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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago, California built a first-in-the-nation system aimed at protecting drivers when oil \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/economy\">markets turn calamitous\u003c/a>. The Legislature passed it. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. He proclaimed “California took on Big Oil and won.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its author, then-Sen. Nancy Skinner called it a “landmark law” that “will allow us to hold oil companies accountable if they pad their profits at the expense of hard-working families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the law — which gave regulators the power to cap refinery profits and penalize oil companies for price gouging — has never been used. Instead, last year, the California Energy Commission voted to delay the rules for five years. Skinner – who wrote the law as a Senator – was absent when her own commission voted to delay it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, with gas \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/09/california-gas-prices-iran-war\">topping $5.30 a gallon\u003c/a> statewide, that decision is under a new spotlight. The Iran war has sent global oil prices soaring — but the war is only part of the story. California has a structural problem: fewer refineries, a captive market and no easy outside supply options. When prices rise nationally, they can rise even more here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944934\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/AP23086788063121-scaled-e1770414780894.jpg\" alt=\"A sign at a gas station shows very high gas prices, approaching $6 a gallon. The Bay Bridge can be scene in the background.\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1319\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bay Bridge rises behind the price board of a gas station in San Francisco on July 20, 2022. \u003ccite>(Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Proponents say this is precisely the moment the 2023 law was designed for. The commissioners last year left the door open to rescind the delay — and move forward with the rule before the five years — if they change their minds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are the moments we need them, because when the price of a commodity goes through the roof — be it crude oil or refined gasoline — that’s when companies make outrageous profits,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those who backed the delay argue it was a necessary concession — that penalizing refiners risked driving them out of the state entirely. It’s a tension that cuts to the heart of California’s energy predicament: how to protect consumers today from an industry the state can’t yet afford to lose, while still making good on its promise to leave that industry behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>California’s unused gas-price tools\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the California Energy Commission met last August Newsom was already retreating from his confrontation with the oil industry. The question before commissioners was whether to move ahead with aggressive rules targeting refinery profits — or step back, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/08/oil-compromise-california-legislature/\">as the governor was doing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at the Friendship House Association of American Indians in San Francisco on Jan. 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was a sharp reversal. Newsom had declared \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2024/08/california-gas-prices-newsom-special-session/\">special legislative sessions\u003c/a> in 2022 and 2024, pushing through sweeping new powers to curb gasoline price spikes — including requirements that refiners store more fuel and replace lost supply during maintenance, and the profit-cap rules now sitting dormant. A new energy commission oversight division created by the law found an unexplained gasoline premium of about 41 cents per gallon between 2015 and 2024, costing drivers \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/CEC-900-2025-001.pdf\">an estimated $59 billion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are critically important laws,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity. “What that information shows is that Californians are at the mercy of a very few refiners with immense power.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s oil industry strongly opposed the measures, and some economists remain skeptical of them. UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein warned that capping refinery profits during shortages could backfire.[aside postID=news_12076523 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2264208891-2000x1465.jpg']“The last thing we need is to start trying to regulate refinery margins,” he said. “As much as people don’t like high gasoline prices, they really, really hate gas lines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By last August, refinery closures were looming and warnings of $8-a-gallon gasoline circulated in Sacramento. Newsom and Democratic leaders were negotiating with the oil industry to boost production in Kern County — talks that produced a law that has since driven an uptick in drilling permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Valero said it would close its Benicia refinery, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Newsom-Gupta-Letter-4.21.pdf\">Newsom directed Siva Gunda\u003c/a>, vice chair of the California Energy Commission, to “redouble the state’s efforts to work closely with refiners on short- and long-term planning” and ensure a “reliable supply of transportation fuels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gunda responded with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/CEC%27s_Respone_to_Governor_Newsom%27s_Letter_June-27-2025_ada.pdf\">series of recommendations\u003c/a> that aligned largely with industry’s desires — among them a pause in the state’s profit-cap rule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Against that backdrop, energy commissioners \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/filebrowser/download/7958?fid=7958\">voted on Aug. 29\u003c/a> to delay the rules for five years. Ahead of the vote, Gunda said the delay would help boost “investor confidence” in the state’s oil refiners, “thereby ensuring a reliable in-state refining capacity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037671\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037671\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero refinery in Benicia on Sept. 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oil industry representatives say the decision made sense – the profit-cap measures, they argued, miss the real problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The real problem is California is an energy island — we’re losing 17% of our refining capacity,” said Zachary Leary, a lobbyist for the Western States Petroleum Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Court, of Consumer Watchdog, said the governor “panicked,” leaving the state without the “hammer” it now needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you have this type of level of gas run up, you’re going to need those tools,” Court said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The difficult middle of the energy transition\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California has committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045 — but it still depends heavily on gasoline, and it is losing the refineries that produce it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phillips 66 last year shut its Los Angeles refinery, citing concerns about the sustainability of the California market. Valero is closing its Benicia refinery next month, pointing to a challenging regulatory environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960711\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960711\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"The silhouettes of several smokestacks emit fumes into the air.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Phillips 66 Los Angeles Refinery Wilmington Plant stands beyond a residential street on November 28, 2022 in Wilmington. \u003ccite>(Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If you start losing refineries — as we are going to — and you don’t have an alternative source of supply, we’re going to start getting price spikes when there’s any sort of disruption at one of our refineries,” Borenstein said. “Or just during high demand periods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge of reducing fossil fuel use while maintaining adequate supply has created what Gunda — Newsom’s point person in negotiations with the oil industry — calls the “mid-transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not going to be a smooth transition,” Gunda said last month in testimony to a state Senate committee. “Every time you lose a refinery, it’s going to be a double-digit percent of refined fuel lost in California. So that abrupt transition will mean an abrupt increase in imports.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A global oil shock hits California\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The recent jump in gasoline prices reflects a global oil shock tied to the war with Iran — not a policy change unique to California, experts said. But the surge highlights how exposed the state remains to global energy markets as it loses refining capacity and \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65704\">imports more crude\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/crude-oil/112525-californias-gasoline-demand-met-with-increased-global-supply-as-refineries-close\">gasoline\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the conflict began, the international benchmark for crude oil has climbed more than $25 a barrel — a shift that typically translates to about 60 cents per gallon at the pump, in line with the increase in California retail prices, argues Borenstein, of UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075007\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075007\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hundreds of demonstrators march along Market Street during a “Hands Off Iran” rally on Feb. 28, 2026, in San Francisco. Protesters took over the roadway while calling for an arms embargo and an end to U.S. participation in the strikes. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of the change we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks is in line with the change in crude oil prices, and therefore is not California specific,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has made a similar argument, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/03/10/governor-newsom-blasts-trump-for-raising-gasoline-prices-on-americans-with-no-plan-and-no-accountability/\">blaming the spike\u003c/a> on global oil markets and the war with Iran rather than California policies. But analysts note that the state’s shrinking refinery base means global shocks land harder here than elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key concern is the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, the narrow waterway carried \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504#:~:text=The%20Strait%20of%20Hormuz%2C%20located,of%20global%20petroleum%20liquids%20consumption.\">more than 20 million barrels of oil a day\u003c/a> — roughly one-fifth of global supply. Traffic is now at a standstill, and crude prices topped $100 a barrel again — even after more than 30 countries \u003ca href=\"https://www.iea.org/news/iea-member-countries-to-carry-out-largest-ever-oil-stock-release-amid-market-disruptions-from-middle-east-conflict\">announced\u003c/a> releases from emergency reserves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policymaking, said a prolonged closure could push crude prices above $130 or $140 per barrel — driving California prices closer to $7, with a worst-case scenario approaching $10 at some stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076648\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The port city of Gwadar balochistan on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, just outside the Strait of Hormuz near key shipping routes in and out of the Persian Gulf. \u003ccite>(SM Rafiq Photography via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most analysts consider that outcome unlikely but no longer unthinkable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, this doesn’t appear likely, but it is a worst-case scenario that is growing by the day,” Cummings said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Competing ideas for what comes next\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Siegel, of the Center for Biological Diversity, said California should move forward immediately to implement the profit-cap rules and require companies to hold larger fuel inventories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our leaders shouldn’t rest until the rules are in place to prevent price gouging on top of volatility, and should not rest until people get their money back,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Economists say California’s biggest challenge may be infrastructure. Valero plans to close its Benicia refinery, which produces about 10% of the state’s gasoline, next month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051503\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051503\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luna Angulo looks at the Chevron Refinery from the Wildcat Marsh Staging Area in Richmond on Aug. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://nealemahoney.substack.com/p/an-analysis-of-the-valero-benicia\">analysis posted last year\u003c/a>, Stanford economist Neale Mahoney and Cummings said California could offset lost refinery production with gasoline imports – if permitting allows refineries like Benicia to convert to fuel import terminals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom said in January his administration is \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/01/06/governor-newsoms-statement-on-valeros-benicia-refinery-update/\">working with the company\u003c/a> to continue importing gasoline into Northern California after its refinery operations close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I was in the Legislature right now, all of my energies and effort would be built on, one, making sure that Benicia gets turned into an import terminal — and two, making sure whoever owns or operates that is not an incumbent,” Cummings said.[aside postID=news_12075522 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/RobBontaAP.jpg']Court, of Consumer Watchdog, pointed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.phillips66.com/newsroom/western-gateway-pipeline/\">a proposed Phillips 66 pipeline\u003c/a> that could bring refined gasoline from Midwest refineries into the state – something California has never had, relying instead on in-state refining and marine imports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dubbed the Western Gateway Pipeline, the project would build a new pipeline and reverse an existing one to move gasoline and diesel from central U.S. refineries to Arizona and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One state lawmaker has \u003ca href=\"https://ransom.asmdc.org/press-releases/20260219-assemblymember-rhodesia-ransom-introduces-bill-gives-access-cheaper\">proposed expanding access to E85\u003c/a>, a cheaper ethanol blend. Both ideas remain proposals without clear timelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27873034-mpc-proposed-cap-and-invest-amendments-concerns-30926/\">some oil companies\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27813814-asm-member-letter-carb-ci-regs-concerns-march-9/\">even some Democrats\u003c/a> are warning California’s climate policies could raise production costs enough that refineries reconsider operating in California — adding another pressure point to an already strained supply picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The profit-cap rules that could penalize oil companies remain on hold until 2029. By then, California may have lost more refineries — and may still be grappling with the problem Newsom once promised to solve: gasoline price shocks in the country’s most unaffordable market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/03/california-iran-oil-profit-spike/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California built a first-in-the-nation system to police refinery profits during price spikes. Regulators delayed it for five years.",
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"title": "California Passed a Law to Curb Spikes in Gas Prices. Why Isn’t It Using Those Powers Now? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago, California built a first-in-the-nation system aimed at protecting drivers when oil \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/economy\">markets turn calamitous\u003c/a>. The Legislature passed it. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. He proclaimed “California took on Big Oil and won.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its author, then-Sen. Nancy Skinner called it a “landmark law” that “will allow us to hold oil companies accountable if they pad their profits at the expense of hard-working families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the law — which gave regulators the power to cap refinery profits and penalize oil companies for price gouging — has never been used. Instead, last year, the California Energy Commission voted to delay the rules for five years. Skinner – who wrote the law as a Senator – was absent when her own commission voted to delay it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, with gas \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/09/california-gas-prices-iran-war\">topping $5.30 a gallon\u003c/a> statewide, that decision is under a new spotlight. The Iran war has sent global oil prices soaring — but the war is only part of the story. California has a structural problem: fewer refineries, a captive market and no easy outside supply options. When prices rise nationally, they can rise even more here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944934\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/AP23086788063121-scaled-e1770414780894.jpg\" alt=\"A sign at a gas station shows very high gas prices, approaching $6 a gallon. The Bay Bridge can be scene in the background.\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1319\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bay Bridge rises behind the price board of a gas station in San Francisco on July 20, 2022. \u003ccite>(Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Proponents say this is precisely the moment the 2023 law was designed for. The commissioners last year left the door open to rescind the delay — and move forward with the rule before the five years — if they change their minds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are the moments we need them, because when the price of a commodity goes through the roof — be it crude oil or refined gasoline — that’s when companies make outrageous profits,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those who backed the delay argue it was a necessary concession — that penalizing refiners risked driving them out of the state entirely. It’s a tension that cuts to the heart of California’s energy predicament: how to protect consumers today from an industry the state can’t yet afford to lose, while still making good on its promise to leave that industry behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>California’s unused gas-price tools\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the California Energy Commission met last August Newsom was already retreating from his confrontation with the oil industry. The question before commissioners was whether to move ahead with aggressive rules targeting refinery profits — or step back, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/08/oil-compromise-california-legislature/\">as the governor was doing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at the Friendship House Association of American Indians in San Francisco on Jan. 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was a sharp reversal. Newsom had declared \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2024/08/california-gas-prices-newsom-special-session/\">special legislative sessions\u003c/a> in 2022 and 2024, pushing through sweeping new powers to curb gasoline price spikes — including requirements that refiners store more fuel and replace lost supply during maintenance, and the profit-cap rules now sitting dormant. A new energy commission oversight division created by the law found an unexplained gasoline premium of about 41 cents per gallon between 2015 and 2024, costing drivers \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/CEC-900-2025-001.pdf\">an estimated $59 billion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are critically important laws,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity. “What that information shows is that Californians are at the mercy of a very few refiners with immense power.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s oil industry strongly opposed the measures, and some economists remain skeptical of them. UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein warned that capping refinery profits during shortages could backfire.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The last thing we need is to start trying to regulate refinery margins,” he said. “As much as people don’t like high gasoline prices, they really, really hate gas lines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By last August, refinery closures were looming and warnings of $8-a-gallon gasoline circulated in Sacramento. Newsom and Democratic leaders were negotiating with the oil industry to boost production in Kern County — talks that produced a law that has since driven an uptick in drilling permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Valero said it would close its Benicia refinery, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Newsom-Gupta-Letter-4.21.pdf\">Newsom directed Siva Gunda\u003c/a>, vice chair of the California Energy Commission, to “redouble the state’s efforts to work closely with refiners on short- and long-term planning” and ensure a “reliable supply of transportation fuels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gunda responded with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/CEC%27s_Respone_to_Governor_Newsom%27s_Letter_June-27-2025_ada.pdf\">series of recommendations\u003c/a> that aligned largely with industry’s desires — among them a pause in the state’s profit-cap rule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Against that backdrop, energy commissioners \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/filebrowser/download/7958?fid=7958\">voted on Aug. 29\u003c/a> to delay the rules for five years. Ahead of the vote, Gunda said the delay would help boost “investor confidence” in the state’s oil refiners, “thereby ensuring a reliable in-state refining capacity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037671\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037671\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero refinery in Benicia on Sept. 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oil industry representatives say the decision made sense – the profit-cap measures, they argued, miss the real problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The real problem is California is an energy island — we’re losing 17% of our refining capacity,” said Zachary Leary, a lobbyist for the Western States Petroleum Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Court, of Consumer Watchdog, said the governor “panicked,” leaving the state without the “hammer” it now needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you have this type of level of gas run up, you’re going to need those tools,” Court said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The difficult middle of the energy transition\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California has committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045 — but it still depends heavily on gasoline, and it is losing the refineries that produce it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phillips 66 last year shut its Los Angeles refinery, citing concerns about the sustainability of the California market. Valero is closing its Benicia refinery next month, pointing to a challenging regulatory environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960711\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960711\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"The silhouettes of several smokestacks emit fumes into the air.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/239011-OIL-AIR-QUALITY-Getty-MT-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Phillips 66 Los Angeles Refinery Wilmington Plant stands beyond a residential street on November 28, 2022 in Wilmington. \u003ccite>(Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If you start losing refineries — as we are going to — and you don’t have an alternative source of supply, we’re going to start getting price spikes when there’s any sort of disruption at one of our refineries,” Borenstein said. “Or just during high demand periods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge of reducing fossil fuel use while maintaining adequate supply has created what Gunda — Newsom’s point person in negotiations with the oil industry — calls the “mid-transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not going to be a smooth transition,” Gunda said last month in testimony to a state Senate committee. “Every time you lose a refinery, it’s going to be a double-digit percent of refined fuel lost in California. So that abrupt transition will mean an abrupt increase in imports.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A global oil shock hits California\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The recent jump in gasoline prices reflects a global oil shock tied to the war with Iran — not a policy change unique to California, experts said. But the surge highlights how exposed the state remains to global energy markets as it loses refining capacity and \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65704\">imports more crude\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/crude-oil/112525-californias-gasoline-demand-met-with-increased-global-supply-as-refineries-close\">gasoline\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the conflict began, the international benchmark for crude oil has climbed more than $25 a barrel — a shift that typically translates to about 60 cents per gallon at the pump, in line with the increase in California retail prices, argues Borenstein, of UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075007\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075007\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022826_IRAN-BAY-AREA-RESPONSE_GH_011-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hundreds of demonstrators march along Market Street during a “Hands Off Iran” rally on Feb. 28, 2026, in San Francisco. Protesters took over the roadway while calling for an arms embargo and an end to U.S. participation in the strikes. