, a move that has contributed to the increase in the cost of gas statewide in recent weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several public agencies and companies conducted air monitoring work to measure for a variety of chemicals that may have spewed from the refinery's stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some local officials say those tests may prove that, for the most part, elevated levels of particulate matter and toxic gases did not waft into nearby residential neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, it looks so far like the pollution was not as bad as the extreme release of toxic sulfur dioxide that accompanied \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11681218/cpuc-probe-says-pge-mistakes-led-to-benicia-refinery-outage\">Valero's May 2017 power outage\u003c/a>, one of the Bay Area's worst refinery accidents in years.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>But Benicia's mayor, along with a leading air quality expert and two local environmentalists, say these most recent releases confirm that the small North Bay city needs a more robust and coordinated strategy to measure what gushes out of its largest employer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It seems that right now, if there's an incident, what happens is folks kind of drive around and see if they can catch the plume,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Valero's data:\"Questionable until further notice\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\">Three government agencies are investigating\u003c/a> the most recent malfunction at the Valero refinery. The focus of at least one of those investigations centers on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735870/two-parts-of-valeros-benicia-refinery-under-scrutiny-in-probe-of-pollution-releases\">two key components at the refinery\u003c/a> that experienced problems, allowing petroleum coke, an oil processing residue, to escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery malfunctions began on March 11. Two days later, Valero hired an Arkansas-based consulting firm, the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH), to take air samples around the refinery to test for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During eight consecutive days of testing, the firm detected more than a thousand small readings for particulate matter less than 10 microns wide and 2.5 microns wide, known as PM 10 and PM 2.5, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That work ended when regulators and Valero believed the releases were coming to an end. On March 23, petroleum coke began again belching from the refinery's stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the CTEH did not restart air sampling until the following afternoon, well after the health advisory had ended and officials told the public the air was OK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney with the Oakland-based Center for Biological Diversity, said it's concerning that the CTEH data does not include the time period during the height of the releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There is a huge gap of data that we are missing,\" Kretzmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A CTEH spokesman referred questions to Valero, which declined to answer questions about the firm’s work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero runs fence line monitors around the refinery, but the \u003ca href=\"https://beniciarefineryairmonitors.org/measurements.html\">site\u003c/a> that publishes its data includes a warning that all of its measurements should be considered \"questionable until further notice\" because several of its parts require adjustments before they can produce reliable and accurate data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Air district monitoring efforts\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright noborder\">\u003cstrong>Benicia Air Quality Records\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5816584-Valero-Coke-Sample.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"350\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5816582-2019-Scrubber-Monitoring-Log.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"350\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>On March 24 and 25, BAAQMD inspectors drove the agency's mobile monitoring van near the refinery to measure for hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as benzene, toluene and butadiene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency compared those concentrations for acute, chronic and work-time exposure to state health standards, according to Eric Stevenson, the district's director of meteorology and measurements\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What we saw in these results was nothing above those levels,\" Stevenson said. \"That being said, we did them on Sunday after a lot of the worst visual impacts were detected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stevenson said the district did not collect air monitoring data when the health advisory was in effect in order to protect the health of its staff and because county officials did not request it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When the health department declares a shelter in place, we do our best to provide any information that they request. They didn't request any information from us prior to that shelter in place,\" Stevenson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County spokesman Matthew Davis confirmed that the county did not request tests from the air district before it issued the health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\"All of the air readings up to that point, during and afterwards, were 'good' to 'moderate' and at no time did the county or CTEH results show 'unhealthy' levels for sensitive individuals or the general public,\" Davis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elevated particulate levels\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, an air monitoring log from the Benicia Fire Department shows six occurrences when particulate readings were elevated in the early morning hours before the advisory. Fire crews did not take any samples during the hours-long health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fire department's monitoring shows particulate matter pollution repeatedly spiked to very high levels, far higher than what would be considered safe for daily air quality,\" Kretzmann said. \"It raises big concerns for vulnerable people, like kids with asthma.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire department's log also includes several instances in which crews noted moderate to strong petroleum byproduct odors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is concerning since those could be toxic,\" said Wexler, the UC Davis air quality expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time Solano County inspectors restarted tests that morning, at 9:45 a.m., the particulate levels had dropped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county also tested areas in the refinery on one day to determine whether high levels of heavy metals were in the petroleum coke dust coming from the stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those tests revealed that the releases did not include elevated levels of heavy metals, according to Jag Sahota, the county's environmental health manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Calls for change\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You can't fix what you don't know,\" Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said in an interview on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patterson said the city needs a stronger air monitoring program, money to run it and expertise to understand it, similar to the one in Richmond, where Chevron's refinery is located. A \u003ca href=\"http://fenceline.org/richmond/index.htm\">program\u003c/a> there provides air quality readings from monitors in three neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not helpful if you don't know the full extent of the public impact,\" said Patterson. \"If you don't have the personnel and you don't have the funds and you don't have a clear path of information, you don't know what's going on. You can't take measures to protect public health and safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wexler agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We really need to surround the plant with monitors in the neighborhoods where people are living and breathing,\" he said. \"If the facility can't get control of its situation, it should incur some costs to protect the people who live in the region.