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"content": "\u003cp>The Valero Energy Corporation is facing a deadline in the coming days to respond to questions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about power issues at its Benicia oil refinery several months after an outage shut down the entire facility for weeks, leading to a major release of pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA wants detailed information about the outages that have led to flaring events at the refinery over the last three years, and it wants inspection records for all of the facility's process units.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"EPA believes that much of the requested information is, or should be, readily available at the facility,\" wrote Enrique Manzanilla, director of the agency's Pacific Southwest Superfund Division, in a letter obtained by KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has asked Valero to explain its policies on handling outages, its risk management program and its flare system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The company may not withhold any information from EPA on the grounds that it is confidential business information,\" the July 27 letter states. The EPA says Valero is required to respond to the agency within 30 days of receiving the letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage initially sent a huge plume of smoke into the air, prompting evacuation and shelter-in-place orders. It would later lead to several local and state investigations, a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, a decrease in profits for Valero and a push for more refinery oversight by the city of Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero official says the company is working on providing answers to federal officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We did receive the EPA request, and we intend to respond accordingly,\" Lillian Riojas, a Valero spokesman, said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA's demands seem to go against the image the Trump administration has established as less interested in strong regulations on the fossil fuel industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This letter is a bit surprising given that Trump's EPA seems to be ignoring many public health issues to the delight of just about every polluter in the country,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, at the Center for Biological Diversity, in an email. \"The EPA must think Valero's practices are especially concerning if it's asking for this information.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, he says the agency is not being aggressive enough. \"This might be little more than a public relations exercise in the face of increasingly high-profile pollution problems at Bay Area refineries,\" Kretzmann said. \"There's no assurance that any of this information gathering will lead to meaningful action.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Kammen, a professor in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley who has long advocated for strong solutions to climate change, says the EPA's demand for information from one of the nation's largest oil companies in connection with a local emergency should be the kind of on-the-ground work the agency does, no matter who's in the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Actual workers at the EPA have to continue their jobs irrespective of political interference,\" Kammen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the EPA did not act on its federal mandate to react to Valero's pollution release, it could be sued by environmental groups, according to Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Despite (EPA Administrator Scott) Pruitt's stance on climate and environment in general, in numerous decisions he has shied away from taking actions that will certainly lose in court,\" Wexler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency's demands are part of a review of the refinery prompted by the May 5 outage, according to EPA officials who declined to comment further on the agency's letter to Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They came a month after Valero filed a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/30/valero-sues-pge-for-reckless-outage-at-benicia-refinery/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lawsuit \u003c/a>against PG&E, blaming the utility for the power failure. The oil giant is seeking in excess of $75 million for damage to refinery equipment and lost revenue it says was the result of the shutdown that took place after PG&E \"shut off all electricity\" to the Benicia facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E has said the power failure was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect electrical circuits. It has hired an engineering firm to review the cause. That company, Exponent, has yet to turn over a report to PG&E, according to utility spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery released more than 80,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide from flaring in the days and weeks after the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, KQED revealed that the refinery released more than\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/12/valero-outage-sent-37-tons-of-toxic-gas-into-air-over-two-weeks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> 74,000 pounds of the toxic gas\u003c/a> during 14 days of flaring after the outage, described as a \"huge amount\" by experts. That information came from a report the company filed with state officials and was obtained through a California Public Records Act Request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero filed a separate report with the California Office of Emergency Services last month that showed the refinery released more than 8,200 pounds of sulfur dioxide on June 18 and 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage prompted several investigations, including one that revealed damage to part of the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) inspected the refinery after the power failure, closed its investigation the same month and decided not to issue any violations afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the outage did damage one of the refinery's flares, according to Cal/OSHA. \"Attention was given to the South Flare, due to damage on flare tips and the dump stack,\" wrote Cal/OSHA safety engineer Sean Sasser in a notice after the inspection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/communications-and-outreach/publications/news-releases/2017/2017_045_valeronovs_050917-pdf.pdf?la=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">several notices of violation\u003c/a> against the company due to the flaring in the days after the shutdown. Its investigation is ongoing, according to district spokesman Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County's Department of Resource Management also launched a probe. That review is ongoing and is expected to be completed in October, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, the department's director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the outage led to an increase in the state's \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gasoline prices\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the shutdown hurt Valero's bottom line. Its lawsuit claimed that the company lost a \"substantial amount of profits.