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of the change we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks is in line with the change in crude oil prices, and therefore is not California specific,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has made a similar argument, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/03/10/governor-newsom-blasts-trump-for-raising-gasoline-prices-on-americans-with-no-plan-and-no-accountability/\">blaming the spike\u003c/a> on global oil markets and the war with Iran rather than California policies. But analysts note that the state’s shrinking refinery base means global shocks land harder here than elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key concern is the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, the narrow waterway carried \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504#:~:text=The%20Strait%20of%20Hormuz%2C%20located,of%20global%20petroleum%20liquids%20consumption.\">more than 20 million barrels of oil a day\u003c/a> — roughly one-fifth of global supply. Traffic is now at a standstill, and crude prices topped $100 a barrel again — even after more than 30 countries \u003ca href=\"https://www.iea.org/news/iea-member-countries-to-carry-out-largest-ever-oil-stock-release-amid-market-disruptions-from-middle-east-conflict\">announced\u003c/a> releases from emergency reserves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policymaking, said a prolonged closure could push crude prices above $130 or $140 per barrel — driving California prices closer to $7, with a worst-case scenario approaching $10 at some stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076648\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-639787574-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The port city of Gwadar balochistan on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, just outside the Strait of Hormuz near key shipping routes in and out of the Persian Gulf. \u003ccite>(SM Rafiq Photography via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most analysts consider that outcome unlikely but no longer unthinkable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, this doesn’t appear likely, but it is a worst-case scenario that is growing by the day,” Cummings said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Competing ideas for what comes next\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Siegel, of the Center for Biological Diversity, said California should move forward immediately to implement the profit-cap rules and require companies to hold larger fuel inventories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our leaders shouldn’t rest until the rules are in place to prevent price gouging on top of volatility, and should not rest until people get their money back,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Economists say California’s biggest challenge may be infrastructure. Valero plans to close its Benicia refinery, which produces about 10% of the state’s gasoline, next month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051503\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051503\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luna Angulo looks at the Chevron Refinery from the Wildcat Marsh Staging Area in Richmond on Aug. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://nealemahoney.substack.com/p/an-analysis-of-the-valero-benicia\">analysis posted last year\u003c/a>, Stanford economist Neale Mahoney and Cummings said California could offset lost refinery production with gasoline imports – if permitting allows refineries like Benicia to convert to fuel import terminals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom said in January his administration is \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/01/06/governor-newsoms-statement-on-valeros-benicia-refinery-update/\">working with the company\u003c/a> to continue importing gasoline into Northern California after its refinery operations close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I was in the Legislature right now, all of my energies and effort would be built on, one, making sure that Benicia gets turned into an import terminal — and two, making sure whoever owns or operates that is not an incumbent,” Cummings said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Court, of Consumer Watchdog, pointed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.phillips66.com/newsroom/western-gateway-pipeline/\">a proposed Phillips 66 pipeline\u003c/a> that could bring refined gasoline from Midwest refineries into the state – something California has never had, relying instead on in-state refining and marine imports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dubbed the Western Gateway Pipeline, the project would build a new pipeline and reverse an existing one to move gasoline and diesel from central U.S. refineries to Arizona and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One state lawmaker has \u003ca href=\"https://ransom.asmdc.org/press-releases/20260219-assemblymember-rhodesia-ransom-introduces-bill-gives-access-cheaper\">proposed expanding access to E85\u003c/a>, a cheaper ethanol blend. Both ideas remain proposals without clear timelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27873034-mpc-proposed-cap-and-invest-amendments-concerns-30926/\">some oil companies\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27813814-asm-member-letter-carb-ci-regs-concerns-march-9/\">even some Democrats\u003c/a> are warning California’s climate policies could raise production costs enough that refineries reconsider operating in California — adding another pressure point to an already strained supply picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The profit-cap rules that could penalize oil companies remain on hold until 2029. By then, California may have lost more refineries — and may still be grappling with the problem Newsom once promised to solve: gasoline price shocks in the country’s most unaffordable market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/03/california-iran-oil-profit-spike/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Aug. 6, 2012, a fire \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/73746/new-photos-chevron-refinery-fire-and-its-aftermath\">broke out\u003c/a> at the Chevron refinery in Richmond. Liquid hydrocarbon spewed from a leaky pipe in the crude unit and ignited, sending smoke plumes into the air that could be seen across the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearby residents struggled to breathe and reported headaches, chest pains and itchy eyes. More than 15,000 people sought medical help. For Luna Angulo, then in middle school, it was an awakening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As someone who is 12 and you see the sky suddenly turn black, you’re like — the city is on fire,” Angulo, now 25, said. “What is this about? What is going on?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron later \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2017/2017-62.pdf\">agreed\u003c/a> to upgrade the refinery, which was first established in 1902, and pay more than $1 million in fines. The company also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11665999/chevron-richmond-move-to-settle-lawsuit-over-2012-refinery-fire-that-sickened-thousands\">settled a lawsuit\u003c/a> with the city of Richmond for $5 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Angulo, the flames revealed the human cost of living in the shadow of California’s third-largest refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 2012 fire in particular was a big catalyzing moment for me in terms of how I saw the role of Chevron in Richmond,” Angulo said. “But I think also for a lot of the youth from Richmond that I organized with, it was a big ‘Oh s—’ moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051503\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051503\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luna Angulo looks at the Chevron Refinery from the Wildcat Marsh Staging Area in Richmond on Aug. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 2012 Chevron fire was a key flashpoint in the yearslong effort to empower frontline communities like Richmond to fight for cleaner air. That work culminated in the Path to Clean Air — a hyperlocal pollution-reduction roadmap that places decision-making in the hands of residents, not regulators. With such lofty goals, the Path to Clean Air could be a community-powered blueprint that dramatically reshapes Richmond’s local economy and the health of its residents. Or it could collect dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next decade, Angulo became deeply involved in local activism, often pressing state and regional agencies to adopt tougher regulations on Chevron. Then, in 2021, she heard about an opportunity to claim a seat at the table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years earlier, Gov. Jerry Brown had signed Assembly Bill 617, aimed at improving air quality in California’s most polluted communities. Crucially, the law created local steering committees — made up of residents, not experts — with the power to craft plans to measure and reduce air pollution.[aside postID=news_12040941 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg']“It’s a sick concept — you’re putting decision-making power in the hands of community members in this very direct way,” Angulo, 25, said. “And I was like, ‘This is incredible.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many local activists saw AB 617 as a breakthrough for community power-building. But statewide environmental justice organizations viewed it as a half-measure, meant to win support from progressive Democrats for Brown’s true priority: extending California’s landmark environmental program known as cap-and-trade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cap-and-trade sets a declining limit on greenhouse gas emissions from industries such as refineries, power plants and factories. But it does not require reductions at specific sites, such as Chevron’s Richmond refinery, and it only regulates climate-warming greenhouse gases, not local air pollutants like particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cap-and-trade is really looking at the broader scale, looking at overall greenhouse gas emissions at the statewide scale,” said Jonathan London, a UC Davis professor who has spent years studying the AB 617 program. “So local communities that are facing these significant air quality burdens can sometimes not be on the map and not actually show up as a key topic of concern when things are at that really broad level.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Cristina Garcia hoped to spotlight local air pollution when she brought Brown \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/AsmGarcia/status/867123969140285441\">on a 2017 tour\u003c/a> of her hometown of Bell Gardens. She walked with the governor along freeway overpasses above backlogged trucks spewing exhaust and invited him to speak with local environmental activists. After \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11473247/state-democrats-have-new-leverage-in-effort-to-curb-greenhouse-gases\">months of negotiations\u003c/a>, Brown and legislative leaders included AB 617, written by Garcia, in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11573588/california-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-extend-cap-and-trade-system\">deal to renew\u003c/a> cap-and-trade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051504\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051504\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for a petroleum pipeline in Richmond on Aug. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eight years later, leaders like Angulo have used AB 617 to create local plans for reducing pollution. But those plans lack real enforcement power, making it difficult to gauge how much AB 617 has actually reduced pollution in the frontline communities it was designed to help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators are weighing another renewal of cap-and-trade, which could change the way AB 617 is funded. Environmental justice advocates view the negotiations as a chance to strengthen the program and deliver on the promise of clean air in California’s most polluted neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ten communities were selected in 2018 for the program’s rollout by the California Air Resources Board. These were predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods — such as West Oakland, Carson and East Los Angeles — where decades of discriminatory planning had placed backyards near industrial facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal was for local steering committees to work with regional air districts to monitor pollution and draft community emission reduction plans, or CERPs.[aside postID=news_12000170 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1020x680.jpg']The rollout was rocky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In West Oakland, established environmental justice advocates were ready to use new state funding and authority to push for emissions cuts from trucks at the Port of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Richmond, North Richmond and San Pablo, London found the Bay Area Air District still largely controlled the steering committee process. Local environmental justice groups did not participate because of their opposition to AB 617, and residents who did join struggled with procedural hurdles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had to make ‘motions,’ get ‘seconds,’ make a ‘friendly amendment,’” Angulo remembered. “We operate under consensus very much in these community spaces — no one knows how to make a motion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2020 survey, London asked members of the 10 steering committees if they believed the process benefited their communities. Richmond’s steering committee members gave themselves the lowest score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gradually, through turnover and years of monthly meetings, the steering committee found its footing. Data from AB 617’s expanded air monitoring helped identify local pollution hotspots — from highways to rail yards to auto body shops. Angulo pushed through a change to the committee rules to give community members more control over meetings and agendas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1586px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037033\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1586\" height=\"1084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png 1586w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-800x547.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1020x697.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-160x109.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1536x1050.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1586px) 100vw, 1586px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Aug. 6, 2012, fire at the Chevron Oil Refinery in Richmond, California, began near the rupture of this 8-inch pipe, shown in this photo included in the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s final investigative report. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of U.S. Chemical Safety Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Issues that we found early on … many of those really have been addressed,” London said. “Fixes have been put in to improve community engagement, to ensure that community priorities are well reflected in the eventual emission reduction plans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond’s CERP, called The Path to Clean Air, was finalized in November, years behind schedule. It calls for the Bay Area Air District to adopt new rules limiting refinery emissions, invest fines collected from polluters back into Richmond and neighboring San Pablo, and move toward a “just transition” away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large focus, to no surprise, is Chevron, which the roadmap cited as “by far the largest single generator of emissions in the Path to Clean Air community for many air pollutants,” including PM 2.5 — microscopic particles linked to asthma and emphysema.[aside postID=news_12040286 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250203_MartinezRefineryFolo_GC-26_qed-1020x680.jpg']“The [Path to Clean Air] community is a frontline community that has long been subject to historical and systematic racist policies and impacted by the largest refinery in Northern California, the Chevron Richmond Refinery,” the report reads. “In order to reach our climate and equity goals, we must end the refining and combustion of fossil fuels as soon as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s an audacious goal for a city whose local economy and tax base have long been tied to Chevron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company participated in the process as a non-voting member of the steering committee. It declined an interview request but said in a statement that it “values the program described in AB 617 as an important initiative to address local air quality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe the AB 617 framework is important to the program’s success, including inclusive engagement, data-driven assessments, and clear objectives to cost-effectively reduce local emissions,” Chevron spokesperson Caitlin Powell said. “For the past few decades, California’s energy policies have discouraged investment, reduced fuel reliability, and ultimately hurt consumers through higher prices and broader economic strain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is crucial that policies aimed at reducing emissions do not unduly burden California families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in a 2024 email to the Bay Area Air District, Chevron manager Kris Battleson criticized the CERP’s call for a just transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051541\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051541\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Chevron Richmond Refinery, seen from the Point Richmond neighborhood in Richmond on June 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The concept of a ‘just transition’ does not relate to emission reductions and is more akin to providing a safety net for workers and residents impacted by the State’s goals of eliminating an entire industry,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BK White, a former Chevron refinery operator and current policy director for Richmond’s mayor, said the plan is not a “shot” at Chevron, but responsible planning for a future in which demand for gasoline refined in California is projected to decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any city that is too dependent on one industry — we’ve seen it with coal, with the automobile industry in the Midwest — you have to transition your tax base to where you’re more diversified,” White said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area air regulators have said the local CERPS have driven the rules they make to limit pollution. But a core flaw of AB 617 is that the community plans carry no legal weight, said Dan Ress, attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They put together these really thoughtful and nuanced plans,” Ress said. “And then they’re told, ‘Well, that’s really a nice document you put together, gold star.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 300 people attended the Richmond Planning Commission’s meeting on July 9, 2014, to weigh in on the environmental impact of a proposed upgrade to the Chevron refinery in the city. \u003ccite>(Alex Emslie/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While Ress praised the work of residents on the 617 steering committees, he warned that the lack of enforcement could erode trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that causes some real problems where you’re saying, ‘Community members, tell us what you want. OK, cool, we’re going to ignore that now,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Shafter, a Central Valley AB 617 community, members demanded earlier notice before pesticides were sprayed on local fields. With an advanced heads-up, parents could keep their children inside on a day when chemicals were being sprayed in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Kern County agricultural commissioner refused, even though the data was already available. The steering committee turned to state regulators, and after a five-year campaign, California launched a statewide pesticide notification program earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we see both the main benefit of 617 in that organizing and power building,” Ress said. “And the main drawback in its lack of weight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051554\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051554\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Part of the Chevron Richmond Refinery, seen from the Point Richmond neighborhood in Richmond on June 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Advocates want lawmakers to expand the program beyond the current 19 communities, add environmental justice-aligned regulators to local air boards and give the local plans real enforcement power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The core concern is that [AB 617] pits disadvantaged communities against each other in competing to get into the program,” Ress said. “Then once they’re in the program, it takes a ton of resources and focused effort with relatively small payback for that effort.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program’s future may hinge on the upcoming cap-and-trade negotiations, which are expected to intensify when the Legislature returns from recess on Aug. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key point of debate is how to allocate the revenue generated from the sale of emissions credits purchased. Since 2017, the Legislature has dedicated $1.4 billion in support of AB 617. The funds have paid for EV charging stations, bike paths, urban greening programs and staff support for the local steering committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has touted the AB 617 projects as a reason to renew cap-and-trade, which he is proposing to rename Cap-and-Invest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12008449\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12008449\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Eric Thayer/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re cutting harmful pollution across California with a special focus on communities that have some of the dirtiest air in our state,” Newsom said in a statement. “Thanks to Cap-and-Invest, we’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars in projects that are proven to clean the air.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Newsom and legislative leaders also want to use cap-and-trade funds for other \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040286/how-california-cap-and-trade-works-and-how-newsom-wants-to-change-it\">priorities\u003c/a>, such as funding high-speed rail, firefighting and lowering electricity bills. A Chevron executive \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-climate/2025/08/01/chevrons-andy-walz-isnt-satisfied-00490144\">told \u003cem>Politico\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that cap-and-trade should be paused for up to 20 years to avoid harming refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of AB 617 argue that cutting the funding would break the promise that communities breathing the dirtiest air would not be left behind on the state’s path to global climate leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program was made with the intention of using this polluter money to help reduce the impact of these industrial facilities,” said Angulo. “If we’re not using that money to fund programs like these — that are putting decision-making power directly into the hands of community members —what are we doing?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Touted as an environmental justice companion to California’s cap-and-trade system, AB 617 promised cleaner air for frontline communities like Richmond — but has it actually delivered?",