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andres Soto, a Benicia resident and organizer for Communities for a Better Environment, said the city has gone too long without an efficient and robust air monitoring program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We need to have a very comprehensive monitoring system that is looking at both the greenhouse gases as well as the particulate matter,\" Soto said. \"We needed to do that 10 years ago. It's beyond critical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kretzmann, from the Center for Biological Diversity, said the refinery and air district do not have a plan in place to capture the most critical data when pollution threatens Benicia residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's no telling what information we're missing, and the community still doesn't know the true extent of danger it’s facing,\" he said. \"The city needs a system that can accurately and comprehensively measure air pollution when dangerous events occur.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>More monitoring on the horizon\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district said it’s planning to add monitoring stations to areas near all five of the Bay Area's refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These stations will be sited to help evaluate and track refinery emission impacts in the surrounding communities,\" said air district spokesman Ralph Borrmann, adding that the agency is \"identifying and attempting to secure suitable space for the site in Benicia.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero also plans to help fund work on community monitoring devices, as part of a 2003 settlement with a local environmental group. That group, called the Good Neighbor Steering Committee, is planning to hire staff to run a community air monitoring device in the city’s northwest corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That might ease the community's concern but not lead to the best data, said Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County's health officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More monitors would clearly give more refined information,\" Matyas said. \"But in places where that's been done, that does not yield more accurate estimates of risk over the long term over that area.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During major incidents, like Valero's recent malfunction, he added, mobile air monitoring is still necessary to capture data that a stationary device would not be able to collect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Two Parts of Valero's Benicia Refinery Under Scrutiny in Probe of Pollution Releases",
"title": "Two Parts of Valero's Benicia Refinery Under Scrutiny in Probe of Pollution Releases",
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"content": "\u003cp>Two key components at the Valero refinery in Benicia experienced problems earlier this month, leading to weeks of releases of petroleum coke dust that intensified on Sunday, culminating in the shutdown of a large portion of the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new details on the refinery's malfunctions are laid out by Valero in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/vertical/sites/%7BF991A639-AAED-4E1A-9735-86EA195E2C8D%7D/uploads/Press_Release_-_Valero_72_Hour_Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">preliminary report\u003c/a> filed with Benicia city officials this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The malfunctions are the focus of at least one part of an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investigation\u003c/a> by Solano County inspectors into an incident that led to health concerns for people living near the refinery and to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a statewide spike\u003c/a> in gasoline prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's report says that the recent problems at the refinery began March 11 when a crude oil processing unit called \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinseyenergyinsights.com/resources/refinery-reference-desk/coker/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a fluid coker\u003c/a> experienced \"operating difficulty.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, a fluid coker heats up and \"cracks\" the thickest, heaviest components of crude oil processed at a refinery, breaking them down into material that can be used in diesel or other petroleum products. One of the byproducts of the process is solid carbon residue called \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinseyenergyinsights.com/resources/refinery-reference-desk/pet-coke/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">petroleum coke\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problems with Valero's fluid coker unit allowed petroleum coke dust, called coke fines, to flow to a second unit called a flue gas scrubber. The scrubber cleans out fine particles before they're released from the refinery's smokestacks into the air. That process is supposed to ensure that the refinery's emissions don't violate air quality standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the coke fines moving through the scrubber unit set the stage for a release of particulate pollution from the refinery -- a release that was clearly visible from outside the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The presence of coke fines in the FGS resulted in a darker than normal plume appearance,\" Valero's 72-hour report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County investigators want to know if the scrubber was somehow overwhelmed or damaged, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, the county's director of resource management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We know something's not operating properly,\" Schmidtbauer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health Cal/OSHA and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District are also investigating the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the problem surfaced, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11733145/air-district-hits-valero-with-violations-over-benicia-refinery-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">air district issued eight notices of violation\u003c/a> against Valero for public nuisance and visible emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Refinery crews worked to reduce the releases and Valero said the situation showed \"significant improvement\" by last Friday, when the plume coming from the refinery's stacks \"returned to normal appearance,\" Valero's report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that changed the next day. The scrubber \"experienced an operational upset resulting in a dark, opaque plume and emissions of particulate matter,\" the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new surge of petroleum coke dust billowing from the refinery's stacks prompted Benicia officials to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health advisory\u003c/a>, urging people with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery began to shut down several units, and the air district wound up issuing four more violation notices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The powering down of the the facility is contributing to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an increase in gasoline prices\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gas in California jumped to $3.59, up 16 cents from a week ago, \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to AAA\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Energy analysts and state regulators say the price will continue to rise until operations at Valero return to normal.