\" The company's \u003ca href=\"http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/eagle-ford-energy/article/Valero-2Q-profits-fall-32-7-percent-on-higher-11469580.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-quarter earnings\u003c/a>, released last month, fell by more than 30 percent, apparently because it took several weeks to get the refinery back online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage has also prompted Benicia city leaders to consider increasing \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/23/valero-outage-prompts-benicia-to-consider-industrial-safety-ordinance/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their oversight of the refinery\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/09/benicia-mayor-calls-for-key-emergency-improvements-after-valero-refinery-outage-and-flaring/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improve how they communicate with residents\u003c/a> about emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the day of the shutdown, authorities imposed shelter-in-place evacuation orders for parts of the city, and at least a dozen people sought medical treatment for breathing difficulties.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Valero Energy Corporation is facing a deadline in the coming days to respond to questions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about power issues at its Benicia oil refinery several months after an outage shut down the entire facility for weeks, leading to a major release of pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA wants detailed information about the outages that have led to flaring events at the refinery over the last three years, and it wants inspection records for all of the facility's process units.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"EPA believes that much of the requested information is, or should be, readily available at the facility,\" wrote Enrique Manzanilla, director of the agency's Pacific Southwest Superfund Division, in a letter obtained by KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has asked Valero to explain its policies on handling outages, its risk management program and its flare system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The company may not withhold any information from EPA on the grounds that it is confidential business information,\" the July 27 letter states. The EPA says Valero is required to respond to the agency within 30 days of receiving the letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage initially sent a huge plume of smoke into the air, prompting evacuation and shelter-in-place orders. It would later lead to several local and state investigations, a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, a decrease in profits for Valero and a push for more refinery oversight by the city of Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero official says the company is working on providing answers to federal officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We did receive the EPA request, and we intend to respond accordingly,\" Lillian Riojas, a Valero spokesman, said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA's demands seem to go against the image the Trump administration has established as less interested in strong regulations on the fossil fuel industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This letter is a bit surprising given that Trump's EPA seems to be ignoring many public health issues to the delight of just about every polluter in the country,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, at the Center for Biological Diversity, in an email. \"The EPA must think Valero's practices are especially concerning if it's asking for this information.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, he says the agency is not being aggressive enough. \"This might be little more than a public relations exercise in the face of increasingly high-profile pollution problems at Bay Area refineries,\" Kretzmann said. \"There's no assurance that any of this information gathering will lead to meaningful action.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Kammen, a professor in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley who has long advocated for strong solutions to climate change, says the EPA's demand for information from one of the nation's largest oil companies in connection with a local emergency should be the kind of on-the-ground work the agency does, no matter who's in the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Actual workers at the EPA have to continue their jobs irrespective of political interference,\" Kammen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the EPA did not act on its federal mandate to react to Valero's pollution release, it could be sued by environmental groups, according to Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Despite (EPA Administrator Scott) Pruitt's stance on climate and environment in general, in numerous decisions he has shied away from taking actions that will certainly lose in court,\" Wexler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency's demands are part of a review of the refinery prompted by the May 5 outage, according to EPA officials who declined to comment further on the agency's letter to Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They came a month after Valero filed a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/30/valero-sues-pge-for-reckless-outage-at-benicia-refinery/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lawsuit \u003c/a>against PG&E, blaming the utility for the power failure. The oil giant is seeking in excess of $75 million for damage to refinery equipment and lost revenue it says was the result of the shutdown that took place after PG&E \"shut off all electricity\" to the Benicia facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E has said the power failure was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect electrical circuits. It has hired an engineering firm to review the cause. That company, Exponent, has yet to turn over