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"title": "California’s Clean-Air Program for Polluted Communities Faces Crossroads | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Aug. 6, 2012, a fire \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/73746/new-photos-chevron-refinery-fire-and-its-aftermath\">broke out\u003c/a> at the Chevron refinery in Richmond. Liquid hydrocarbon spewed from a leaky pipe in the crude unit and ignited, sending smoke plumes into the air that could be seen across the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearby residents struggled to breathe and reported headaches, chest pains and itchy eyes. More than 15,000 people sought medical help. For Luna Angulo, then in middle school, it was an awakening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As someone who is 12 and you see the sky suddenly turn black, you’re like — the city is on fire,” Angulo, now 25, said. “What is this about? What is going on?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron later \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2017/2017-62.pdf\">agreed\u003c/a> to upgrade the refinery, which was first established in 1902, and pay more than $1 million in fines. The company also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11665999/chevron-richmond-move-to-settle-lawsuit-over-2012-refinery-fire-that-sickened-thousands\">settled a lawsuit\u003c/a> with the city of Richmond for $5 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Angulo, the flames revealed the human cost of living in the shadow of California’s third-largest refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 2012 fire in particular was a big catalyzing moment for me in terms of how I saw the role of Chevron in Richmond,” Angulo said. “But I think also for a lot of the youth from Richmond that I organized with, it was a big ‘Oh s—’ moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051503\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051503\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luna Angulo looks at the Chevron Refinery from the Wildcat Marsh Staging Area in Richmond on Aug. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 2012 Chevron fire was a key flashpoint in the yearslong effort to empower frontline communities like Richmond to fight for cleaner air. That work culminated in the Path to Clean Air — a hyperlocal pollution-reduction roadmap that places decision-making in the hands of residents, not regulators. With such lofty goals, the Path to Clean Air could be a community-powered blueprint that dramatically reshapes Richmond’s local economy and the health of its residents. Or it could collect dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next decade, Angulo became deeply involved in local activism, often pressing state and regional agencies to adopt tougher regulations on Chevron. Then, in 2021, she heard about an opportunity to claim a seat at the table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years earlier, Gov. Jerry Brown had signed Assembly Bill 617, aimed at improving air quality in California’s most polluted communities. Crucially, the law created local steering committees — made up of residents, not experts — with the power to craft plans to measure and reduce air pollution.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s a sick concept — you’re putting decision-making power in the hands of community members in this very direct way,” Angulo, 25, said. “And I was like, ‘This is incredible.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many local activists saw AB 617 as a breakthrough for community power-building. But statewide environmental justice organizations viewed it as a half-measure, meant to win support from progressive Democrats for Brown’s true priority: extending California’s landmark environmental program known as cap-and-trade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cap-and-trade sets a declining limit on greenhouse gas emissions from industries such as refineries, power plants and factories. But it does not require reductions at specific sites, such as Chevron’s Richmond refinery, and it only regulates climate-warming greenhouse gases, not local air pollutants like particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cap-and-trade is really looking at the broader scale, looking at overall greenhouse gas emissions at the statewide scale,” said Jonathan London, a UC Davis professor who has spent years studying the AB 617 program. “So local communities that are facing these significant air quality burdens can sometimes not be on the map and not actually show up as a key topic of concern when things are at that really broad level.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Cristina Garcia hoped to spotlight local air pollution when she brought Brown \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/AsmGarcia/status/867123969140285441\">on a 2017 tour\u003c/a> of her hometown of Bell Gardens. She walked with the governor along freeway overpasses above backlogged trucks spewing exhaust and invited him to speak with local environmental activists. After \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11473247/state-democrats-have-new-leverage-in-effort-to-curb-greenhouse-gases\">months of negotiations\u003c/a>, Brown and legislative leaders included AB 617, written by Garcia, in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11573588/california-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-extend-cap-and-trade-system\">deal to renew\u003c/a> cap-and-trade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051504\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051504\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-CAP-AND-TRADE-ENVIRO-JUSTICE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for a petroleum pipeline in Richmond on Aug. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eight years later, leaders like Angulo have used AB 617 to create local plans for reducing pollution. But those plans lack real enforcement power, making it difficult to gauge how much AB 617 has actually reduced pollution in the frontline communities it was designed to help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators are weighing another renewal of cap-and-trade, which could change the way AB 617 is funded. Environmental justice advocates view the negotiations as a chance to strengthen the program and deliver on the promise of clean air in California’s most polluted neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ten communities were selected in 2018 for the program’s rollout by the California Air Resources Board. These were predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods — such as West Oakland, Carson and East Los Angeles — where decades of discriminatory planning had placed backyards near industrial facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal was for local steering committees to work with regional air districts to monitor pollution and draft community emission reduction plans, or CERPs.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The rollout was rocky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In West Oakland, established environmental justice advocates were ready to use new state funding and authority to push for emissions cuts from trucks at the Port of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Richmond, North Richmond and San Pablo, London found the Bay Area Air District still largely controlled the steering committee process. Local environmental justice groups did not participate because of their opposition to AB 617, and residents who did join struggled with procedural hurdles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had to make ‘motions,’ get ‘seconds,’ make a ‘friendly amendment,’” Angulo remembered. “We operate under consensus very much in these community spaces — no one knows how to make a motion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2020 survey, London asked members of the 10 steering committees if they believed the process benefited their communities. Richmond’s steering committee members gave themselves the lowest score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gradually, through turnover and years of monthly meetings, the steering committee found its footing. Data from AB 617’s expanded air monitoring helped identify local pollution hotspots — from highways to rail yards to auto body shops. Angulo pushed through a change to the committee rules to give community members more control over meetings and agendas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1586px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037033\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1586\" height=\"1084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png 1586w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-800x547.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1020x697.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-160x109.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1536x1050.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1586px) 100vw, 1586px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Aug. 6, 2012, fire at the Chevron Oil Refinery in Richmond, California, began near the rupture of this 8-inch pipe, shown in this photo included in the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s final investigative report. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of U.S. Chemical Safety Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Issues that we found early on … many of those really have been addressed,” London said. “Fixes have been put in to improve community engagement, to ensure that community priorities are well reflected in the eventual emission reduction plans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond’s CERP, called The Path to Clean Air, was finalized in November, years behind schedule. It calls for the Bay Area Air District to adopt new rules limiting refinery emissions, invest fines collected from polluters back into Richmond and neighboring San Pablo, and move toward a “just transition” away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large focus, to no surprise, is Chevron, which the roadmap cited as “by far the largest single generator of emissions in the Path to Clean Air community for many air pollutants,” including PM 2.5 — microscopic particles linked to asthma and emphysema.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The [Path to Clean Air] community is a frontline community that has long been subject to historical and systematic racist policies and impacted by the largest refinery in Northern California, the Chevron Richmond Refinery,” the report reads. “In order to reach our climate and equity goals, we must end the refining and combustion of fossil fuels as soon as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s an audacious goal for a city whose local economy and tax base have long been tied to Chevron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company participated in the process as a non-voting member of the steering committee. It declined an interview request but said in a statement that it “values the program described in AB 617 as an important initiative to address local air quality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe the AB 617 framework is important to the program’s success, including inclusive engagement, data-driven assessments, and clear objectives to cost-effectively reduce local emissions,” Chevron spokesperson Caitlin Powell said. “For the past few decades, California’s energy policies have discouraged investment, reduced fuel reliability, and ultimately hurt consumers through higher prices and broader economic strain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is crucial that policies aimed at reducing emissions do not unduly burden California families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in a 2024 email to the Bay Area Air District, Chevron manager Kris Battleson criticized the CERP’s call for a just transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051541\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051541\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-21-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Chevron Richmond Refinery, seen from the Point Richmond neighborhood in Richmond on June 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The concept of a ‘just transition’ does not relate to emission reductions and is more akin to providing a safety net for workers and residents impacted by the State’s goals of eliminating an entire industry,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BK White, a former Chevron refinery operator and current policy director for Richmond’s mayor, said the plan is not a “shot” at Chevron, but responsible planning for a future in which demand for gasoline refined in California is projected to decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any city that is too dependent on one industry — we’ve seen it with coal, with the automobile industry in the Midwest — you have to transition your tax base to where you’re more diversified,” White said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area air regulators have said the local CERPS have driven the rules they make to limit pollution. But a core flaw of AB 617 is that the community plans carry no legal weight, said Dan Ress, attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They put together these really thoughtful and nuanced plans,” Ress said. “And then they’re told, ‘Well, that’s really a nice document you put together, gold star.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20140709_184808_qed-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 300 people attended the Richmond Planning Commission’s meeting on July 9, 2014, to weigh in on the environmental impact of a proposed upgrade to the Chevron refinery in the city. \u003ccite>(Alex Emslie/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While Ress praised the work of residents on the 617 steering committees, he warned that the lack of enforcement could erode trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that causes some real problems where you’re saying, ‘Community members, tell us what you want. OK, cool, we’re going to ignore that now,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Shafter, a Central Valley AB 617 community, members demanded earlier notice before pesticides were sprayed on local fields. With an advanced heads-up, parents could keep their children inside on a day when chemicals were being sprayed in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Kern County agricultural commissioner refused, even though the data was already available. The steering committee turned to state regulators, and after a five-year campaign, California launched a statewide pesticide notification program earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we see both the main benefit of 617 in that organizing and power building,” Ress said. “And the main drawback in its lack of weight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051554\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051554\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250603-PollutersPay-07-BL_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Part of the Chevron Richmond Refinery, seen from the Point Richmond neighborhood in Richmond on June 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Advocates want lawmakers to expand the program beyond the current 19 communities, add environmental justice-aligned regulators to local air boards and give the local plans real enforcement power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The core concern is that [AB 617] pits disadvantaged communities against each other in competing to get into the program,” Ress said. “Then once they’re in the program, it takes a ton of resources and focused effort with relatively small payback for that effort.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program’s future may hinge on the upcoming cap-and-trade negotiations, which are expected to intensify when the Legislature returns from recess on Aug. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key point of debate is how to allocate the revenue generated from the sale of emissions credits purchased. Since 2017, the Legislature has dedicated $1.4 billion in support of AB 617. The funds have paid for EV charging stations, bike paths, urban greening programs and staff support for the local steering committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has touted the AB 617 projects as a reason to renew cap-and-trade, which he is proposing to rename Cap-and-Invest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12008449\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12008449\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GavinNewsomAP3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Eric Thayer/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re cutting harmful pollution across California with a special focus on communities that have some of the dirtiest air in our state,” Newsom said in a statement. “Thanks to Cap-and-Invest, we’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars in projects that are proven to clean the air.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Newsom and legislative leaders also want to use cap-and-trade funds for other \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040286/how-california-cap-and-trade-works-and-how-newsom-wants-to-change-it\">priorities\u003c/a>, such as funding high-speed rail, firefighting and lowering electricity bills. A Chevron executive \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-climate/2025/08/01/chevrons-andy-walz-isnt-satisfied-00490144\">told \u003cem>Politico\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that cap-and-trade should be paused for up to 20 years to avoid harming refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of AB 617 argue that cutting the funding would break the promise that communities breathing the dirtiest air would not be left behind on the state’s path to global climate leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program was made with the intention of using this polluter money to help reduce the impact of these industrial facilities,” said Angulo. “If we’re not using that money to fund programs like these — that are putting decision-making power directly into the hands of community members —what are we doing?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "secret-deal-california-would-weaken-regulations-oil-refineries",
"title": "‘Secret Deal’ in California Would Weaken Regulations for Oil Refineries",
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"headTitle": "‘Secret Deal’ in California Would Weaken Regulations for Oil Refineries | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/secret-deal-in-california-would-weaken-regulations-for-oil-refineries/\">article\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/\">\u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit investigative news organization.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Aug. 6, 2012, a corroded, eight-inch pipe at Chevron’s oil refinery in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> cracked open, sending a white cloud hundreds of feet into the air. The cloud quickly engulfed the 19 refinery firefighters, managers and other workers who had been trying to fix what had been a small leak in the pipe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of them went to ground, unable to see past their hands; most ran or crawled out of the way. Then the vapor ignited, trapping a firefighter in a truck. He, too, ran out, through what eyewitnesses called a wall of flame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was just the beginning. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/73746/new-photos-chevron-refinery-fire-and-its-aftermath\">The fire burned for hours\u003c/a>; the smoke choked the Bay Area for days. Fifteen thousand people sought medical care for breathing problems and exposure to the toxic plume; hospitals admitted 20, including one refinery worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigators \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/17/chevron_final_investigation_report_2015-01-28.pdf?15397\">concluded\u003c/a> that the fire could have been prevented if Chevron had heeded its own inspectors’ pleas to replace the decaying pipe, and if federal and California regulations had mandated better safety practices. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown convened a working group of 13 state agencies and departments to appraise the safety of California’s refineries, clustered in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The safety measures rolled out over the next five years were among the strongest in the nation, giving workers unprecedented power to halt operations they felt were unsafe. Other rules were designed to protect communities near refineries from accidental chemical releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1586px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12037033 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1586\" height=\"1084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png 1586w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-800x547.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1020x697.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-160x109.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1536x1050.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1586px) 100vw, 1586px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Aug. 6, 2012, fire at the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, California, began near the rupture of this 8-inch pipe, shown in this photo included in the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s final investigative report. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of U.S. Chemical Safety Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, more than 12 years after the Chevron fire, regulators are poised to weaken two key regulations that had been challenged in court by the Western States Petroleum Association, or WSPA, a trade association that lobbies heavily in California. A settlement of two lawsuits reached behind closed doors in September calls for easing some of those rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders and community advocates — who were excluded from the settlement negotiations — say the proposed changes would put workers and the public at greater risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be looking at the possibility of rolling back these regulations is dangerous and alarming for our communities,” said Marie Choi, communications director for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, or APEN, a watchdog group. “We can’t let industry write the rules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/embed?mid=1IWp_ArXOUH-HGhBlVqnqw8n3IFJPXAs&ehbc=2E312F&noprof=1\" width=\"675\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Environmental Protection Agency, known as CalEPA, set a Tuesday deadline to \u003ca href=\"https://calepa.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Final-CalARP-Notice-of-Proposed-Rulemaking.pdf\">accept public comment\u003c/a> on proposed changes to its accidental release program. The agency will make an internal decision afterward on whether to accept the changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, part of the Department of Industrial Relations, or DIR, is independently considering changes to safety rules affecting workers. A decision by the board may not come until 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalEPA said that the revisions are needed to provide clarity and consistency in applying the rules.[aside postID=news_12036242 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/ValeroBenicia-1020x765.jpg']“Petroleum refineries have stated that certain terms and provisions of the [accidental release program] regulations are vague and confusing, making it difficult for them to comply,” the agency wrote in a statement accompanying the proposed amendments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to \u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em>, a spokeswoman for DIR wrote that the agency and CalEPA “remain committed to protecting refinery workers and ensuring refinery operations meet all safety and environmental standards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office represented the state in the two lawsuits, responded to requests for comment from \u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em> by referring the questions to the affected agencies. WSPA did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moves have left environmental and labor advocates questioning the transparency of the negotiations. Lawyers for the Steelworkers were asked to sign off on the settlement of the lawsuit last September. They refused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, our biggest thing was that we were left out of a process in which we had the right to participate,” said Mike Smith, who heads the Steelworkers’ National Oil Bargaining Program in Pittsburgh and was a union staff representative for six years at Local 5 in Martinez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t understand how this happened,” said Julia May, a senior scientist with Communities for a Better Environment, an advocacy group that helped craft the original process safety management rule. “We’ve had a bad history of [refinery] accidents in California due to cutting corners on maintenance, due to not listening to the workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Read the full story at \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/\">\u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "More than 12 years after the Chevron fire in Richmond, regulators are poised to weaken two key regulations that had been challenged in court by the Western States Petroleum Association.",
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"title": "‘Secret Deal’ in California Would Weaken Regulations for Oil Refineries | KQED",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/author/jimmorris/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Jim Morris \u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/author/mollypeterson/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Molly Peterson\u003c/a>, Public Health Watch ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/secret-deal-in-california-would-weaken-regulations-for-oil-refineries/\">article\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/\">\u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit investigative news organization.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Aug. 6, 2012, a corroded, eight-inch pipe at Chevron’s oil refinery in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> cracked open, sending a white cloud hundreds of feet into the air. The cloud quickly engulfed the 19 refinery firefighters, managers and other workers who had been trying to fix what had been a small leak in the pipe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of them went to ground, unable to see past their hands; most ran or crawled out of the way. Then the vapor ignited, trapping a firefighter in a truck. He, too, ran out, through what eyewitnesses called a wall of flame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was just the beginning. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/73746/new-photos-chevron-refinery-fire-and-its-aftermath\">The fire burned for hours\u003c/a>; the smoke choked the Bay Area for days. Fifteen thousand people sought medical care for breathing problems and exposure to the toxic plume; hospitals admitted 20, including one refinery worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigators \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/17/chevron_final_investigation_report_2015-01-28.pdf?15397\">concluded\u003c/a> that the fire could have been prevented if Chevron had heeded its own inspectors’ pleas to replace the decaying pipe, and if federal and California regulations had mandated better safety practices. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown convened a working group of 13 state agencies and departments to appraise the safety of California’s refineries, clustered in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The safety measures rolled out over the next five years were among the strongest in the nation, giving workers unprecedented power to halt operations they felt were unsafe. Other rules were designed to protect communities near refineries from accidental chemical releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1586px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12037033 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1586\" height=\"1084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB.png 1586w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-800x547.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1020x697.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-160x109.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/PHOTO-2-Chevron-RUPTURED-PIPELINE-CSB-1536x1050.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1586px) 100vw, 1586px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Aug. 6, 2012, fire at the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, California, began near the rupture of this 8-inch pipe, shown in this photo included in the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s final investigative report. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of U.S. Chemical Safety Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, more than 12 years after the Chevron fire, regulators are poised to weaken two key regulations that had been challenged in court by the Western States Petroleum Association, or WSPA, a trade association that lobbies heavily in California. A settlement of two lawsuits reached behind closed doors in September calls for easing some of those rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders and community advocates — who were excluded from the settlement negotiations — say the proposed changes would put workers and the public at greater risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be looking at the possibility of rolling back these regulations is dangerous and alarming for our communities,” said Marie Choi, communications director for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, or APEN, a watchdog group. “We can’t let industry write the rules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/embed?mid=1IWp_ArXOUH-HGhBlVqnqw8n3IFJPXAs&ehbc=2E312F&noprof=1\" width=\"675\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Environmental Protection Agency, known as CalEPA, set a Tuesday deadline to \u003ca href=\"https://calepa.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Final-CalARP-Notice-of-Proposed-Rulemaking.pdf\">accept public comment\u003c/a> on proposed changes to its accidental release program. The agency will make an internal decision afterward on whether to accept the changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, part of the Department of Industrial Relations, or DIR, is independently considering changes to safety rules affecting workers. A decision by the board may not come until 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalEPA said that the revisions are needed to provide clarity and consistency in applying the rules.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Petroleum refineries have stated that certain terms and provisions of the [accidental release program] regulations are vague and confusing, making it difficult for them to comply,” the agency wrote in a statement accompanying the proposed amendments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to \u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em>, a spokeswoman for DIR wrote that the agency and CalEPA “remain committed to protecting refinery workers and ensuring refinery operations meet all safety and environmental standards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office represented the state in the two lawsuits, responded to requests for comment from \u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em> by referring the questions to the affected agencies. WSPA did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moves have left environmental and labor advocates questioning the transparency of the negotiations. Lawyers for the Steelworkers were asked to sign off on the settlement of the lawsuit last September. They refused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, our biggest thing was that we were left out of a process in which we had the right to participate,” said Mike Smith, who heads the Steelworkers’ National Oil Bargaining Program in Pittsburgh and was a union staff representative for six years at Local 5 in Martinez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t understand how this happened,” said Julia May, a senior scientist with Communities for a Better Environment, an advocacy group that helped craft the original process safety management rule. “We’ve had a bad history of [refinery] accidents in California due to cutting corners on maintenance, due to not listening to the workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Read the full story at \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/\">\u003cem>Public Health Watch\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-doubles-down-key-emissions-program-after-trump-calls-radical",