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Two key components at the Valero refinery in Benicia experienced problems earlier this month, leading to weeks of releases of petroleum coke dust that intensified on Sunday, culminating in the shutdown of a large portion of the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new details on the refinery's malfunctions are laid out by Valero in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/vertical/sites/%7BF991A639-AAED-4E1A-9735-86EA195E2C8D%7D/uploads/Press_Release_-_Valero_72_Hour_Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">preliminary report\u003c/a> filed with Benicia city officials this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The malfunctions are the focus of at least one part of an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investigation\u003c/a> by Solano County inspectors into an incident that led to health concerns for people living near the refinery and to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a statewide spike\u003c/a> in gasoline prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's report says that the recent problems at the refinery began March 11 when a crude oil processing unit called \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinseyenergyinsights.com/resources/refinery-reference-desk/coker/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a fluid coker\u003c/a> experienced \"operating difficulty.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, a fluid coker heats up and \"cracks\" the thickest, heaviest components of crude oil processed at a refinery, breaking them down into material that can be used in diesel or other petroleum products. One of the byproducts of the process is solid carbon residue called \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinseyenergyinsights.com/resources/refinery-reference-desk/pet-coke/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">petroleum coke\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problems with Valero's fluid coker unit allowed petroleum coke dust, called coke fines, to flow to a second unit called a flue gas scrubber. The scrubber cleans out fine particles before they're released from the refinery's smokestacks into the air. That process is supposed to ensure that the refinery's emissions don't violate air quality standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the coke fines moving through the scrubber unit set the stage for a release of particulate pollution from the refinery -- a release that was clearly visible from outside the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The presence of coke fines in the FGS resulted in a darker than normal plume appearance,\" Valero's 72-hour report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County investigators want to know if the scrubber was somehow overwhelmed or damaged, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, the county's director of resource management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We know something's not operating properly,\" Schmidtbauer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health Cal/OSHA and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District are also investigating the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the problem surfaced, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11733145/air-district-hits-valero-with-violations-over-benicia-refinery-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">air district issued eight notices of violation\u003c/a> against Valero for public nuisance and visible emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Refinery crews worked to reduce the releases and Valero said the situation showed \"significant improvement\" by last Friday, when the plume coming from the refinery's stacks \"returned to normal appearance,\" Valero's report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that changed the next day. The scrubber \"experienced an operational upset resulting in a dark, opaque plume and emissions of particulate matter,\" the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new surge of petroleum coke dust billowing from the refinery's stacks prompted Benicia officials to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health advisory\u003c/a>, urging people with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery began to shut down several units, and the air district wound up issuing four more violation notices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The powering down of the the facility is contributing to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735475/california-gas-prices-expected-to-spike-in-wake-of-shutdown-at-valeros-benicia-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an increase in gasoline prices\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gas in California jumped to $3.59, up 16 cents from a week ago, \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to AAA\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Energy analysts and state regulators say the price will continue to rise until operations at Valero return to normal.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "California Gas Prices Expected to Spike in Wake of Shutdown at Valero's Benicia Refinery",
"title": "California Gas Prices Expected to Spike in Wake of Shutdown at Valero's Benicia Refinery",
"headTitle": "The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>California drivers — or the millions of them whose cars still run on refined petroleum — can expect to pay more to fill up their gas tanks in the coming days thanks to the partial shutdown of Valero's Benicia refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The retail cost of a gallon of gasoline in the state is expected to rise immediately, according to David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, a transportation energy consulting company based in Irvine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11735237 label='Valero Refinery Trouble']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's after a 12-cent spike in wholesale gas prices on Monday, Hackett said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That price increase is likely to get passed through to motorists over the next week or so,\" he said. \"You'll start seeing prices go up starting probably today.