a report to PG&E, according to utility spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery released more than 80,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide from flaring in the days and weeks after the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, KQED revealed that the refinery released more than\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/12/valero-outage-sent-37-tons-of-toxic-gas-into-air-over-two-weeks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> 74,000 pounds of the toxic gas\u003c/a> during 14 days of flaring after the outage, described as a \"huge amount\" by experts. That information came from a report the company filed with state officials and was obtained through a California Public Records Act Request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero filed a separate report with the California Office of Emergency Services last month that showed the refinery released more than 8,200 pounds of sulfur dioxide on June 18 and 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage prompted several investigations, including one that revealed damage to part of the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) inspected the refinery after the power failure, closed its investigation the same month and decided not to issue any violations afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the outage did damage one of the refinery's flares, according to Cal/OSHA. \"Attention was given to the South Flare, due to damage on flare tips and the dump stack,\" wrote Cal/OSHA safety engineer Sean Sasser in a notice after the inspection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/communications-and-outreach/publications/news-releases/2017/2017_045_valeronovs_050917-pdf.pdf?la=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">several notices of violation\u003c/a> against the company due to the flaring in the days after the shutdown. Its investigation is ongoing, according to district spokesman Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solano County's Department of Resource Management also launched a probe. That review is ongoing and is expected to be completed in October, according to Terry Schmidtbauer, the department's director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the outage led to an increase in the state's \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gasoline prices\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the shutdown hurt Valero's bottom line. Its lawsuit claimed that the company lost a \"substantial amount of profits.\" The company's \u003ca href=\"http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/eagle-ford-energy/article/Valero-2Q-profits-fall-32-7-percent-on-higher-11469580.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-quarter earnings\u003c/a>, released last month, fell by more than 30 percent, apparently because it took several weeks to get the refinery back online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage has also prompted Benicia city leaders to consider increasing \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/23/valero-outage-prompts-benicia-to-consider-industrial-safety-ordinance/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their oversight of the refinery\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/09/benicia-mayor-calls-for-key-emergency-improvements-after-valero-refinery-outage-and-flaring/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improve how they communicate with residents\u003c/a> about emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Valero filed a federal lawsuit against PG&E on Friday, blaming the San Francisco-based utility for a power outage that shut down the oil company's Benicia refinery in May and led to a major release of pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero is seeking in excess of $75 million for damage to refinery equipment and lost revenue the company says resulted from the shutdown that took place after PG&E \"shut off all electricity\" to the Benicia facility on May 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Given PG&E's track record of poor reliability and safety problems in California, it is crucial that PG&E be held accountable for its actions,\" Valero said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"PG&E must take responsibility for the damages it caused to ensure reckless power outages with potentially significant consequences never happen again,\" the company's statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to the suit, PG&E said in a statement that \"the safety of our customers, employees and the general public is always our top priority. We have engaged an outside, third-party engineering firm to conduct a review of the 18-minute power outage on May 5. We continue to partner with Valero and the city of Benicia to prevent similar power disruptions.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past the utility has said that the power failure was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect electrical circuits. The company has hired Exponent, an engineering firm, to review the cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, alleges that PG&E breached its contract with the company when it caused a primary and backup power supply to go down \"simultaneously without any prior notice\".\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery released more than 74,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide during 14 days of flaring after the outage, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/12/valero-outage-sent-37-tons-of-toxic-gas-into-air-over-two-weeks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report \u003c/a>the company filed in early June with state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The massive release of pollution will be one focus of an investigation conducted by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Valero's lawsuit says the air agency issued 11 notices of violation against the company for excess visible emissions and public nuisance violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) and Solano County officials are also investigating the incident, which led to an increase in the state's gasoline prices and prompted Benicia city leaders to consider increasing their oversight of the refinery and improve how they communicate with residents about emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit is also the first time Valero has acknowledged that the shutdown hurt its bottom line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"As a result of having to take most of the refinery units offline to evaluate the damage and complete repairs, Valero lost a substantial amount of profits,\" the lawsuit says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[documentcloud