"title": "California Doubles Down on Key Emissions Program After Trump Calls It ‘Radical’",
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"content": "\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators are seeking to extend California’s cap-and-trade program, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12023129/how-climate-change-complicating-california-democrats-affordability-agenda\">landmark policy for reducing planet-warming pollution\u003c/a> that has found itself in President Trump’s sights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cap-and-trade sets limits on emissions from high polluters such as power plants, oil refineries and large factories. Those that exceed the limits must buy an allowance, like a permit to emit more carbon dioxide, or an offset, which is a greenhouse-gas reducing project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the program administered by the California Air Resources Board, the total emissions cap declines each year along with the number of allowances. It is currently set to expire in 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom, State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Salinas, said Tuesday that they would work to extend cap-and-trade \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020419/5-big-priorities-california-lawmakers-aim-to-tackle-in-2025\">this legislative year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s generated significant results \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11573588/california-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-extend-cap-and-trade-system\">over the last decade\u003c/a>,” McGuire said. “$14 billion has been invested, reducing energy bills for Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McGuire also said the program has added hundreds of thousands of jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency, and funded wildfire mitigation projects, housing near transit, and investments in energy solutions like battery storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11987416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11987416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/AP24143737390177-scaled-e1744840511309.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1418\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California state Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg, right) talks to reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento on Aug. 28, 2023. \u003ccite>(Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last week, Trump issued \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-energy-from-state-overreach/\">an executive order\u003c/a> specifically calling out the program as one that “punishes carbon use.” It directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to evaluate whether state and local climate laws violate the Constitution or federal authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the order, he wrote that California’s caps on carbon dioxide pollution are “impossible … all but forcing businesses to pay large sums to ‘trade’ carbon credits to meet California’s radical requirements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barbara Haya, director of the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project at UC Berkeley, views Newsom’s announcement as a signal he’s boldly defending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017635/californias-emissions-cuts-accelerating-report-finds\">state climate efforts\u003c/a>.[aside postID=news_12036242 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/ValeroBenicia-1020x765.jpg']“I was thrilled to hear Governor Newsom double down on California’s climate policy,” said Haya, who focuses on carbon trading and offsets and has followed the state’s cap-and-trade program for years. “California leadership couldn’t be more important given what’s going on in D.C.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have this narrow window of time to rein in emissions globally, and it’s simply unconscionable for the federal government to give away our future to short-term profits of the fossil fuel industry,” Haya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haya hopes that the new iteration of cap-and-trade puts a price on carbon and reforms the offset program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stakeholders in the cap-and-trade program had hoped it would get extended, said Meredith Fowlie, an economist and professor at UC Berkeley who studies energy markets and climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The uncertainty around the future of the cap and trade program past 2030 has been causing uncertainty in the market,” Fowlie said. For years, “we have been trying to underscore the importance of having this reauthorization conversation because there’s lots of market participants holding on to permits, making investment decisions that depend on the future of the cap and trade program.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom and his colleagues said they will release details of their proposal in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators are seeking to extend California’s cap-and-trade program, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12023129/how-climate-change-complicating-california-democrats-affordability-agenda\">landmark policy for reducing planet-warming pollution\u003c/a> that has found itself in President Trump’s sights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cap-and-trade sets limits on emissions from high polluters such as power plants, oil refineries and large factories. Those that exceed the limits must buy an allowance, like a permit to emit more carbon dioxide, or an offset, which is a greenhouse-gas reducing project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the program administered by the California Air Resources Board, the total emissions cap declines each year along with the number of allowances. It is currently set to expire in 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom, State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Salinas, said Tuesday that they would work to extend cap-and-trade \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020419/5-big-priorities-california-lawmakers-aim-to-tackle-in-2025\">this legislative year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s generated significant results \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11573588/california-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-extend-cap-and-trade-system\">over the last decade\u003c/a>,” McGuire said. “$14 billion has been invested, reducing energy bills for Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McGuire also said the program has added hundreds of thousands of jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency, and funded wildfire mitigation projects, housing near transit, and investments in energy solutions like battery storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11987416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11987416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/AP24143737390177-scaled-e1744840511309.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1418\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California state Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg, right) talks to reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento on Aug. 28, 2023. \u003ccite>(Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last week, Trump issued \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-energy-from-state-overreach/\">an executive order\u003c/a> specifically calling out the program as one that “punishes carbon use.” It directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to evaluate whether state and local climate laws violate the Constitution or federal authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the order, he wrote that California’s caps on carbon dioxide pollution are “impossible … all but forcing businesses to pay large sums to ‘trade’ carbon credits to meet California’s radical requirements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barbara Haya, director of the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project at UC Berkeley, views Newsom’s announcement as a signal he’s boldly defending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017635/californias-emissions-cuts-accelerating-report-finds\">state climate efforts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I was thrilled to hear Governor Newsom double down on California’s climate policy,” said Haya, who focuses on carbon trading and offsets and has followed the state’s cap-and-trade program for years. “California leadership couldn’t be more important given what’s going on in D.C.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have this narrow window of time to rein in emissions globally, and it’s simply unconscionable for the federal government to give away our future to short-term profits of the fossil fuel industry,” Haya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haya hopes that the new iteration of cap-and-trade puts a price on carbon and reforms the offset program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stakeholders in the cap-and-trade program had hoped it would get extended, said Meredith Fowlie, an economist and professor at UC Berkeley who studies energy markets and climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The uncertainty around the future of the cap and trade program past 2030 has been causing uncertainty in the market,” Fowlie said. For years, “we have been trying to underscore the importance of having this reauthorization conversation because there’s lots of market participants holding on to permits, making investment decisions that depend on the future of the cap and trade program.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom and his colleagues said they will release details of their proposal in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Trump Tried to Cut Agency That Investigates Oil, Gas Accidents. Will He Do It Again?",
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"content": "\u003cp>The federal agency responsible for investigating chemical accidents at industrial facilities, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oil-refineries\">oil refineries\u003c/a> like those in the Bay Area, is at risk of being shut down under the second Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, then-President Donald Trump tried and failed to use the budget process \u003ca href=\"https://publicintegrity.org/politics/system-failure/agency-industrial-chemical-safety-board-disasters-life-support-trump-deregulation/\">to shut down the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board\u003c/a>, better known as the CSB. He could try it again, as he’s repeatedly said he plans to increase oil and gas production with a deregulatory agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Starting on Day 1, I will approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refiners, new power plants, new reactors, and we will slash the red tape,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5181963/trump-promises-more-drilling-in-the-u-s-to-boost-fossil-fuel-production\">Trump said in early September\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CSB has investigated major disasters like the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling explosion and leak that lasted for several months in 2010 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/bio-lab-inc-conyers-fire-and-chemical-release-/\">Bio-Lab explosion and fire\u003c/a> in Georgia earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, it investigated the explosion and fire at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/94930/how-the-chevron-richmond-fire-happened-feds-release-blow-by-blow-animation-of-accident\">Chevron’s Richmond refinery in 2012\u003c/a> that sent 15,000 people to hospitals, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11665999/chevron-richmond-move-to-settle-lawsuit-over-2012-refinery-fire-that-sickened-thousands\">most of them with breathing problems\u003c/a>. More recently, it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988025/marathons-martinez-refinery-hit-with-state-fines-over-fire-that-burned-worker\">investigated safety violations\u003c/a> that resulted in a fire that injured a worker last year at \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/martinez-renewable-fuels-fire-/\">Marathon Petroleum’s Martinez Renewable Fuels refinery\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re the folks who show up and just get to the facts and get to the root cause, hold people accountable,” said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord), who was a Contra Costa County supervisor when his predecessor, George Miller, helped create the CSB in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014671\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014671\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While local agencies like the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board keep tabs on refineries, the CSB’s reports often offer more detail and are released faster than those from other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeSaulnier — who also supported many environmental protections when he served on the California Air Resources Board and BAAQMD — said the CSB is vital to the health of the nation, as its findings have helped usher in regulations that have made it safer for workers, the environment and human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should Trump attempt to get rid of the CSB a second time, DeSaulnier said he’ll fight back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s basically taking the police officer off the beat at the federal level for polluters. He’s saying, ‘Go ahead and pollute. Go ahead and risk your employees’ and your neighbors’ lives. That’s fine with us. Nobody’s going to be watching,’” DeSaulnier said. “I will. I will fight that tooth and nail.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should the CSB be terminated, “the likelihood of somebody dying goes up in our case” because there will be a push to lower regulations to compete with places with lower environmental standards, DeSaulnier said, using Louisiana and Thailand as examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike the Environmental Protection Agency or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the CSB’s investigatory functioning is free of typical rulemaking, which allows it to investigate multiple facets of an industrial accident, including workplace safety issues and chemical releases that may have harmed the outside community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12013686 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241021-SFUSD-BREED-STATE-PRESSER-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress also gave it autonomy so that it isn’t beholden to any other agency or the executive branch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the president appoints the CSB’s members. It is a five-member board, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/about-the-csb/board-members/\">two seats are vacant\u003c/a> — and the current three members of the board all have terms that expire before the end of Trump’s second term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Trump has yet to formally call for the end of the CSB, he has already told one of his Cabinet appointments, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a former environmental lawyer tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/11/06/nx-s1-5181891/trump-win-climate-change-fossil-fuels-clean-energy\">to stay away from the liquid gold\u003c/a>,” alluding to oil and gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeSaulnier said that the “real gold” is renewable energy and that more oil refineries are turning greener, evidenced by two of the four refineries in Contra Costa County — the Marathon refinery in Martinez and the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo — announcing last year that they were switching to processing plant-based diesel fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the economic model is very compelling,” DeSaulnier said, adding that if the U.S. doesn’t continue to transition to renewable energy, it’ll be far behind other countries already doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/12/exxon-ceo-says-trump-should-keep-us-involved-in-global-effort-to-address-climate-change.html\">Exxon Mobil’s CEO pushed back\u003c/a> against Trump’s reliance on fossil fuels as the company attempts to transition to other forms of energy because “investors know where the future is, and they know where the return on investment is,” DeSaulnier said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Trump to gut or cut the CSB and continue to push for less regulation on the fossil fuel industry “is just perfect madness,” DeSaulnier said. “But I think he will do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 18: A previous version of this story misstated one of the two Contra Costa County refineries that announced switches to processing plant-based diesel fuels last year. It was the Marathon refinery in Martinez, not PBF.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The federal agency responsible for investigating chemical accidents at industrial facilities, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oil-refineries\">oil refineries\u003c/a> like those in the Bay Area, is at risk of being shut down under the second Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, then-President Donald Trump tried and failed to use the budget process \u003ca href=\"https://publicintegrity.org/politics/system-failure/agency-industrial-chemical-safety-board-disasters-life-support-trump-deregulation/\">to shut down the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board\u003c/a>, better known as the CSB. He could try it again, as he’s repeatedly said he plans to increase oil and gas production with a deregulatory agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Starting on Day 1, I will approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refiners, new power plants, new reactors, and we will slash the red tape,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5181963/trump-promises-more-drilling-in-the-u-s-to-boost-fossil-fuel-production\">Trump said in early September\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CSB has investigated major disasters like the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling explosion and leak that lasted for several months in 2010 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/bio-lab-inc-conyers-fire-and-chemical-release-/\">Bio-Lab explosion and fire\u003c/a> in Georgia earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, it investigated the explosion and fire at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/94930/how-the-chevron-richmond-fire-happened-feds-release-blow-by-blow-animation-of-accident\">Chevron’s Richmond refinery in 2012\u003c/a> that sent 15,000 people to hospitals, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11665999/chevron-richmond-move-to-settle-lawsuit-over-2012-refinery-fire-that-sickened-thousands\">most of them with breathing problems\u003c/a>. More recently, it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988025/marathons-martinez-refinery-hit-with-state-fines-over-fire-that-burned-worker\">investigated safety violations\u003c/a> that resulted in a fire that injured a worker last year at \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/martinez-renewable-fuels-fire-/\">Marathon Petroleum’s Martinez Renewable Fuels refinery\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re the folks who show up and just get to the facts and get to the root cause, hold people accountable,” said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord), who was a Contra Costa County supervisor when his predecessor, George Miller, helped create the CSB in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014671\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014671\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While local agencies like the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board keep tabs on refineries, the CSB’s reports often offer more detail and are released faster than those from other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeSaulnier — who also supported many environmental protections when he served on the California Air Resources Board and BAAQMD — said the CSB is vital to the health of the nation, as its findings have helped usher in regulations that have made it safer for workers, the environment and human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should Trump attempt to get rid of the CSB a second time, DeSaulnier said he’ll fight back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s basically taking the police officer off the beat at the federal level for polluters. He’s saying, ‘Go ahead and pollute. Go ahead and risk your employees’ and your neighbors’ lives. That’s fine with us. Nobody’s going to be watching,’” DeSaulnier said. “I will. I will fight that tooth and nail.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should the CSB be terminated, “the likelihood of somebody dying goes up in our case” because there will be a push to lower regulations to compete with places with lower environmental standards, DeSaulnier said, using Louisiana and Thailand as examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike the Environmental Protection Agency or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the CSB’s investigatory functioning is free of typical rulemaking, which allows it to investigate multiple facets of an industrial accident, including workplace safety issues and chemical releases that may have harmed the outside community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress also gave it autonomy so that it isn’t beholden to any other agency or the executive branch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the president appoints the CSB’s members. It is a five-member board, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/about-the-csb/board-members/\">two seats are vacant\u003c/a> — and the current three members of the board all have terms that expire before the end of Trump’s second term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Trump has yet to formally call for the end of the CSB, he has already told one of his Cabinet appointments, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a former environmental lawyer tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/11/06/nx-s1-5181891/trump-win-climate-change-fossil-fuels-clean-energy\">to stay away from the liquid gold\u003c/a>,” alluding to oil and gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeSaulnier said that the “real gold” is renewable energy and that more oil refineries are turning greener, evidenced by two of the four refineries in Contra Costa County — the Marathon refinery in Martinez and the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo — announcing last year that they were switching to processing plant-based diesel fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the economic model is very compelling,” DeSaulnier said, adding that if the U.S. doesn’t continue to transition to renewable energy, it’ll be far behind other countries already doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/12/exxon-ceo-says-trump-should-keep-us-involved-in-global-effort-to-address-climate-change.html\">Exxon Mobil’s CEO pushed back\u003c/a> against Trump’s reliance on fossil fuels as the company attempts to transition to other forms of energy because “investors know where the future is, and they know where the return on investment is,” DeSaulnier said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Trump to gut or cut the CSB and continue to push for less regulation on the fossil fuel industry “is just perfect madness,” DeSaulnier said. “But I think he will do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 18: A previous version of this story misstated one of the two Contra Costa County refineries that announced switches to processing plant-based diesel fuels last year. It was the Marathon refinery in Martinez, not PBF.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "bay-area-air-district-hits-valeros-benicia-refinery-with-historic-82-million-fine",