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in California is $3.51, 16 cents higher than a week ago, \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to AAA\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several agencies \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">are investigating\u003c/a> a series of petroleum coke dust releases at the Benicia refinery that began more than two weeks ago. Those releases intensified on Sunday, prompting city officials to issue a health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery's flue gas scrubber malfunctioned, a problem that led to a sooty plume of petroleum coke to billow out of the facility's smokestacks. To deal with the problem, the refinery is slowly shutting down a significant part of its operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11735509\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11735509\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning-632x474.jpg 632w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valero's Benicia refinery on March 24, 2019. \u003ccite>(Solano County)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last week, problems at two other California refineries contributed to the recent jump in gas prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AAA says a fire at a crude processing unit at the Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles County and a series of flaring incidents at Chevron's Richmond refinery drove prices higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AAA spokesman Michael Blasky said price spikes are the norm when refineries suffer problems that lead to curtailed production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When a refinery goes offline and supply drops, retailers incorporate price increases almost immediately in California,\" Blasky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wholesale suppliers that sell fuel to gas stations and hear about the Benicia refinery's shutdown will probably go into the so-called spot market to buy gas, sending the price up, Hackett said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery problems come amid a jump in the price of crude oil over the last year, which has sent gas prices up nationally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Prices have already been driven higher by refinery problems in Northern and Southern California. News of Valero's issues triggered an immediate 12-cent increase in wholesale gasoline prices. ",
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"description": "Prices have already been driven higher by refinery problems in Northern and Southern California. News of Valero's issues triggered an immediate 12-cent increase in wholesale gasoline prices. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California drivers — or the millions of them whose cars still run on refined petroleum — can expect to pay more to fill up their gas tanks in the coming days thanks to the partial shutdown of Valero's Benicia refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The retail cost of a gallon of gasoline in the state is expected to rise immediately, according to David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, a transportation energy consulting company based in Irvine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's after a 12-cent spike in wholesale gas prices on Monday, Hackett said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That price increase is likely to get passed through to motorists over the next week or so,\" he said. \"You'll start seeing prices go up starting probably today.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in California is $3.51, 16 cents higher than a week ago, \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to AAA\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several agencies \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735237/valeros-benicia-refinery-now-target-of-several-probes-into-pollution-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">are investigating\u003c/a> a series of petroleum coke dust releases at the Benicia refinery that began more than two weeks ago. Those releases intensified on Sunday, prompting city officials to issue a health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery's flue gas scrubber malfunctioned, a problem that led to a sooty plume of petroleum coke to billow out of the facility's smokestacks. To deal with the problem, the refinery is slowly shutting down a significant part of its operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11735509\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11735509\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning-632x474.jpg 632w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/03/Valero-Refinery-2019-03-24.-morning-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valero's Benicia refinery on March 24, 2019. \u003ccite>(Solano County)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last week, problems at two other California refineries contributed to the recent jump in gas prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AAA says a fire at a crude processing unit at the Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles County and a series of flaring incidents at Chevron's Richmond refinery drove prices higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AAA spokesman Michael Blasky said price spikes are the norm when refineries suffer problems that lead to curtailed production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When a refinery goes offline and supply drops, retailers incorporate price increases almost immediately in California,\" Blasky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wholesale suppliers that sell fuel to gas stations and hear about the Benicia refinery's shutdown will probably go into the so-called spot market to buy gas, sending the price up, Hackett said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery problems come amid a jump in the price of crude oil over the last year, which has sent gas prices up nationally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Valero's Benicia Refinery Now Target of Several Probes Into Pollution Releases",
"title": "Valero's Benicia Refinery Now Target of Several Probes Into Pollution Releases",
"headTitle": "The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>State workplace regulators, the region's local air quality district and Solano County health officials are trying to find out why a problem at Valero's Benicia refinery suddenly worsened over the weekend, leading to a release of petroleum coke dust that prompted fire officials to urge those with respiratory problems to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident led to a partial shutdown at the facility and represents the worst malfunction at the plant since a power outage caused a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11681218/cpuc-probe-says-pge-mistakes-led-to-benicia-refinery-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major pollution incident\u003c/a> in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The releases of elevated levels of particulate matter led several residents to complain of breathing problems and prompted Benicia's mayor to call on Valero to pay the city back for its work dealing with the emergency. The partial refinery shutdown is also expected to lead to a spike in higher gasoline prices throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said she's gotten a flood of phone calls and emails from residents wanting to know why it took so long for Valero to suspend refinery operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11735475 label='Refinery Incidents Impact Gas Prices']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's a lack of understanding about how coke particulates could be continuously emitted throughout a couple of weeks,\" Patterson said. \"There's not a lot of information that's readily available to the public.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health began a probe into Valero on Monday, the day after the company began the gradual shutdown of a significant portion of the refinery, according to agency spokesman Frank Polizzi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA becomes the latest government agency to look into the breakdown of a key piece of equipment inside the refinery that went down two weeks ago. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Solano County officials have launched probes as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Refinery Problems Started Two Weeks Ago\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On March 11, the facility's flue gas scrubber began malfunctioning. That meant the facility's smokestacks began belching a sooty plume of petroleum coke dust — minute carbon particles that are a byproduct of the oil refining process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initial problem prompted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to issue eight \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11733145/air-district-hits-valero-with-violations-over-benicia-refinery-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">notices of violation\u003c/a> against Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district and Solano County health officials said during the following days that the flue gas scrubber had been fixed and the coke dust releases were intermittent and gradually coming to an end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the black smoke returned on Saturday. On Sunday, fire officials detected high levels of fine particulate matter, known as PM10, around the refinery and issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health advisory\u003c/a> urging people with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What we were seeing was dark gray, almost black smoke coming from the flue gas scrubber unit,\" Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PM10 is particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter — larger than PM2.5 many became familiar with during last November's Camp Fire, when smoke from the huge Butte County blaze prompted health advisories throughout much of Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like PM2.5, the larger particulate matter is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EPA spokeswoman Soledad Calvino said the agency would not comment on ongoing or potential investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has said that once inhaled, petroleum coke dust can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The additional concern is that this is more toxic than the standard stuff you'd find in the atmosphere,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis. \"It's probably similar in toxicity to diesel exhaust, which is a known carcinogen because it's sooty in nature.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday morning the wind in the Benicia area was blowing east to west at about 6 to 12 mph, according to meteorologist Jan Null.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That meant the coke dust was being blown toward residential neighborhoods, said Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That was one of the big concerns I had,\" Chadwick said. \"We had a wind shift ... that really turned it back toward the city.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Several Residents Complain of Breathing Problems\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chadwick said the Benicia Fire Department received two 911 calls for respiratory complaints. One of the calls was for one person who was transported to John Muir Medical Center in Concord. The other was for two people who told paramedics who showed up they didn't need to be hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wind on Sunday also sent the coke dust toward parts of Contra Costa County, according to air district spokesman Ralph Borrmann. The agency received several complaints from people in Benicia and a few in Rodeo, Borrmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire crews have been conducting air readings since Sunday morning and the levels of particulate are back to normal, Chadwick said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air district officials are expected to release the results of their testing later this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's unclear why the flue gas scrubber began malfunctioning again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terry Schmidtbauer, Solano County's assistant director of resource management, said his department's investigation is focused on the scrubber unit, other refinery components that interact with the device and if refinery workers made a mistake in operating the unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's also uncertain how long it will take to shut down the affected parts of the refinery and how long that closure will last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I am not sure how long Valero intends to have the affected portion shut down,\" Schmidtbauer said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lillian Riojas, a Valero spokeswoman, did not answer questions about how long the shutdown should last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday the company issued a statement about the refinery problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There may be a visible plume and flaring as part of the shutdown,\" Valero's statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mayor Renews Call for More Refinery Regulations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Patterson has been calling for more regulation of Valero's facility ever since the May 5, 2017, refinery incident — a push that so far \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11675407/in-wake-of-valero-refinery-incident-benicia-weighs-whether-to-pursue-safety-ordinance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has failed\u003c/a> to result in action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council rejected her proposal to develop an industrial safety ordinance, similar to one in Contra Costa County, that provides more information to town officials about refinery problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest incident has prompted her to renew her call for action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We definitely need an industrial safety ordinance with the fees to cover the costs that it's costing the city,\" Patterson said. \"When we are responding to these things, that means we're not doing something else.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patterson said she planned to bring up the issue of compensation at a City Council session this Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Bay Area environmental group critical of the oil industry and the agencies regulating it said the episode should raise concern about operations at other facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is the latest sign that Bay Area refineries and our air quality officials can't safely cope with current workloads, let alone the increased volume of oil processing planned by the industry,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, an Oakland-based lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>State workplace regulators, the region's local air quality district and Solano County health officials are trying to find out why a problem at Valero's Benicia refinery suddenly worsened over the weekend, leading to a release of petroleum coke dust that prompted fire officials to urge those with respiratory problems to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident led to a partial shutdown at the facility and represents the worst malfunction at the plant since a power outage caused a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11681218/cpuc-probe-says-pge-mistakes-led-to-benicia-refinery-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major pollution incident\u003c/a> in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The releases of elevated levels of particulate matter led several residents to complain of breathing problems and prompted Benicia's mayor to call on Valero to pay the city back for its work dealing with the emergency. The partial refinery shutdown is also expected to lead to a spike in higher gasoline prices throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said she's gotten a flood of phone calls and emails from residents wanting to know why it took so long for Valero to suspend refinery operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's a lack of understanding about how coke particulates could be continuously emitted throughout a couple of weeks,\" Patterson said. \"There's not a lot of information that's readily available to the public.