url=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3883356-Complain-Valero-Refining-Company-v-Pacific-Gas\" notes=\"true\" text=\"true\" search=\"true\" sidebar=\"true\" pdf=\"true\" responsive=\"true\" page=\"1\"]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Valero filed a federal lawsuit against PG&E on Friday, blaming the San Francisco-based utility for a power outage that shut down the oil company's Benicia refinery in May and led to a major release of pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero is seeking in excess of $75 million for damage to refinery equipment and lost revenue the company says resulted from the shutdown that took place after PG&E \"shut off all electricity\" to the Benicia facility on May 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Given PG&E's track record of poor reliability and safety problems in California, it is crucial that PG&E be held accountable for its actions,\" Valero said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"PG&E must take responsibility for the damages it caused to ensure reckless power outages with potentially significant consequences never happen again,\" the company's statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to the suit, PG&E said in a statement that \"the safety of our customers, employees and the general public is always our top priority. We have engaged an outside, third-party engineering firm to conduct a review of the 18-minute power outage on May 5. We continue to partner with Valero and the city of Benicia to prevent similar power disruptions.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past the utility has said that the power failure was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect electrical circuits. The company has hired Exponent, an engineering firm, to review the cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, alleges that PG&E breached its contract with the company when it caused a primary and backup power supply to go down \"simultaneously without any prior notice\".\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery released more than 74,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide during 14 days of flaring after the outage, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/12/valero-outage-sent-37-tons-of-toxic-gas-into-air-over-two-weeks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report \u003c/a>the company filed in early June with state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The massive release of pollution will be one focus of an investigation conducted by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Valero's lawsuit says the air agency issued 11 notices of violation against the company for excess visible emissions and public nuisance violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) and Solano County officials are also investigating the incident, which led to an increase in the state's gasoline prices and prompted Benicia city leaders to consider increasing their oversight of the refinery and improve how they communicate with residents about emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit is also the first time Valero has acknowledged that the shutdown hurt its bottom line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"As a result of having to take most of the refinery units offline to evaluate the damage and complete repairs, Valero lost a substantial amount of profits,\" the lawsuit says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Valero's Benicia Refinery Outage Triggered 'Huge' Release of Pollution",
"title": "Valero's Benicia Refinery Outage Triggered 'Huge' Release of Pollution",
"headTitle": "The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>The Valero refinery in Benicia released more than 74,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide during 14 days of flaring after a power outage in May, according to a report the company has filed with state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"A huge amount of sulfur dioxide was emitted,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis, who reviewed the Valero report KQED obtained through a California Public Records Act request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The data were submitted to the California Office of Emergency Services last week. They will be a part of at least one of the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three investigations\u003c/a> into the refinery malfunction that led to an increase in the state's gasoline prices and has prompted Benicia city leaders to consider increasing their \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/23/valero-outage-prompts-benicia-to-consider-industrial-safety-ordinance/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">oversight\u003c/a> of the refinery and \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/09/benicia-mayor-calls-for-key-emergency-improvements-after-valero-refinery-outage-and-flaring/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improve how they communicate\u003c/a> with residents about emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly half of the sulfur dioxide the refinery released -- 31,000 pounds -- was emitted on May 5, the day the plant went offline and began flaring after the outage. That was also the day authorities imposed shelter-in-place and evacuation orders for parts of the city and at least a dozen people sought medical treatment for breathing difficulties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fact that it was emitted over a short period of time in some ways makes it worse,\" Wexler said on Thursday. \"That would have a much larger health impact.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery released a total of nearly 25,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide on May 6 and 7, the company's report said. On May 14, it released close to 8,000 pounds of the gas, the company's report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To put those numbers in perspective, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/flares/graphs/flare-emissions-charts/flaring-so2-emissions-pdf.pdf?la=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">air district statistics\u003c/a> show that the Valero refinery released an estimated total of 13,800 pounds of sulfur dioxide in 2016 and 15,400 pounds in 2015 through flaring. From 2004 through 2016, flaring releases have ranged from a low of 13,400 in 2009 to a high of 277,000 pounds in 2008. The facility's average annual sulfur dioxide flaring release during the period was 76,000 pounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its report, Valero said the refinery also emitted 350 pounds of carbonyl sulfide, a highly toxic and extremely flammable gas, between May 12 and May 15.