"title": "Bay Area Air District Hits Valero's Benicia Refinery With 'Historic' $82 Million Fine",
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"headTitle": "Bay Area Air District Hits Valero’s Benicia Refinery With ‘Historic’ $82 Million Fine | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:35 a.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regional and state air pollution regulators have hit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/valero-refinery\">oil company Valero\u003c/a> with a penalty of $82 million for at least 15 years of unreported toxic emissions and other alleged air quality violations by its refinery in the Solano County town of Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The penalty, part of a settlement involving the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area-air-quality-management-district\">Bay Area Air Quality Management District\u003c/a>, the California Air Resources Board and Texas-based Valero, is the largest ever levied by the district and is among the biggest imposed nationwide as the result of refinery operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement calls for $64 million of the settlement amount to be used for projects that will address the refinery’s air pollution impacts in Benicia, a city of 26,000 on the northern shore of the Carquinez Strait. The air district said those projects would be chosen in a process involving residents, community groups, advocates and elected officials. Some $16 million of the penalty will be devoted to projects in other Bay Area communities identified by regulators as “overburdened” by air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This penalty sends a strong message; adherence to air quality standards is both necessary and expected, and failure to do so can lead to significant fines,” Steve Young, Benicia mayor and member of the air district board, said in a statement. “Benicia residents need to know that air quality violations are taken seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25260383/valero-baaqmd-carb_agreement-241024.pdf\">32-page settlement \u003c/a>(PDF) released Thursday details dozens of alleged violations of air district regulations and state law, including a long history of unreported emissions of toxic chemicals that began in 2003 or earlier but were not discovered by the air district until 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district said the refinery systems that generate and channel hydrogen throughout the facility emitted substances, including organic compounds that worsen smog and particulate pollution, as well as benzene, toluene and other compounds that cause cancer, reproductive harm and other health concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators also accused the refinery of releasing an estimated 8,400 tons of these substances between 2003 and 2019. That’s about 2.7 tons for each day on which violations occurred, or 360 times the legal limit, the district said, adding that refinery management knew for years that its system contained the harmful contaminants “but did not report them or take any steps to prevent them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero said in the settlement document that it aimed to avoid litigation and that it “does not admit or necessarily agree with” the allegations against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.beniciarefinery.com/air-district-settlement\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an online statement\u003c/a>, the company said it had “endeavored to comply with federal rules associated with the hydrogen system; however, the district has much more stringent regulations.” The company characterized the releases as “trace levels of organic compounds” and added that the air district’s own health risk assessment found they posed only “negligible” health risks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11905065/first-i-had-heard-of-it-valeros-benicia-refinery-secretly-released-toxic-chemicals-for-years\">As first reported by KQED in 2022\u003c/a>, the air district aroused the anger of Benicia residents and elected officials by failing to alert the community about the emissions for nearly three years after they became aware of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12010828 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/GETTYIMAGES-2053492564-KQED-e1729796821581-1020x683.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Philip Fine, the air district’s executive officer, called the settlement “historic” and said it shows “the air district’s unwavering commitment to holding polluters accountable and safeguarding the health of those living in refinery communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district’s initial failure to alert Benicia residents to the refinery’s unreported emissions was “frustrating and disturbing,” Mayor Young said in an interview Thursday. The Valero settlement “will go a long way to rebuilding that faith and trust in the air district’s operations going forward,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the monetary penalties, the settlement gives Valero 30 months to design, get permits for and install systems to prevent toxic releases from its hydrogen units. The company also agreed to train key employees on the air district regulations for the refinery’s various processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero settlement is the latest in a series of high-profile enforcement actions the district has undertaken against Bay Area refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, the agency hit Chevron with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">$20 million in penalties\u003c/a> for 678 violations of air district regulations at its Richmond refinery. The district also won an agreement from the oil company to drop its opposition to new regulations that require refineries to clean up particulate emissions. Chevron could face further penalties — more than $80 million — if it fails to implement measures to meet particulate emission standards within four years of a 2026 deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the agency fined the Marathon Martinez refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/news-and-events/page-resources/2024-news/100224-ymarathon-penalty\">$5 million\u003c/a> for 59 air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:35 a.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regional and state air pollution regulators have hit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/valero-refinery\">oil company Valero\u003c/a> with a penalty of $82 million for at least 15 years of unreported toxic emissions and other alleged air quality violations by its refinery in the Solano County town of Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The penalty, part of a settlement involving the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area-air-quality-management-district\">Bay Area Air Quality Management District\u003c/a>, the California Air Resources Board and Texas-based Valero, is the largest ever levied by the district and is among the biggest imposed nationwide as the result of refinery operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement calls for $64 million of the settlement amount to be used for projects that will address the refinery’s air pollution impacts in Benicia, a city of 26,000 on the northern shore of the Carquinez Strait. The air district said those projects would be chosen in a process involving residents, community groups, advocates and elected officials. Some $16 million of the penalty will be devoted to projects in other Bay Area communities identified by regulators as “overburdened” by air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This penalty sends a strong message; adherence to air quality standards is both necessary and expected, and failure to do so can lead to significant fines,” Steve Young, Benicia mayor and member of the air district board, said in a statement. “Benicia residents need to know that air quality violations are taken seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25260383/valero-baaqmd-carb_agreement-241024.pdf\">32-page settlement \u003c/a>(PDF) released Thursday details dozens of alleged violations of air district regulations and state law, including a long history of unreported emissions of toxic chemicals that began in 2003 or earlier but were not discovered by the air district until 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district said the refinery systems that generate and channel hydrogen throughout the facility emitted substances, including organic compounds that worsen smog and particulate pollution, as well as benzene, toluene and other compounds that cause cancer, reproductive harm and other health concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators also accused the refinery of releasing an estimated 8,400 tons of these substances between 2003 and 2019. That’s about 2.7 tons for each day on which violations occurred, or 360 times the legal limit, the district said, adding that refinery management knew for years that its system contained the harmful contaminants “but did not report them or take any steps to prevent them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero said in the settlement document that it aimed to avoid litigation and that it “does not admit or necessarily agree with” the allegations against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.beniciarefinery.com/air-district-settlement\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an online statement\u003c/a>, the company said it had “endeavored to comply with federal rules associated with the hydrogen system; however, the district has much more stringent regulations.” The company characterized the releases as “trace levels of organic compounds” and added that the air district’s own health risk assessment found they posed only “negligible” health risks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11905065/first-i-had-heard-of-it-valeros-benicia-refinery-secretly-released-toxic-chemicals-for-years\">As first reported by KQED in 2022\u003c/a>, the air district aroused the anger of Benicia residents and elected officials by failing to alert the community about the emissions for nearly three years after they became aware of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Philip Fine, the air district’s executive officer, called the settlement “historic” and said it shows “the air district’s unwavering commitment to holding polluters accountable and safeguarding the health of those living in refinery communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district’s initial failure to alert Benicia residents to the refinery’s unreported emissions was “frustrating and disturbing,” Mayor Young said in an interview Thursday. The Valero settlement “will go a long way to rebuilding that faith and trust in the air district’s operations going forward,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the monetary penalties, the settlement gives Valero 30 months to design, get permits for and install systems to prevent toxic releases from its hydrogen units. The company also agreed to train key employees on the air district regulations for the refinery’s various processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero settlement is the latest in a series of high-profile enforcement actions the district has undertaken against Bay Area refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, the agency hit Chevron with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">$20 million in penalties\u003c/a> for 678 violations of air district regulations at its Richmond refinery. The district also won an agreement from the oil company to drop its opposition to new regulations that require refineries to clean up particulate emissions. Chevron could face further penalties — more than $80 million — if it fails to implement measures to meet particulate emission standards within four years of a 2026 deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the agency fined the Marathon Martinez refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/news-and-events/page-resources/2024-news/100224-ymarathon-penalty\">$5 million\u003c/a> for 59 air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "newsom-rejects-air-quality-monitoring-expansion-for-california-refineries",
"title": "Newsom Rejects Air-Quality Monitoring Expansion for California Refineries",
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"content": "\u003cp>A bill that would have expanded California’s air-quality monitoring system to include more refineries was vetoed by Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a>, who cited concerns on Monday about local control and high implementation costs in the decision. Groups supporting the bill, however, say these reasons “aren’t supported by the facts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 674, introduced by state Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), would have expanded the statewide requirement for real-time air monitoring along the fencelines of petroleum refineries to sites producing biofuel and other pollutants. It also would have required that communities near refineries, including at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">where air quality has been notoriously poor\u003c/a>, receive a notification when pollutants were above specified thresholds and required efforts to remedy poor conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom told state representatives in a letter on Monday that he could not sign the bill, writing that there was no state funding available for reimbursements to the refineries implementing the systems in the event that it might be needed. The program put the cost burden on refineries, who would have paid through a series of fees over multiple years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of three air quality districts where the refineries are located, the Bay Area and South Coast Air Quality Management District, which represents Southern California, supported the bill, according to Oscar Espino-Padron, a senior attorney at Earthjustice. He said the entities would have remained “empowered to implement [its] measures and to exercise their discretion to tailor this monitoring program based on when it’s appropriate in their jurisdictions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really a setback, not only for air quality but also for community safety,” Espino-Padron told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are inherently dangerous operations that are prone to explosions and fires. Communities are being deprived of real-time data about issues that are occurring at refineries and giving them an opportunity to protect their families and take proper precautions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are 19 refineries in California, all of which are located in counties that received failing grades for particulate matter pollution on the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report Card in 2022, according to a Senate floor analysis of the now-killed bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=news_11996994 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/012_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022_qed-1020x679.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This pollution, which consists of fine particles (PM2.5) and larger ones (PM10), is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">associated with a wide range\u003c/a> of lung, heart and other chronic health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Communities of color disproportionately live in the areas around the state’s refineries. The Senate floor analysis also stated that, on average, over 70% of people living within 5 miles of the sites are people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around Richmond’s refinery, that percentage is more than 80%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The veto comes a week after the Richmond City Council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12000170/richmond-drops-bid-for-chevron-refinery-tax-in-550-million-deal-with-company\">killed a bill for the November ballot\u003c/a> that would have proposed a tax on the Chevron refinery. Instead, city officials reached a more than $500 million settlement agreement with the company. Richmond officials said the agreement was a win in the long-standing fight to get compensation from Chevron for the effects that pollution has on the city’s residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Newsom’s decision ended a two-year community effort to increase refineries’ monitoring and reporting requirements, Espino-Padron said Earthjustice would “continue to work on holding this industry accountable and ensuring that communities are protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">Sara Hossaini\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "SB 674 would have expanded the statewide requirement for real-time air monitoring along the fence lines of petroleum refineries to sites producing biofuel and other pollutants.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A bill that would have expanded California’s air-quality monitoring system to include more refineries was vetoed by Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a>, who cited concerns on Monday about local control and high implementation costs in the decision. Groups supporting the bill, however, say these reasons “aren’t supported by the facts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 674, introduced by state Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), would have expanded the statewide requirement for real-time air monitoring along the fencelines of petroleum refineries to sites producing biofuel and other pollutants. It also would have required that communities near refineries, including at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">where air quality has been notoriously poor\u003c/a>, receive a notification when pollutants were above specified thresholds and required efforts to remedy poor conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom told state representatives in a letter on Monday that he could not sign the bill, writing that there was no state funding available for reimbursements to the refineries implementing the systems in the event that it might be needed. The program put the cost burden on refineries, who would have paid through a series of fees over multiple years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of three air quality districts where the refineries are located, the Bay Area and South Coast Air Quality Management District, which represents Southern California, supported the bill, according to Oscar Espino-Padron, a senior attorney at Earthjustice. He said the entities would have remained “empowered to implement [its] measures and to exercise their discretion to tailor this monitoring program based on when it’s appropriate in their jurisdictions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really a setback, not only for air quality but also for community safety,” Espino-Padron told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are inherently dangerous operations that are prone to explosions and fires. Communities are being deprived of real-time data about issues that are occurring at refineries and giving them an opportunity to protect their families and take proper precautions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are 19 refineries in California, all of which are located in counties that received failing grades for particulate matter pollution on the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report Card in 2022, according to a Senate floor analysis of the now-killed bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This pollution, which consists of fine particles (PM2.5) and larger ones (PM10), is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">associated with a wide range\u003c/a> of lung, heart and other chronic health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Communities of color disproportionately live in the areas around the state’s refineries. The Senate floor analysis also stated that, on average, over 70% of people living within 5 miles of the sites are people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around Richmond’s refinery, that percentage is more than 80%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The veto comes a week after the Richmond City Council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12000170/richmond-drops-bid-for-chevron-refinery-tax-in-550-million-deal-with-company\">killed a bill for the November ballot\u003c/a> that would have proposed a tax on the Chevron refinery. Instead, city officials reached a more than $500 million settlement agreement with the company. Richmond officials said the agreement was a win in the long-standing fight to get compensation from Chevron for the effects that pollution has on the city’s residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Newsom’s decision ended a two-year community effort to increase refineries’ monitoring and reporting requirements, Espino-Padron said Earthjustice would “continue to work on holding this industry accountable and ensuring that communities are protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">Sara Hossaini\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#anchor\">This story contains a correction.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Richmond City Council has killed a November ballot measure that would have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992910/richmond-oil-refining-tax-on-chevron-a-major-polluter-moves-closer-to-ballot\">imposed a new oil-refining tax on Chevron\u003c/a>, voting unanimously Wednesday to approve a $550 million settlement with the company instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=54987\">the settlement\u003c/a>, which was the product of a week of intensive negotiations, Chevron has agreed to pay the city $50 million a year for the next five years and $60 million a year for the five years after that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond officials said the agreement, confirmed in a 7–0 council vote, represents a victory in a long battle to get Chevron to compensate the community for the effects of pollution on the city’s 114,000 residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a historic moment,” Mayor Eduardo Martinez said. “… I say it’s a historic moment because we, the people of Richmond, have created a movement that will echo across the nation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company, whose Richmond refinery has operated for more than 120 years and is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">a major source of air pollution\u003c/a>, will continue to pay other city taxes. Despite the settlement, the City Council and Richmond residents retain the right to impose new taxes on the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, one of the sponsors of the tax measure, said the agreement will not change the city’s determination to hold Chevron accountable for its environmental impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let me be clear: We are not settling with Chevron over the issue of pollution,” Jimenez said. “The fight goes on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A representative for Chevron, which had criticized the tax as “a hasty proposal, brought forward by one-sided interests,” praised the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000227\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000227\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign directs visitors to the Chevron Refinery, a petroleum refinery, in Richmond on Jan. 13, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is what finding common ground is all about,” said Brian Hubinger, Chevron Richmond’s public and government affairs manager. “This agreement will allow Chevron Richmond to continue to employ thousands of Bay Area residents and remain focused on providing the affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy that this region demands every day while also supplying the city with much-needed additional funding to support our communities’ needs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Doria Robinson said decades of campaigning by community and environmental groups led to Wednesday’s settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With all due respect to Chevron — I am actually happy we’re able to figure something out together — but you would not have offered your fair share without their work,” she said. “You just wouldn’t have. You haven’t in a hundred years, and you wouldn’t have without that push.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron, Richmond’s largest employer and taxpayer, recorded $21.3 billion in profits last year and paid $45.9 million in taxes to Richmond in the 2022–23 fiscal year, representing more than 15% of the city’s total revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city estimated that the tax measure, proposed this year by a coalition called Make Polluters Pay and placed on the ballot by the City Council in June, would have resulted in annual revenue of $60 million to $90 million. The tax would have been in effect for 50 years, netting as much as $4.5 billion depending on future activity at the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=news_11998605 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/10/RS5929_008-lpr-1440x960.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coalition issued a statement that took credit for compelling Chevron to negotiate the deal and celebrated it as a community victory, though its members appeared split on whether to accept it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Together, Richmond community groups, families, and workers have forced the city’s largest polluter to offer over half a billion dollars to fund the essential services Richmond communities need today, and plan ahead so that when big polluters close down, our families aren’t left to pay for their mess,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Kerry Guerin, an attorney with the Richmond office of coalition member Communities for a Better Environment, urged the council to reject the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our campaign did not approach the city with this concept just so that Chevron would cut a deal that is pennies to them,” Guerin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before voting, the council heard from more than two dozen members of the public, many of whom expressed disappointment the measure would not be on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Richmond voters deserve the opportunity to vote on their own future this November and hold Chevron accountable,” said Martine Johannesen, a city planning graduate student at UC Berkeley. “But if the City Council approves the tax deal, we ask that the council establish a community oversight board to allocate these settlement funds and reserve the use of the funds to advance a just transition for Richmond.