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health began a probe into Valero on Monday, the day after the company began the gradual shutdown of a significant portion of the refinery, according to agency spokesman Frank Polizzi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA becomes the latest government agency to look into the breakdown of a key piece of equipment inside the refinery that went down two weeks ago. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Solano County officials have launched probes as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Refinery Problems Started Two Weeks Ago\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On March 11, the facility's flue gas scrubber began malfunctioning. That meant the facility's smokestacks began belching a sooty plume of petroleum coke dust — minute carbon particles that are a byproduct of the oil refining process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initial problem prompted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to issue eight \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11733145/air-district-hits-valero-with-violations-over-benicia-refinery-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">notices of violation\u003c/a> against Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district and Solano County health officials said during the following days that the flue gas scrubber had been fixed and the coke dust releases were intermittent and gradually coming to an end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the black smoke returned on Saturday. On Sunday, fire officials detected high levels of fine particulate matter, known as PM10, around the refinery and issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735065/problems-at-valeros-benicia-refinery-increase-prompt-health-advisory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health advisory\u003c/a> urging people with respiratory issues to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What we were seeing was dark gray, almost black smoke coming from the flue gas scrubber unit,\" Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PM10 is particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter — larger than PM2.5 many became familiar with during last November's Camp Fire, when smoke from the huge Butte County blaze prompted health advisories throughout much of Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like PM2.5, the larger particulate matter is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EPA spokeswoman Soledad Calvino said the agency would not comment on ongoing or potential investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has said that once inhaled, petroleum coke dust can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The additional concern is that this is more toxic than the standard stuff you'd find in the atmosphere,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis. \"It's probably similar in toxicity to diesel exhaust, which is a known carcinogen because it's sooty in nature.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday morning the wind in the Benicia area was blowing east to west at about 6 to 12 mph, according to meteorologist Jan Null.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That meant the coke dust was being blown toward residential neighborhoods, said Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That was one of the big concerns I had,\" Chadwick said. \"We had a wind shift ... that really turned it back toward the city.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Several Residents Complain of Breathing Problems\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chadwick said the Benicia Fire Department received two 911 calls for respiratory complaints. One of the calls was for one person who was transported to John Muir Medical Center in Concord. The other was for two people who told paramedics who showed up they didn't need to be hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wind on Sunday also sent the coke dust toward parts of Contra Costa County, according to air district spokesman Ralph Borrmann. The agency received several complaints from people in Benicia and a few in Rodeo, Borrmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire crews have been conducting air readings since Sunday morning and the levels of particulate are back to normal, Chadwick said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air district officials are expected to release the results of their testing later this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's unclear why the flue gas scrubber began malfunctioning again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terry Schmidtbauer, Solano County's assistant director of resource management, said his department's investigation is focused on the scrubber unit, other refinery components that interact with the device and if refinery workers made a mistake in operating the unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's also uncertain how long it will take to shut down the affected parts of the refinery and how long that closure will last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I am not sure how long Valero intends to have the affected portion shut down,\" Schmidtbauer said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lillian Riojas, a Valero spokeswoman, did not answer questions about how long the shutdown should last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday the company issued a statement about the refinery problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There may be a visible plume and flaring as part of the shutdown,\" Valero's statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mayor Renews Call for More Refinery Regulations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Patterson has been calling for more regulation of Valero's facility ever since the May 5, 2017, refinery incident — a push that so far \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11675407/in-wake-of-valero-refinery-incident-benicia-weighs-whether-to-pursue-safety-ordinance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has failed\u003c/a> to result in action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Council rejected her proposal to develop an industrial safety ordinance, similar to one in Contra Costa County, that provides more information to town officials about refinery problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest incident has prompted her to renew her call for action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We definitely need an industrial safety ordinance with the fees to cover the costs that it's costing the city,\" Patterson said. \"When we are responding to these things, that means we're not doing something else.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patterson said she planned to bring up the issue of compensation at a City Council session this Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Bay Area environmental group critical of the oil industry and the agencies regulating it said the episode should raise concern about operations at other facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is the latest sign that Bay Area refineries and our air quality officials can't safely cope with current workloads, let alone the increased volume of oil processing planned by the industry,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, an Oakland-based lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated Sunday, 11:30 a.