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's report said its monitoring did not show an increase in ambient sulfur dioxide levels outside the refinery site, a sprawling facility at the northern end of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. The company said exposure to the gas was limited to \"persons solely within the site or sites on which the facility is located.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The document did not give details about the hour-to-hour release of sulfur dioxide or the concentration of the gas at the refinery during the episode. The report also did not indicate whether workers at the facility were treated for exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new details about the refinery releases prompted an angry response from one environmental group that has monitored the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's absolutely unacceptable that this dirty refinery spewed dangerous gases into the air we breathe for two full weeks,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute, in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These reckless air pollution releases are too frequent and too dangerous to continue,\" said Kretzmann, who also reviewed the data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's report will be a part of the investigation into the outage by local air regulators, according to Tom Flannigan, a spokesman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But first, he said, the agency needs to confirm the numbers are correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We review this data and information related to the flaring event for accuracy,\" Flannigan said in an email. \"Combined with other data from air monitors in and around the facility, we can create a comprehensive view of the incident.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district, which has issued \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/05/benicia-refinery-power-outage-triggers-evacuations/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">notices of violation\u003c/a> to the refinery, also needs to look at data on wind speed and direction during the flaring episode, Flannigan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the first three days of the incident, May 5-7, when sulfur dioxide releases were highest, the area experienced winds that veered from northwest to southwest. Sustained winds at two weather stations on the Martinez shoreline during the first day and a half of the episode ranged up to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 34 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report covers the refinery's releases through May 18, but the facility had trouble restarting even after that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of May, local air regulators opened a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/30/air-district-investigating-latest-valero-refinery-release-weeks-after-power-outage/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new investigation\u003c/a> into the facility after it sent another round of black smoke and toxic gas into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last releases took place on June 1, according to \u003ca href=\"https://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f1841a103c102734882563e200760c4a/8b2f2322f8d3ae12882581330075ad7c?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,valero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reports\u003c/a> posted on a hazardous materials database managed by the California Office of Emergency Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, a Valero official said the refinery had finally restarted and for the first time explained what was behind the weeks-long flaring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Due to the abrupt nature of the emergency shutdown, the refinery was unable to go through the systematic process we follow for planned shutdowns that allows the refinery to minimize emissions during shutdown and restart,\" company spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said in an email on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The oil company continues to blame PG&E for the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based utility has said the electrical failure was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect power circuits. PG&E has hired a third party engineering firm, Exponent, to review the cause.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Company reports facility emitted 74,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide in two weeks -- more than the total amount it released in previous two years. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Valero refinery in Benicia released more than 74,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide during 14 days of flaring after a power outage in May, according to a report the company has filed with state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"A huge amount of sulfur dioxide was emitted,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis, who reviewed the Valero report KQED obtained through a California Public Records Act request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The data were submitted to the California Office of Emergency Services last week. They will be a part of at least one of the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three investigations\u003c/a> into the refinery malfunction that led to an increase in the state's gasoline prices and has prompted Benicia city leaders to consider increasing their \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/23/valero-outage-prompts-benicia-to-consider-industrial-safety-ordinance/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">oversight\u003c/a> of the refinery and \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/09/benicia-mayor-calls-for-key-emergency-improvements-after-valero-refinery-outage-and-flaring/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improve how they communicate\u003c/a> with residents about emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly half of the sulfur dioxide the refinery released -- 31,000 pounds -- was emitted on May 5, the day the plant went offline and began flaring after the outage. That was also the day authorities imposed shelter-in-place and evacuation orders for parts of the city and at least a dozen people sought medical treatment for breathing difficulties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The fact that it was emitted over a short period of time in some ways makes it worse,\" Wexler said on Thursday. \"That would have a much larger health impact.