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal comes after a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge ruled last week that the city’s proposed wording for the tax measure was misleading and “impermissibly partisan.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hastily organized Coalition for Richmond’s Future and a Chevron employee sued the city on June 28, arguing that the ballot description for the measure was both misleading and biased toward support of the tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friday’s tentative ruling from Superior Court Judge John P. Devine agreed on both counts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The language was misleading, he said, because it contains a laundry list of specific uses — to fund “clean air and water treatment, roads, parks, fire and emergency response, toxic land cleanup, and improving community health and youth services” — despite the fact the revenue will go into the city’s general fund, used primarily to pay employee wages and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Devine also noted that Communities for a Better Environment, one of the measure’s chief proponents, drafted the language, not the City Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a ballot label that was not only drafted by proponents of the measure but whose ballot label also echoes the same messages as advertisement campaigns in support of the measure,” Devine wrote. “…The use of such partisan language impermissibly falls outside the limits of substantial compliance” with the state elections code.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City Attorney Dave Aleshire said in a memo prepared for Wednesday’s council meeting that further legal challenges to the tax measure were likely. He noted that Chevron had already expressed its intention to sue and that a similar tax adopted by the Los Angeles County city of Carson in 2017 is still tied up in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city disagrees with Chevron’s legal critique but cannot deny that litigation is likely and may be long-lasting and expensive,” Aleshire said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several City Council members said they were moved to support the settlement because of the recent conservative turn of the federal courts, which might ultimately rule on the tax measure if Chevron sued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not heartened by what’s been happening in the courts, especially on the upper levels, in terms of judgments going, in my opinion, in blasphemous ways when it comes to protecting our environment,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"anchor\">\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\t\u003cem>Correction: This story incorrectly identified a Chevron official who responded to the company’s agreement with the city of Richmond. His name is Brian Hubinger.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#anchor\">This story contains a correction.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Richmond City Council has killed a November ballot measure that would have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992910/richmond-oil-refining-tax-on-chevron-a-major-polluter-moves-closer-to-ballot\">imposed a new oil-refining tax on Chevron\u003c/a>, voting unanimously Wednesday to approve a $550 million settlement with the company instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=54987\">the settlement\u003c/a>, which was the product of a week of intensive negotiations, Chevron has agreed to pay the city $50 million a year for the next five years and $60 million a year for the five years after that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond officials said the agreement, confirmed in a 7–0 council vote, represents a victory in a long battle to get Chevron to compensate the community for the effects of pollution on the city’s 114,000 residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a historic moment,” Mayor Eduardo Martinez said. “… I say it’s a historic moment because we, the people of Richmond, have created a movement that will echo across the nation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company, whose Richmond refinery has operated for more than 120 years and is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">a major source of air pollution\u003c/a>, will continue to pay other city taxes. Despite the settlement, the City Council and Richmond residents retain the right to impose new taxes on the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, one of the sponsors of the tax measure, said the agreement will not change the city’s determination to hold Chevron accountable for its environmental impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let me be clear: We are not settling with Chevron over the issue of pollution,” Jimenez said. “The fight goes on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A representative for Chevron, which had criticized the tax as “a hasty proposal, brought forward by one-sided interests,” praised the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000227\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000227\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/002_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign directs visitors to the Chevron Refinery, a petroleum refinery, in Richmond on Jan. 13, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is what finding common ground is all about,” said Brian Hubinger, Chevron Richmond’s public and government affairs manager. “This agreement will allow Chevron Richmond to continue to employ thousands of Bay Area residents and remain focused on providing the affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy that this region demands every day while also supplying the city with much-needed additional funding to support our communities’ needs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Doria Robinson said decades of campaigning by community and environmental groups led to Wednesday’s settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With all due respect to Chevron — I am actually happy we’re able to figure something out together — but you would not have offered your fair share without their work,” she said. “You just wouldn’t have. You haven’t in a hundred years, and you wouldn’t have without that push.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron, Richmond’s largest employer and taxpayer, recorded $21.3 billion in profits last year and paid $45.9 million in taxes to Richmond in the 2022–23 fiscal year, representing more than 15% of the city’s total revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city estimated that the tax measure, proposed this year by a coalition called Make Polluters Pay and placed on the ballot by the City Council in June, would have resulted in annual revenue of $60 million to $90 million. The tax would have been in effect for 50 years, netting as much as $4.5 billion depending on future activity at the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coalition issued a statement that took credit for compelling Chevron to negotiate the deal and celebrated it as a community victory, though its members appeared split on whether to accept it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Together, Richmond community groups, families, and workers have forced the city’s largest polluter to offer over half a billion dollars to fund the essential services Richmond communities need today, and plan ahead so that when big polluters close down, our families aren’t left to pay for their mess,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Kerry Guerin, an attorney with the Richmond office of coalition member Communities for a Better Environment, urged the council to reject the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our campaign did not approach the city with this concept just so that Chevron would cut a deal that is pennies to them,” Guerin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before voting, the council heard from more than two dozen members of the public, many of whom expressed disappointment the measure would not be on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Richmond voters deserve the opportunity to vote on their own future this November and hold Chevron accountable,” said Martine Johannesen, a city planning graduate student at UC Berkeley. “But if the City Council approves the tax deal, we ask that the council establish a community oversight board to allocate these settlement funds and reserve the use of the funds to advance a just transition for Richmond.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal comes after a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge ruled last week that the city’s proposed wording for the tax measure was misleading and “impermissibly partisan.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hastily organized Coalition for Richmond’s Future and a Chevron employee sued the city on June 28, arguing that the ballot description for the measure was both misleading and biased toward support of the tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friday’s tentative ruling from Superior Court Judge John P. Devine agreed on both counts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The language was misleading, he said, because it contains a laundry list of specific uses — to fund “clean air and water treatment, roads, parks, fire and emergency response, toxic land cleanup, and improving community health and youth services” — despite the fact the revenue will go into the city’s general fund, used primarily to pay employee wages and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Devine also noted that Communities for a Better Environment, one of the measure’s chief proponents, drafted the language, not the City Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a ballot label that was not only drafted by proponents of the measure but whose ballot label also echoes the same messages as advertisement campaigns in support of the measure,” Devine wrote. “…The use of such partisan language impermissibly falls outside the limits of substantial compliance” with the state elections code.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City Attorney Dave Aleshire said in a memo prepared for Wednesday’s council meeting that further legal challenges to the tax measure were likely. He noted that Chevron had already expressed its intention to sue and that a similar tax adopted by the Los Angeles County city of Carson in 2017 is still tied up in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city disagrees with Chevron’s legal critique but cannot deny that litigation is likely and may be long-lasting and expensive,” Aleshire said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several City Council members said they were moved to support the settlement because of the recent conservative turn of the federal courts, which might ultimately rule on the tax measure if Chevron sued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not heartened by what’s been happening in the courts, especially on the upper levels, in terms of judgments going, in my opinion, in blasphemous ways when it comes to protecting our environment,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"anchor\">\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\t\u003cem>Correction: This story incorrectly identified a Chevron official who responded to the company’s agreement with the city of Richmond. His name is Brian Hubinger.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California workplace regulators have issued $188,000 in penalties against Marathon Petroleum’s Martinez refinery for a series of alleged safety violations they say contributed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11968786/recent-fires-at-marathons-martinez-refinery-spark-major-safety-concerns\">an explosion and fire\u003c/a> that severely burned a worker last fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, cited Marathon for violating nine safety regulations in connection with the blaze that critically injured refinery worker Jerome Serrano on Nov. 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three months after the fire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/csb-issues-investigation-update-into-november-2023-fire-at-the-marathon-renewables-facility-in-martinez-california/\">the U.S. Chemical Safety Board concluded\u003c/a> that the blaze started after a refinery furnace overheated. CSB investigators said Serrano was sent to turn off part of the malfunctioning furnace when a steel tube carrying hydrogen and heated diesel ruptured and ignited the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The employer failed to immediately remove exposed employees from imminent hazards created by Furnace F-20 on the 2HDO unit,” states one of Cal/OSHA’s citations, which was categorized as “serious.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At issue was a furnace in a hydrodeoxygenation unit, a component that’s part of the facility’s conversion from a petroleum refinery to one that produces renewable fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA said Marathon failed to compile enough safety information for refinery crews to respond appropriately when the unit overheated. In some cases, the agency said, workers were trained on refinery components that had yet to be installed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Steelworkers Local 5, which represents Marathon workers, said training for refinery units involved in the facility’s transition has been deficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marathon has pushed back against that criticism and said it’s made changes to prevent a repeat of last fall’s fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As part of our comprehensive process for continuously improving person and process safety across our operations, we have been and continue implementing appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence of an incident like the one last November,” the company said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1992910,news_11981762,news_11975650,news_11968786 label='more coverage']“We are currently reviewing the citations issued by Cal-OSHA, and we have posted them in their entirety at the Martinez Renewables site for employees’ awareness. We continue to keep our colleague and his family in our thoughts as he recovers,” the statement reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Serrano suffered third-degree burns to most of his body and has undergone a series of surgeries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is improving but faces a life full of challenges,” said Tracy Scott, president of USW Local 5, in a text message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Serrano continues to undergo skin grafts and physical therapy six months after the fire, Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His injuries have limited his ability to talk. Doctors recently installed a tracheostomy speaking valve that “has allowed him to be able to communicate his wishes about his medical care and treatment more directly with his care team,” Scott said. “He is a miracle and continues to amaze everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire that injured Serrano also forced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11968786/recent-fires-at-marathons-martinez-refinery-spark-major-safety-concerns\">more than a dozen workers to evacuate\u003c/a> part of the Marathon facility. The incident led to the release of more than 200,000 pounds of renewable diesel fuel, according to Marathon. Smoke from the fire drifted out of the refinery, leading to an hours-long public health advisory from Contra Costa County officials.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California workplace regulators have issued $188,000 in penalties against Marathon Petroleum’s Martinez refinery for a series of alleged safety violations they say contributed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11968786/recent-fires-at-marathons-martinez-refinery-spark-major-safety-concerns\">an explosion and fire\u003c/a> that severely burned a worker last fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, cited Marathon for violating nine safety regulations in connection with the blaze that critically injured refinery worker Jerome Serrano on Nov. 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three months after the fire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/csb-issues-investigation-update-into-november-2023-fire-at-the-marathon-renewables-facility-in-martinez-california/\">the U.S. Chemical Safety Board concluded\u003c/a> that the blaze started after a refinery furnace overheated. CSB investigators said Serrano was sent to turn off part of the malfunctioning furnace when a steel tube carrying hydrogen and heated diesel ruptured and ignited the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The employer failed to immediately remove exposed employees from imminent hazards created by Furnace F-20 on the 2HDO unit,” states one of Cal/OSHA’s citations, which was categorized as “serious.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At issue was a furnace in a hydrodeoxygenation unit, a component that’s part of the facility’s conversion from a petroleum refinery to one that produces renewable fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA said Marathon failed to compile enough safety information for refinery crews to respond appropriately when the unit overheated. In some cases, the agency said, workers were trained on refinery components that had yet to be installed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Steelworkers Local 5, which represents Marathon workers, said training for refinery units involved in the facility’s transition has been deficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marathon has pushed back against that criticism and said it’s made changes to prevent a repeat of last fall’s fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As part of our comprehensive process for continuously improving person and process safety across our operations, we have been and continue implementing appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence of an incident like the one last November,” the company said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We are currently reviewing the citations issued by Cal-OSHA, and we have posted them in their entirety at the Martinez Renewables site for employees’ awareness. We continue to keep our colleague and his family in our thoughts as he recovers,” the statement reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Serrano suffered third-degree burns to most of his body and has undergone a series of surgeries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is improving but faces a life full of challenges,” said Tracy Scott, president of USW Local 5, in a text message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Serrano continues to undergo skin grafts and physical therapy six months after the fire, Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His injuries have limited his ability to talk. Doctors recently installed a tracheostomy speaking valve that “has allowed him to be able to communicate his wishes about his medical care and treatment more directly with his care team,” Scott said. “He is a miracle and continues to amaze everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire that injured Serrano also forced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11968786/recent-fires-at-marathons-martinez-refinery-spark-major-safety-concerns\">more than a dozen workers to evacuate\u003c/a> part of the Marathon facility. The incident led to the release of more than 200,000 pounds of renewable diesel fuel, according to Marathon. Smoke from the fire drifted out of the refinery, leading to an hours-long public health advisory from Contra Costa County officials.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Major Richmond Refinery Accidents Settled as Part of Chevron Deal",
"headTitle": "Major Richmond Refinery Accidents Settled as Part of Chevron Deal | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>An agreement local air regulators made with Chevron earlier this year includes the settling of dozens of violations tied to some of the largest accidents at the company’s Richmond refinery over the last five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">announced in February that it had reached deals with Chevron and the Martinez Refining Company\u003c/a>, ending a legal war over a rule intended to reduce a harmful form of pollution emitted by the energy companies’ local refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the agreement, Chevron is also paying $20 million to settle 678 separate violations related to its Richmond refinery. That marks the highest penalty agreement the energy giant has ever made with the air district, according to Philip Fine, the agency’s executive officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This a new era of enforcement and holding facilities accountable,” Fine told the Richmond City Council on Feb. 27. “They need to feel these penalties in order to incentivize them to stay in compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal resolves all of the air district’s open enforcement actions with Chevron that took place between 2019 and June 30, 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11975650]“We believe this resolution will allow us to turn our full focus on the future safe and reliable operation of our facility,” Chevron said in a statement sent by company spokesperson Caitlin Powell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air district officials told KQED 105 of the violations Chevron settled are tied to eight major incidents at the refinery over the last five years. They include several cases in which refinery components malfunctioned, leading to flaring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/plans-and-climate/emission-tracking-and-monitoring/flare-minimization-plans\">Flaring operations\u003c/a> take place when refineries send gasses to their flares to reduce pressure inside the facilities during malfunctions as well as start-up and shutdown operations. Oil industry officials have emphasized that the practice is a way to prevent more serious and possibly dangerous accidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the flaring operations involved in the settlement released significant amounts of toxic gas into the air above the Richmond area. In several of these incidents, nearby residents could see black smoke and fire bursting into the sky, with some calling the air district to complain. Those cases garnered a significant amount of news coverage and social media posts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators say 71 of the violations are connected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11894150/chevron-refinery-malfunction-during-storm-shut-down-processing-units-causing-fire-and-toxic-flaring\">several days of pollution releases from the Richmond refinery that began Oct. 24, 2021\u003c/a>, when one of the Bay Area’s strongest storms in recent years brought significant rain to the region. The refinery sustained a series of malfunctions that led to three days of flaring and significant concerns by Richmond area residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two weeks after the releases started, the City Council asked Chevron executives to explain what happened in a public hearing. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11895438/richmond-to-chevron-listen-to-our-residents-concerns-about-your-problems\">Residents who showed up to the virtual meeting left upset\u003c/a>. They complained that company representatives did not have an explanation for what caused the major refinery malfunction. One of them, Randy Joseph, told the council and the company that he learned nothing from the hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11895438]Reached two and a half years later, on the heels of the deal that essentially closes the book on that accident, Joseph said his dissatisfaction with Chevron has not subsided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chevron always has the answers,” Joseph said in an interview. “They just refuse to share with us. They know they’re polluting. They also know they can come and say nothing and get away with it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few months after the October 2021 incident, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11901875/chevron-richmond-refinery-roof-leak-october-2021-flaring-incident\">KQED reported that problems started when an atmospheric river storm poured rain through a leaky roof into a key part of the refinery\u003c/a>, triggering significant power and steam loss. That, in turn, knocked half a dozen petroleum processing units offline, caused a small fire, and resulted in several days in which the refinery flared off toxic gases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They never came back to City Council. They never came back and explained. They never came back to apologize,” said Joseph, who is a community organizer with the group Reimagine Richmond and said he only learned of the cause of that accident from KQED’s reporting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='chevron']Chevron says it informs the public and the air district about its releases. The company points out that residents can check real-time air quality data through \u003ca href=\"https://richmondairmonitoring.org/\">the refinery’s fenceline monitoring system\u003c/a>. The causes of many flaring events are posted several months later on \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/about-air-quality/research-and-data/flare-data/flare-causal-reports\">the air district’s website\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chevron Richmond also will be implementing various improvements to our flare monitoring and sampling systems and setting up ways to discuss flaring events and other air quality issues directly with our community,” the company said through its representative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 71 violations for the October 2021 incident involve times in which Chevron broke public nuisance, permit condition, visible emission and flare monitoring regulations, according to Kristine Roselius, an air district spokesperson. But the settlement essentially obscures the fine amount for each penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We accounted for the seriousness of these violations in determining an appropriate overall penalty amount for all the covered violations, but there is no allocation of specific dollar amounts to each individual violation, Roselius said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the last decade, the oil industry \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960699/oil-industry-sets-back-efforts-to-increase-fines-against-polluting-california-refineries-yet-again\">has successfully killed or delayed legislative attempts to increase penalties on refineries\u003c/a> that violate air quality laws in California. The most recent bill, proposed by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), would increase the ceiling of many of those penalties to $30,000 per violation. That bill, \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB1465/2023\">AB 1465\u003c/a>, is on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air district officials say 13 of Chevron’s violations settled in the recent deal were tied to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11860389/chevron-says-flawed-electrical-diagram-triggered-major-flaring-incident\">incident on Nov. 2, 2020,\u003c/a> when an incorrectly labeled electrical diagram caused a power outage leading to the flaring of more than 100,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and other chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency says 11 other violations were connected to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cchealth.org/home/showpublisheddocument/28612/638337601986530000\">malfunction at the Richmond refinery on March 9, 2023,\u003c/a> when a hydrogen-producing plant tripped offline thanks to an electrical equipment malfunction. On the same day, a fire broke out thanks to a pump seal leak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, Chevron’s Richmond refinery has flared more than the Bay Area’s other refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company argues that its “flaring performance has been steadily improving over the past few years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To supplement these efforts, we will be formalizing an operator training program related to flare reduction and conducting a comprehensive assessment of previous flaring events to identify if any additional corrective actions are warranted,” the company said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>An agreement local air regulators made with Chevron earlier this year includes the settling of dozens of violations tied to some of the largest accidents at the company’s Richmond refinery over the last five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975650/bay-air-district-hails-decisive-victory-in-battle-to-cut-refinery-pollution\">announced in February that it had reached deals with Chevron and the Martinez Refining Company\u003c/a>, ending a legal war over a rule intended to reduce a harmful form of pollution emitted by the energy companies’ local refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the agreement, Chevron is also paying $20 million to settle 678 separate violations related to its Richmond refinery. That marks the highest penalty agreement the energy giant has ever made with the air district, according to Philip Fine, the agency’s executive officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This a new era of enforcement and holding facilities accountable,” Fine told the Richmond City Council on Feb. 27. “They need to feel these penalties in order to incentivize them to stay in compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal resolves all of the air district’s open enforcement actions with Chevron that took place between 2019 and June 30, 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We believe this resolution will allow us to turn our full focus on the future safe and reliable operation of our facility,” Chevron said in a statement sent by company spokesperson Caitlin Powell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air district officials told KQED 105 of the violations Chevron settled are tied to eight major incidents at the refinery over the last five years. They include several cases in which refinery components malfunctioned, leading to flaring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/plans-and-climate/emission-tracking-and-monitoring/flare-minimization-plans\">Flaring operations\u003c/a> take place when refineries send gasses to their flares to reduce pressure inside the facilities during malfunctions as well as start-up and shutdown operations. Oil industry officials have emphasized that the practice is a way to prevent more serious and possibly dangerous accidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the flaring operations involved in the settlement released significant amounts of toxic gas into the air above the Richmond area. In several of these incidents, nearby residents could see black smoke and fire bursting into the sky, with some calling the air district to complain. Those cases garnered a significant amount of news coverage and social media posts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators say 71 of the violations are connected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11894150/chevron-refinery-malfunction-during-storm-shut-down-processing-units-causing-fire-and-toxic-flaring\">several days of pollution releases from the Richmond refinery that began Oct. 24, 2021\u003c/a>, when one of the Bay Area’s strongest storms in recent years brought significant rain to the region. The refinery sustained a series of malfunctions that led to three days of flaring and significant concerns by Richmond area residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two weeks after the releases started, the City Council asked Chevron executives to explain what happened in a public hearing. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11895438/richmond-to-chevron-listen-to-our-residents-concerns-about-your-problems\">Residents who showed up to the virtual meeting left upset\u003c/a>. They complained that company representatives did not have an explanation for what caused the major refinery malfunction. One of them, Randy Joseph, told the council and the company that he learned nothing from the hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Reached two and a half years later, on the heels of the deal that essentially closes the book on that accident, Joseph said his dissatisfaction with Chevron has not subsided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chevron always has the answers,” Joseph said in an interview. “They just refuse to share with us. They know they’re polluting. They also know they can come and say nothing and get away with it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few months after the October 2021 incident, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11901875/chevron-richmond-refinery-roof-leak-october-2021-flaring-incident\">KQED reported that problems started when an atmospheric river storm poured rain through a leaky roof into a key part of the refinery\u003c/a>, triggering significant power and steam loss. That, in turn, knocked half a dozen petroleum processing units offline, caused a small fire, and resulted in several days in which the refinery flared off toxic gases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They never came back to City Council. They never came back and explained. They never came back to apologize,” said Joseph, who is a community organizer with the group Reimagine Richmond and said he only learned of the cause of that accident from KQED’s reporting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Chevron says it informs the public and the air district about its releases. The company points out that residents can check real-time air quality data through \u003ca href=\"https://richmondairmonitoring.org/\">the refinery’s fenceline monitoring system\u003c/a>. The causes of many flaring events are posted several months later on \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/about-air-quality/research-and-data/flare-data/flare-causal-reports\">the air district’s website\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chevron Richmond also will be implementing various improvements to our flare monitoring and sampling systems and setting up ways to discuss flaring events and other air quality issues directly with our community,” the company said through its representative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 71 violations for the October 2021 incident involve times in which Chevron broke public nuisance, permit condition, visible emission and flare monitoring regulations, according to Kristine Roselius, an air district spokesperson. But the settlement essentially obscures the fine amount for each penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We accounted for the seriousness of these violations in determining an appropriate overall penalty amount for all the covered violations, but there is no allocation of specific dollar amounts to each individual violation, Roselius said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the last decade, the oil industry \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960699/oil-industry-sets-back-efforts-to-increase-fines-against-polluting-california-refineries-yet-again\">has successfully killed or delayed legislative attempts to increase penalties on refineries\u003c/a> that violate air quality laws in California. The most recent bill, proposed by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), would increase the ceiling of many of those penalties to $30,000 per violation. That bill, \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB1465/2023\">AB 1465\u003c/a>, is on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air district officials say 13 of Chevron’s violations settled in the recent deal were tied to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11860389/chevron-says-flawed-electrical-diagram-triggered-major-flaring-incident\">incident on Nov. 2, 2020,\u003c/a> when an incorrectly labeled electrical diagram caused a power outage leading to the flaring of more than 100,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and other chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency says 11 other violations were connected to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cchealth.org/home/showpublisheddocument/28612/638337601986530000\">malfunction at the Richmond refinery on March 9, 2023,\u003c/a> when a hydrogen-producing plant tripped offline thanks to an electrical equipment malfunction. On the same day, a fire broke out thanks to a pump seal leak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, Chevron’s Richmond refinery has flared more than the Bay Area’s other refineries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company argues that its “flaring performance has been steadily improving over the past few years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To supplement these efforts, we will be formalizing an operator training program related to flare reduction and conducting a comprehensive assessment of previous flaring events to identify if any additional corrective actions are warranted,” the company said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s oil industry has once again quashed an attempt in the state Capitol to increase penalties on refineries that violate air quality laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the fourth time in a decade that the industry has successfully killed or delayed such an endeavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest proposal was put on hold last week, just days before the Legislature finishes its work for the year on Sept. 14. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who authored the \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB1465/2023\">bill\u003c/a>, said the move was prompted by concerns some lawmakers would vote against it because it wasn’t weakened enough to satisfy California’s main oil industry group, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It became apparent that we were going to need more time to work on AB 1465 with our sponsor, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and with opposition groups who engaged us on the possibility of additional amendments,” Wicks said in an email on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WSPA represents the oil companies that own all of the Bay Area’s petroleum refineries. The region’s Chevron, Valero, PBF, Marathon and Phillips 66 plants have for decades produced gasoline and jet fuels that have powered major components of the region’s transportation sector. But they have also received \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/compliance-assistance/notices-of-violations/novs-issued\">hundreds of notices of violations\u003c/a> from local air regulators in recent years, stemming from minor flaring incidents to severe accidents that forced nearby residents to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those incidents prompted Wicks to propose tripling the maximum penalty amounts oil companies would pay when their refineries violate air quality regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Asm. Buffy Wicks at a July 11 hearing\"]‘This morning in Martinez, which I drive through on my way here, there was a toxic dust release. This is happening in our communities all the time.’[/pullquote]There are a variety of fine amounts refineries can face, but the general limit on those fines is currently $10,000. Environmentalists and some Bay Area elected leaders have described those penalties as part of the mere cost of doing business for companies like \u003ca href=\"https://chevroncorp.gcs-web.com/static-files/359d5f9b-5519-476e-976c-8ace50143c49\">Chevron, which earned $6 billion in the second quarter of this year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wicks’ bill would increase the ceiling on fines to $30,000 per violation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But WSPA has opposed any attempts to crack down on air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even before Wicks sidelined the bill last week, the industry group had already convinced legislators to significantly change the proposal several months ago by expanding its scope. Under the changes, the fines would also apply to dozens of industrial facilities that release chemicals into the air, including refineries, that are covered by Title V of the federal Clean Air Act. In the Bay Area there are \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/permits/major-facility-review-title-v/title-v-permits\">dozens of such sites\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no public policy rationale for singling out refineries,” wrote Shant Apekian, vice president of California policy and strategic affairs at WSPA, in a letter to Wicks in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While that complaint arose this spring, lawmakers did not amend the bill until June — and not everyone was happy with the change. Several industry and public agency associations, including the California Association of Sanitation Agencies, urged legislators to vote “no” on the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unlike refineries, which are privately held for-profit corporations, public wastewater agencies provide an essential public service and all costs to the agency, including penalties, are borne by the rate-paying public,” the group wrote to legislators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even though lawmakers in the Senate approved the change, WSPA continued to fight against the bill. It’s a debate that has taken place behind closed doors — not in public committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the bill has \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1465\">sailed through all of its legislative votes\u003c/a> and was headed for a full vote in the state Senate when, last week, Wicks abruptly asked that the proposal be moved to the “inactive file,” essentially scuttling any debate or votes until next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those involved in conversations with Wicks and WSPA say that decision was driven by a push by the petroleum association to make the proposal effective only in rare cases — in WSPA’s words, only when “discharge results in a significant increase in hospitalizations, residential displacement, shelter in place, evacuation or destruction of property.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But air district officials say that definition is too narrow, because refineries often violate air regulations in less extreme incidents that are still dangerous to human health. They argue the standard the industry is arguing for won’t actually provide a deterrent or change how refineries do business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Stories' tag='refineries']For example, last November the PBF refinery in Martinez \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952517/martinez-refinery-chemical-release-poses-no-long-term-hazard-tests-find\">released nearly 50,000 pounds of powdered, industrial chemicals, much of it landing on residential neighborhoods\u003c/a>. The accident led to investigations by the EPA, FBI, Contra Costa County regulators and the air district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the changes the oil industry wants to make, that release would not be covered by the proposed fine increases, local air regulators said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our view, the purpose of the bill is to strengthen penalties for those types of events, not to protect them,” said air district spokeswoman Kristine Roselius, adding that the changes proposed by WSPA “would have provided an economic incentive to large facilities such as refineries, to downplay events as they were happening if they felt they could avoid higher penalties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If this kind of successful pushback sounds similar, that’s because it has happened every time a refinery fine increase proposal has emerged in Sacramento over the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, just as another Wicks bill to do something similar was about to get a vote in the state Senate, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923242/watered-down-state-bill-to-punish-refinery-pollution-gets-scrapped-after-oil-industry-pushback\">she killed it because it was watered down so much\u003c/a> that even the industry dropped its opposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) proposed tripling some of the most serious penalties for refineries. Amid opposition from the oil industry — and, on the other side, pushback from environmentalists and the mayors of Richmond and Benicia, who said the proposal wasn’t strong enough — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11660005/facing-widespread-opposition-lawmaker-ends-effort-to-increase-refinery-penalties\">that bill never even got a hearing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, then state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) introduced legislation to raise such penalties on the heels of a major fire at Richmond’s Chevron refinery, the worst refinery accident in the Bay Area in the last few decades. That bill died on the Assembly floor, also after opposition from oil companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even as the debate rages on in Sacramento, the problem for communities around these refineries persists. The day Wicks presented this year’s bill — at its final hearing before a Senate committee — the Contra Costa County refinery owned by PBF Energy released petroleum coke dust. Some residents described the dust as a “flaky ash.” The pollution came eight months after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952517/martinez-refinery-chemical-release-poses-no-long-term-hazard-tests-find\">much more severe chemical release from the same facility\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This morning in Martinez, which I drive through on my way here, there was a toxic dust release,” Wicks said at the July 11 hearing. “This is happening in our communities all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California’s oil industry has once again quashed an attempt in the state Capitol to increase penalties on refineries that violate air quality laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the fourth time in a decade that the industry has successfully killed or delayed such an endeavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest proposal was put on hold last week, just days before the Legislature finishes its work for the year on Sept. 14. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who authored the \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB1465/2023\">bill\u003c/a>, said the move was prompted by concerns some lawmakers would vote against it because it wasn’t weakened enough to satisfy California’s main oil industry group, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It became apparent that we were going to need more time to work on AB 1465 with our sponsor, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and with opposition groups who engaged us on the possibility of additional amendments,” Wicks said in an email on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WSPA represents the oil companies that own all of the Bay Area’s petroleum refineries. The region’s Chevron, Valero, PBF, Marathon and Phillips 66 plants have for decades produced gasoline and jet fuels that have powered major components of the region’s transportation sector. But they have also received \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/compliance-assistance/notices-of-violations/novs-issued\">hundreds of notices of violations\u003c/a> from local air regulators in recent years, stemming from minor flaring incidents to severe accidents that forced nearby residents to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those incidents prompted Wicks to propose tripling the maximum penalty amounts oil companies would pay when their refineries violate air quality regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There are a variety of fine amounts refineries can face, but the general limit on those fines is currently $10,000. Environmentalists and some Bay Area elected leaders have described those penalties as part of the mere cost of doing business for companies like \u003ca href=\"https://chevroncorp.gcs-web.com/static-files/359d5f9b-5519-476e-976c-8ace50143c49\">Chevron, which earned $6 billion in the second quarter of this year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wicks’ bill would increase the ceiling on fines to $30,000 per violation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But WSPA has opposed any attempts to crack down on air quality violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even before Wicks sidelined the bill last week, the industry group had already convinced legislators to significantly change the proposal several months ago by expanding its scope. Under the changes, the fines would also apply to dozens of industrial facilities that release chemicals into the air, including refineries, that are covered by Title V of the federal Clean Air Act. In the Bay Area there are \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/permits/major-facility-review-title-v/title-v-permits\">dozens of such sites\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no public policy rationale for singling out refineries,” wrote Shant Apekian, vice president of California policy and strategic affairs at WSPA, in a letter to Wicks in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While that complaint arose this spring, lawmakers did not amend the bill until June — and not everyone was happy with the change. Several industry and public agency associations, including the California Association of Sanitation Agencies, urged legislators to vote “no” on the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unlike refineries, which are privately held for-profit corporations, public wastewater agencies provide an essential public service and all costs to the agency, including penalties, are borne by the rate-paying public,” the group wrote to legislators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even though lawmakers in the Senate approved the change, WSPA continued to fight against the bill. It’s a debate that has taken place behind closed doors — not in public committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the bill has \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1465\">sailed through all of its legislative votes\u003c/a> and was headed for a full vote in the state Senate when, last week, Wicks abruptly asked that the proposal be moved to the “inactive file,” essentially scuttling any debate or votes until next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those involved in conversations with Wicks and WSPA say that decision was driven by a push by the petroleum association to make the proposal effective only in rare cases — in WSPA’s words, only when “discharge results in a significant increase in hospitalizations, residential displacement, shelter in place, evacuation or destruction of property.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But air district officials say that definition is too narrow, because refineries often violate air regulations in less extreme incidents that are still dangerous to human health. They argue the standard the industry is arguing for won’t actually provide a deterrent or change how refineries do business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For example, last November the PBF refinery in Martinez \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952517/martinez-refinery-chemical-release-poses-no-long-term-hazard-tests-find\">released nearly 50,000 pounds of powdered, industrial chemicals, much of it landing on residential neighborhoods\u003c/a>. The accident led to investigations by the EPA, FBI, Contra Costa County regulators and the air district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the changes the oil industry wants to make, that release would not be covered by the proposed fine increases, local air regulators said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our view, the purpose of the bill is to strengthen penalties for those types of events, not to protect them,” said air district spokeswoman Kristine Roselius, adding that the changes proposed by WSPA “would have provided an economic incentive to large facilities such as refineries, to downplay events as they were happening if they felt they could avoid higher penalties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If this kind of successful pushback sounds similar, that’s because it has happened every time a refinery fine increase proposal has emerged in Sacramento over the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, just as another Wicks bill to do something similar was about to get a vote in the state Senate, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923242/watered-down-state-bill-to-punish-refinery-pollution-gets-scrapped-after-oil-industry-pushback\">she killed it because it was watered down so much\u003c/a> that even the industry dropped its opposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) proposed tripling some of the most serious penalties for refineries. Amid opposition from the oil industry — and, on the other side, pushback from environmentalists and the mayors of Richmond and Benicia, who said the proposal wasn’t strong enough — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11660005/facing-widespread-opposition-lawmaker-ends-effort-to-increase-refinery-penalties\">that bill never even got a hearing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, then state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) introduced legislation to raise such penalties on the heels of a major fire at Richmond’s Chevron refinery, the worst refinery accident in the Bay Area in the last few decades. That bill died on the Assembly floor, also after opposition from oil companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even as the debate rages on in Sacramento, the problem for communities around these refineries persists. The day Wicks presented this year’s bill — at its final hearing before a Senate committee — the Contra Costa County refinery owned by PBF Energy released petroleum coke dust. Some residents described the dust as a “flaky ash.” The pollution came eight months after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952517/martinez-refinery-chemical-release-poses-no-long-term-hazard-tests-find\">much more severe chemical release from the same facility\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This morning in Martinez, which I drive through on my way here, there was a toxic dust release,” Wicks said at the July 11 hearing. “This is happening in our communities all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 6:10 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County health officials announced Thursday that soil testing conducted in the months after a Martinez oil refinery released nearly 50,000 pounds of powdered industrial chemicals last November has found no long-term health risks to residents in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa Health Officer Dr. Ori Tzvieli said the county is immediately lifting \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a March 7 advisory (PDF)\u003c/a> that recommended residents refrain from consuming fruits and vegetables grown in soil that had received fallout from the Martinez Refining Company’s release. The refinery company is owned and operated by PBF Energy, based in Parsippany, New Jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli said the soil testing and an associated risk assessment “confirms that the primary health risk from the spent catalyst release occurred in the initial hours and days after the refinery release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The soil-testing results were released to \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/\">a community oversight committee\u003c/a> formed after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101892741/martinez-residents-seek-answers-on-toxic-refinery-release\">releases\u003c/a>, which occurred last Nov. 24–25, on Thanksgiving and the following day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli added during a media briefing that followed the committee meeting that because PBF failed to immediately notify officials about the release, questions remain about what health effects residents might experience because of their exposure to the toxic dust immediately after it settled on their neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We weren’t able to do measurement in real time because we didn’t know this was going on until several days later,” Tzvieli said. “So had we been able to do measurement in real time, we would have been able to look at concentrations — what was in the air.