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery is performing a controlled shutdown to \"improve conditions and minimize risk,\" according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/index.asp?SEC=168344BF-D432-4104-A49E-CCC4A509780B&DE=727A7651-863F-4A53-AED6-92FB7619366B&Type=B_PR\">statement\u003c/a> from Benicia city officials. The shutdown could last multiple days and result in visible flaring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier Sunday, city officials issued an advisory notice for residents with respiratory issues to stay inside after a 2-week-old problem at the Valero refinery worsened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now that the refinery is shutting down, city officials and Solano County health officer Bela Matyas say the air quality is safe for residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Valero Advisory Update - 10:30 a.m.\u003cbr>\nBenicia Fire Department continues to monitor air quality. Readings show that levels have significantly improved and are currently in the safe range. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/ValeroScrubberIncident?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ValeroScrubberIncident\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— City of Benicia (@CityofBenicia) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CityofBenicia/status/1109871678937423872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 24, 2019\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The problem at the Valero refinery began on March 11 when a malfunction involving one of the refinery's units led to the release of \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/petroleum-coke-chicago/health-effects-petroleum-coke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">petroleum coke dust\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero representative said then that the refinery's flue gas scrubber was \"experiencing operational issues.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The releases prompted local air regulators to issue \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11733145/air-district-hits-valero-with-violations-over-benicia-refinery-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seven notices of violation against the refinery. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those problems eased after a few days but continued intermittently, air district officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday several Benicia residents posted comments on the social media site Nextdoor, expressing concerns about what appeared to be more black smoke coming from Valero's stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday, the particulate matter in the air increased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/TedrickG/status/1109828119693684736\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The concentration of particulate matter has become significantly higher over the past day. The emissions contain coke, a by-product of the refining process that is made up primarily of carbon particles,\" the city's statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia officials said testing of the coke dust released so far did not show heavy metals at harmful levels but warned that breathing in air from the releases could worsen underlying respiratory conditions like asthma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Inspectors are on scene working with the facility and with Solano County and making a determination if additional violations will be coming,” said Lisa Fasano, a spokeswoman with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district also deployed a monitoring van to drive throughout Benicia to \"gather ground-level emissions data.\"\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated Sunday, 11:30 a.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery is performing a controlled shutdown to \"improve conditions and minimize risk,\" according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/index.asp?SEC=168344BF-D432-4104-A49E-CCC4A509780B&DE=727A7651-863F-4A53-AED6-92FB7619366B&Type=B_PR\">statement\u003c/a> from Benicia city officials. The shutdown could last multiple days and result in visible flaring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier Sunday, city officials issued an advisory notice for residents with respiratory issues to stay inside after a 2-week-old problem at the Valero refinery worsened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now that the refinery is shutting down, city officials and Solano County health officer Bela Matyas say the air quality is safe for residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Valero Advisory Update - 10:30 a.m.\u003cbr>\nBenicia Fire Department continues to monitor air quality. Readings show that levels have significantly improved and are currently in the safe range. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/ValeroScrubberIncident?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ValeroScrubberIncident\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— City of Benicia (@CityofBenicia) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CityofBenicia/status/1109871678937423872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 24, 2019\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The problem at the Valero refinery began on March 11 when a malfunction involving one of the refinery's units led to the release of \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/petroleum-coke-chicago/health-effects-petroleum-coke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">petroleum coke dust\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero representative said then that the refinery's flue gas scrubber was \"experiencing operational issues.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The releases prompted local air regulators to issue \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11733145/air-district-hits-valero-with-violations-over-benicia-refinery-releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seven notices of violation against the refinery. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those problems eased after a few days but continued intermittently, air district officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday several Benicia residents posted comments on the social media site Nextdoor, expressing concerns about what appeared to be more black smoke coming from Valero's stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday, the particulate matter in the air increased.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\"The concentration of particulate matter has become significantly higher over the past day. The emissions contain coke, a by-product of the refining process that is made up primarily of carbon particles,\" the city's statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia officials said testing of the coke dust released so far did not show heavy metals at harmful levels but warned that breathing in air from the releases could worsen underlying respiratory conditions like asthma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Inspectors are on scene working with the facility and with Solano County and making a determination if additional violations will be coming,” said Lisa Fasano, a spokeswoman with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district also deployed a monitoring van to drive throughout Benicia to \"gather ground-level emissions data.\"\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Air District Hits Valero With Violations Over Benicia Refinery Releases",