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the heavy metals in the dust, such as nickel, pose health concerns, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of those can have effects on the immune system, some of these metals can be carcinogenic. So it is a concerning incident,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, he added, the inability to measure the November release as it was occurring makes it hard to distinguish the hazard the incident posed from the impact of ongoing refinery emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So that’s why it’s hard to give people specific information about the risks that stemmed from this particular release,” Tzvieli said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consultants hired by the county analyzed soil samples from 14 sites stretching from El Sobrante to Benicia for more than a dozen metals that may have been associated with the release of 24 tons of refinery dust — material described as “spent catalyst” used in the refining process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results for most of the heavy metals the samples were analyzed for, including aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc and chromium, all came back both within an expected regional background range and below residential health limits set by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenny Phillips, a toxicologist employed by consultant TRC, reported that samples of arsenic and lead were close to or exceeded state health limits at a handful of sites. But she added that the higher levels of those two toxic metals were probably unrelated to last November’s refinery release. TRC’s report will be made available to the public sometime in the next two weeks, and it will be open for comment for 45 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Tony Semenza, Martinez resident and member of the oversight committee\"]‘One hundred ninety-four days after the release, we are now at the point where we’re telling people it’s OK to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables. The process is flawed.’[/pullquote]Matt Kaufmann, Contra Costa County’s deputy health director, emphasized that the investigation of the Martinez incident is far from over. The county has hired a consultant to perform an independent root cause analysis of the release, and county prosecutors are weighing potential charges against the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaufmann criticized the refining company for failing to immediately notify local officials when the incident occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test results released Thursday “do not excuse the Martinez Refining Company for the lack of notification at the onset of this incident,” he said. “The lack of timely notification negated our ability as health officials to protect our community, including those most vulnerable, namely the medically compromised, the elderly and the children within our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, PBF Energy spokesperson Brandon Matson said the company was “pleased” the county had released the soil-testing analysis and lifted its health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The results are in line with our initial statements about the material,” Matson said. He also offered the latest in a string of apologies the company has offered to Martinez residents, saying the company has investigated the release, has identified corrective actions and is committed to implementing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony Semenza, a Martinez resident serving on the oversight committee, expressed frustration that it has taken so long to assess the hazard posed by the releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One hundred ninety-four days after the release, we are now at the point where we’re telling people it’s OK to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables,” Semenza said. “The process is flawed. This should have been done much quicker, a while ago. … I’m upset with the way the process works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='More Refinery Coverage' postID=news_11947977]The test results come less than two weeks after the FBI confirmed it has launched a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into the Martinez plant’s spent catalyst release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the refinery accountability group \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthymartinez.org/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Healthy Martinez\u003c/a> welcomed the largely reassuring test results, but expressed continuing misgivings about PBF and the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m grateful that the Thanksgiving release no longer poses serious danger and that Contra Costa Health has demonstrated leadership in this process, but I still don’t trust the refinery that didn’t report it,” said Martinez resident group member Jillian Elliott. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s results are only one piece of the larger issue,” said Heidi Taylor, a longtime Martinez resident and Healthy Martinez member. “It doesn’t change the fact that this oil refinery dumped toxic metals on our community (and) didn’t report it to county health.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Healthy Martinez has also called on PBF to install improved emissions control and air monitoring equipment at the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FBI agents and EPA personnel have gone door to door asking residents about their experience during and after the incident. The probe also has included circulation of an online survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez resident Wendy Ke said representatives from both federal agencies approached her late last month and asked a series of questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was primarily, ‘Do you have photos, do you have videos, do you have factual documentation? Did you touch the spent catalyst? Did you see it?’” Ke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the morning after Thanksgiving, her neighborhood was coated with what looked like ash, as if there had been a major wildfire nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it did look a little bit different,” she said. “It didn’t have a light-weight ash to it, like flaky ash. It seemed a little more sticky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same morning, resident Zachary Taylor found his neighborhood covered in dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just a consistent coating across everything, almost like a snowfall, like a light dusting, but then we go out across the street and absolutely everything is covered with it,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952523\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952523\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A fine white powder collected on the edges and near the windshield wiper of a car shown in close detail.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Refinery dust known as ‘spent catalyst’ from the PBF Energy plant sits on a car windshield in Martinez in late November 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Anna Encarnacion)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Refinery catalyst is a powdered chemical compound used in the process of breaking down crude petroleum into products like gasoline. Spent catalyst is the material left over after the high-temperature refining process and contains a mix of potentially hazardous components.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Thursday’s test results were released, county health officials told Martinez residents that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/pdf/MRC-Catalyst-Release-FAQs.pdf\">the dust that coated homes, vehicles, lawns, gardens and a nearby schoolyard included heavy metals (PDF)\u003c/a>, including aluminum, chromium, nickel, vanadium and zinc. The county health department said there could have been short-term respiratory problems from breathing in the dust right after the incident, and that potential long-term health impacts would depend on each person’s exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County hired TRC, a Connecticut-based consulting and engineering firm, to take \u003ca href=\"https://cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/pdf/Proposed-Sample-Locations-2023-0427.pdf\">soil samples in 14 locations (PDF)\u003c/a> from El Sobrante to Martinez to Benicia. Those locations were chosen after local air regulators \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1867499/Martinez-City-Meeting-MRC_Incident_Slides-v5.pdf\">mapped fallout from the release (PDF)\u003c/a>. Crews began collecting samples in May. Health officials say the samples were taken to a lab to see which health risks they might pose through touching, inhaling or consuming food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, months after the refinery accident, \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\">the health department urged residents to refrain from eating food grown in soil that might contain the refinery dust (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department also asked local prosecutors to file charges against PBF Energy. That request is under review, according to Ted Asregadoo, a Contra Costa County District Attorney spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asregadoo said the office is investigating whether PBF violated the law by failing to report an actual or threatened hazardous material release to county officials and whether the company made illegal discharges into the county stormwater system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials have emphasized that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2022/1130-Hazardous-Materials-Release-at-Martinez-Oil-Refinery.php\">they learned about the releases not from the refinery but instead from residents\u003c/a>. The refinery initially told residents that its testing suggested the release consisted of only nontoxic material. The company also offered free carwash vouchers to Martinez residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has said \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/incident-reports/2022/updated-incident-report-pbf-mrc-120922-draft-eg-pdf.pdf?la=en&rev=26aa2da8823e4d11b06437a9be2e9717\">the release was caused by a malfunction (PDF)\u003c/a> within the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit. The air district has issued 21 notices of violation against PBF in connection with the November release and continues to investigate the incident, according to district spokesperson Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PBF representatives have apologized for the releases, noting the company has cooperated with regulators and made changes to prevent a repeat of the Thanksgiving incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, some refinery neighbors say their sense of safety has been shattered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At this point I feel very uncertain about what I’m breathing, knowing what the potential is for release on a daily basis,” said Ke, who has lived in Martinez for more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 6:10 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County health officials announced Thursday that soil testing conducted in the months after a Martinez oil refinery released nearly 50,000 pounds of powdered industrial chemicals last November has found no long-term health risks to residents in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa Health Officer Dr. Ori Tzvieli said the county is immediately lifting \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a March 7 advisory (PDF)\u003c/a> that recommended residents refrain from consuming fruits and vegetables grown in soil that had received fallout from the Martinez Refining Company’s release. The refinery company is owned and operated by PBF Energy, based in Parsippany, New Jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli said the soil testing and an associated risk assessment “confirms that the primary health risk from the spent catalyst release occurred in the initial hours and days after the refinery release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The soil-testing results were released to \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/\">a community oversight committee\u003c/a> formed after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101892741/martinez-residents-seek-answers-on-toxic-refinery-release\">releases\u003c/a>, which occurred last Nov. 24–25, on Thanksgiving and the following day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli added during a media briefing that followed the committee meeting that because PBF failed to immediately notify officials about the release, questions remain about what health effects residents might experience because of their exposure to the toxic dust immediately after it settled on their neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We weren’t able to do measurement in real time because we didn’t know this was going on until several days later,” Tzvieli said. “So had we been able to do measurement in real time, we would have been able to look at concentrations — what was in the air.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the heavy metals in the dust, such as nickel, pose health concerns, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of those can have effects on the immune system, some of these metals can be carcinogenic. So it is a concerning incident,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, he added, the inability to measure the November release as it was occurring makes it hard to distinguish the hazard the incident posed from the impact of ongoing refinery emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So that’s why it’s hard to give people specific information about the risks that stemmed from this particular release,” Tzvieli said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consultants hired by the county analyzed soil samples from 14 sites stretching from El Sobrante to Benicia for more than a dozen metals that may have been associated with the release of 24 tons of refinery dust — material described as “spent catalyst” used in the refining process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results for most of the heavy metals the samples were analyzed for, including aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc and chromium, all came back both within an expected regional background range and below residential health limits set by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenny Phillips, a toxicologist employed by consultant TRC, reported that samples of arsenic and lead were close to or exceeded state health limits at a handful of sites. But she added that the higher levels of those two toxic metals were probably unrelated to last November’s refinery release. TRC’s report will be made available to the public sometime in the next two weeks, and it will be open for comment for 45 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Matt Kaufmann, Contra Costa County’s deputy health director, emphasized that the investigation of the Martinez incident is far from over. The county has hired a consultant to perform an independent root cause analysis of the release, and county prosecutors are weighing potential charges against the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaufmann criticized the refining company for failing to immediately notify local officials when the incident occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test results released Thursday “do not excuse the Martinez Refining Company for the lack of notification at the onset of this incident,” he said. “The lack of timely notification negated our ability as health officials to protect our community, including those most vulnerable, namely the medically compromised, the elderly and the children within our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, PBF Energy spokesperson Brandon Matson said the company was “pleased” the county had released the soil-testing analysis and lifted its health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The results are in line with our initial statements about the material,” Matson said. He also offered the latest in a string of apologies the company has offered to Martinez residents, saying the company has investigated the release, has identified corrective actions and is committed to implementing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony Semenza, a Martinez resident serving on the oversight committee, expressed frustration that it has taken so long to assess the hazard posed by the releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One hundred ninety-four days after the release, we are now at the point where we’re telling people it’s OK to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables,” Semenza said. “The process is flawed. This should have been done much quicker, a while ago. … I’m upset with the way the process works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The test results come less than two weeks after the FBI confirmed it has launched a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into the Martinez plant’s spent catalyst release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the refinery accountability group \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthymartinez.org/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Healthy Martinez\u003c/a> welcomed the largely reassuring test results, but expressed continuing misgivings about PBF and the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m grateful that the Thanksgiving release no longer poses serious danger and that Contra Costa Health has demonstrated leadership in this process, but I still don’t trust the refinery that didn’t report it,” said Martinez resident group member Jillian Elliott. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s results are only one piece of the larger issue,” said Heidi Taylor, a longtime Martinez resident and Healthy Martinez member. “It doesn’t change the fact that this oil refinery dumped toxic metals on our community (and) didn’t report it to county health.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Healthy Martinez has also called on PBF to install improved emissions control and air monitoring equipment at the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FBI agents and EPA personnel have gone door to door asking residents about their experience during and after the incident. The probe also has included circulation of an online survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez resident Wendy Ke said representatives from both federal agencies approached her late last month and asked a series of questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was primarily, ‘Do you have photos, do you have videos, do you have factual documentation? Did you touch the spent catalyst? Did you see it?’” Ke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the morning after Thanksgiving, her neighborhood was coated with what looked like ash, as if there had been a major wildfire nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it did look a little bit different,” she said. “It didn’t have a light-weight ash to it, like flaky ash. It seemed a little more sticky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same morning, resident Zachary Taylor found his neighborhood covered in dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just a consistent coating across everything, almost like a snowfall, like a light dusting, but then we go out across the street and absolutely everything is covered with it,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952523\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952523\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A fine white powder collected on the edges and near the windshield wiper of a car shown in close detail.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Refinery dust known as ‘spent catalyst’ from the PBF Energy plant sits on a car windshield in Martinez in late November 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Anna Encarnacion)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Refinery catalyst is a powdered chemical compound used in the process of breaking down crude petroleum into products like gasoline. Spent catalyst is the material left over after the high-temperature refining process and contains a mix of potentially hazardous components.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Thursday’s test results were released, county health officials told Martinez residents that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/pdf/MRC-Catalyst-Release-FAQs.pdf\">the dust that coated homes, vehicles, lawns, gardens and a nearby schoolyard included heavy metals (PDF)\u003c/a>, including aluminum, chromium, nickel, vanadium and zinc. The county health department said there could have been short-term respiratory problems from breathing in the dust right after the incident, and that potential long-term health impacts would depend on each person’s exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County hired TRC, a Connecticut-based consulting and engineering firm, to take \u003ca href=\"https://cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/pdf/Proposed-Sample-Locations-2023-0427.pdf\">soil samples in 14 locations (PDF)\u003c/a> from El Sobrante to Martinez to Benicia. Those locations were chosen after local air regulators \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1867499/Martinez-City-Meeting-MRC_Incident_Slides-v5.pdf\">mapped fallout from the release (PDF)\u003c/a>. Crews began collecting samples in May. Health officials say the samples were taken to a lab to see which health risks they might pose through touching, inhaling or consuming food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, months after the refinery accident, \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\">the health department urged residents to refrain from eating food grown in soil that might contain the refinery dust (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department also asked local prosecutors to file charges against PBF Energy. That request is under review, according to Ted Asregadoo, a Contra Costa County District Attorney spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asregadoo said the office is investigating whether PBF violated the law by failing to report an actual or threatened hazardous material release to county officials and whether the company made illegal discharges into the county stormwater system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials have emphasized that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2022/1130-Hazardous-Materials-Release-at-Martinez-Oil-Refinery.php\">they learned about the releases not from the refinery but instead from residents\u003c/a>. The refinery initially told residents that its testing suggested the release consisted of only nontoxic material. The company also offered free carwash vouchers to Martinez residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has said \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/incident-reports/2022/updated-incident-report-pbf-mrc-120922-draft-eg-pdf.pdf?la=en&rev=26aa2da8823e4d11b06437a9be2e9717\">the release was caused by a malfunction (PDF)\u003c/a> within the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit. The air district has issued 21 notices of violation against PBF in connection with the November release and continues to investigate the incident, according to district spokesperson Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PBF representatives have apologized for the releases, noting the company has cooperated with regulators and made changes to prevent a repeat of the Thanksgiving incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, some refinery neighbors say their sense of safety has been shattered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At this point I feel very uncertain about what I’m breathing, knowing what the potential is for release on a daily basis,” said Ke, who has lived in Martinez for more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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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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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"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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"pri-the-world": {
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"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"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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},
"science-friday": {
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