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"content": "\u003cp>Local air regulators have issued seven notices of violation against the Valero Energy Corp. over a malfunction at its Benicia refinery that has led to the release of petroleum coke dust from the facility since Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem has led to a response by four agencies: the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Solano County health officials have launched investigations into the releases; the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration and the Benicia Fire Department are monitoring the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's unclear how long the problem will last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Valero is telling us they are unable to give an estimate of when it will be resolved,\" said Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero representative says the malfunction is tied to a device that removes particulates during a process that takes place inside the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have been experiencing operational issues with the flue gas scrubber,\" said company spokeswoman Lillian Riojas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That led to so-called coke fines — very small carbon particulates that are a byproduct of the oil refining process — being released from the refinery's flare stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, warm water vapor moves through the refinery's towers and exits the stacks as steam, but the petcoke particulates make the plume appear dark and sooty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fines remained in the raw exhaust gas,\" said Professor Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, specializing in refinery operations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The dark smoke will continue until all of the fines in the lines leading to the exhaust stack have been cleared from the system,\" Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the material is not hazardous, the releases could include trace amounts of heavy metals, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, Solano County's assistant director of resource management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's Riojas did not respond to follow-up questions about the status of the scrubber that led to this week's releases, but Benicia Fire's Chadwick said Friday that \"the maintenance issue has been resolved.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, air tests have not raised concerns among the agencies monitoring the site. Crews have not detected high levels of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide or particulate matter, according to Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Schmidtbauer says the situation is slowly improving — the amount of coke dust coming from the facility has been lessening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, the air district has issued four notices of violation against Valero for visible emissions and three for public nuisance, agency spokesman Ralph Borrmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. EPA says significant quantities of dust from pet coke can present a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/petroleum-coke-chicago/health-effects-petroleum-coke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health risk\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The risk of these tiny particles getting into people's lungs is yet another example of the dangers of living near a dirty refinery,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. \"Communities should not have to be afraid of breathing in pollution that could affect their health.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem represents one of the more extensive malfunctions at the refinery since it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lost all power\u003c/a> on May 5, 2017, an event that led to a major release of pollution, shelter-in-place and evacuation orders.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Local air regulators have issued seven notices of violation against the Valero Energy Corp. over a malfunction at its Benicia refinery that has led to the release of petroleum coke dust from the facility since Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem has led to a response by four agencies: the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Solano County health officials have launched investigations into the releases; the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration and the Benicia Fire Department are monitoring the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's unclear how long the problem will last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Valero is telling us they are unable to give an estimate of when it will be resolved,\" said Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero representative says the malfunction is tied to a device that removes particulates during a process that takes place inside the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have been experiencing operational issues with the flue gas scrubber,\" said company spokeswoman Lillian Riojas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That led to so-called coke fines — very small carbon particulates that are a byproduct of the oil refining process — being released from the refinery's flare stacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, warm water vapor moves through the refinery's towers and exits the stacks as steam, but the petcoke particulates make the plume appear dark and sooty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fines remained in the raw exhaust gas,\" said Professor Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, specializing in refinery operations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The dark smoke will continue until all of the fines in the lines leading to the exhaust stack have been cleared from the system,\" Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the material is not hazardous, the releases could include trace amounts of heavy metals, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, Solano County's assistant director of resource management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's Riojas did not respond to follow-up questions about the status of the scrubber that led to this week's releases, but Benicia Fire's Chadwick said Friday that \"the maintenance issue has been resolved.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, air tests have not raised concerns among the agencies monitoring the site. Crews have not detected high levels of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide or particulate matter, according to Chadwick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Schmidtbauer says the situation is slowly improving — the amount of coke dust coming from the facility has been lessening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, the air district has issued four notices of violation against Valero for visible emissions and three for public nuisance, agency spokesman Ralph Borrmann said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. EPA says significant quantities of dust from pet coke can present a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/petroleum-coke-chicago/health-effects-petroleum-coke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health risk\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The risk of these tiny particles getting into people's lungs is yet another example of the dangers of living near a dirty refinery,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. \"Communities should not have to be afraid of breathing in pollution that could affect their health.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem represents one of the more extensive malfunctions at the refinery since it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11685464/state-decides-not-to-penalize-pge-for-major-valero-outage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lost all power\u003c/a> on May 5, 2017, an event that led to a major release of pollution, shelter-in-place and evacuation orders.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"radiolab": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
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"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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