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Valero refinery released a total of nearly 25,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide on May 6 and 7, the company's report said. On May 14, it released close to 8,000 pounds of the gas, the company's report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To put those numbers in perspective, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/flares/graphs/flare-emissions-charts/flaring-so2-emissions-pdf.pdf?la=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">air district statistics\u003c/a> show that the Valero refinery released an estimated total of 13,800 pounds of sulfur dioxide in 2016 and 15,400 pounds in 2015 through flaring. From 2004 through 2016, flaring releases have ranged from a low of 13,400 in 2009 to a high of 277,000 pounds in 2008. The facility's average annual sulfur dioxide flaring release during the period was 76,000 pounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its report, Valero said the refinery also emitted 350 pounds of carbonyl sulfide, a highly toxic and extremely flammable gas, between May 12 and May 15.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's report said its monitoring did not show an increase in ambient sulfur dioxide levels outside the refinery site, a sprawling facility at the northern end of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. The company said exposure to the gas was limited to \"persons solely within the site or sites on which the facility is located.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The document did not give details about the hour-to-hour release of sulfur dioxide or the concentration of the gas at the refinery during the episode. The report also did not indicate whether workers at the facility were treated for exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new details about the refinery releases prompted an angry response from one environmental group that has monitored the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's absolutely unacceptable that this dirty refinery spewed dangerous gases into the air we breathe for two full weeks,\" said Hollin Kretzmann, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute, in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These reckless air pollution releases are too frequent and too dangerous to continue,\" said Kretzmann, who also reviewed the data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero's report will be a part of the investigation into the outage by local air regulators, according to Tom Flannigan, a spokesman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But first, he said, the agency needs to confirm the numbers are correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We review this data and information related to the flaring event for accuracy,\" Flannigan said in an email. \"Combined with other data from air monitors in and around the facility, we can create a comprehensive view of the incident.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district, which has issued \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/05/benicia-refinery-power-outage-triggers-evacuations/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">notices of violation\u003c/a> to the refinery, also needs to look at data on wind speed and direction during the flaring episode, Flannigan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the first three days of the incident, May 5-7, when sulfur dioxide releases were highest, the area experienced winds that veered from northwest to southwest. Sustained winds at two weather stations on the Martinez shoreline during the first day and a half of the episode ranged up to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 34 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report covers the refinery's releases through May 18, but the facility had trouble restarting even after that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of May, local air regulators opened a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/30/air-district-investigating-latest-valero-refinery-release-weeks-after-power-outage/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new investigation\u003c/a> into the facility after it sent another round of black smoke and toxic gas into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last releases took place on June 1, according to \u003ca href=\"https://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f1841a103c102734882563e200760c4a/8b2f2322f8d3ae12882581330075ad7c?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,valero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reports\u003c/a> posted on a hazardous materials database managed by the California Office of Emergency Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, a Valero official said the refinery had finally restarted and for the first time explained what was behind the weeks-long flaring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Due to the abrupt nature of the emergency shutdown, the refinery was unable to go through the systematic process we follow for planned shutdowns that allows the refinery to minimize emissions during shutdown and restart,\" company spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said in an email on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The oil company continues to blame PG&E for the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based utility has said the electrical failure was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect power circuits. PG&E has hired a third party engineering firm, Exponent, to review the cause.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Valero Outage Prompts Benicia to Consider Industrial Safety Ordinance",
"title": "Valero Outage Prompts Benicia to Consider Industrial Safety Ordinance",
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"content": "\u003cp>City officials would have greater oversight over the Valero refinery under a \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/73476/1._Two-Step_Agenda_Request_-_Industrial_Ordinance_Patterson_May_16.2017_v.2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">proposal \u003c/a>set to be unveiled at the Benicia City Council meeting on Tuesday—a potential reform prompted by \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the major outage at the facility\u003c/a> earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Elizabeth Patterson is proposing the city develop regulations similar to those in Contra Costa County, home to several refineries. That county's \u003ca href=\"http://cchealth.org/hazmat/iso/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">industrial safety ordinance\u003c/a>, considered to be one of the strongest in the country, requires oil refining facilities to undergo safety audits and have risk management plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, after a major refinery problem, like the one at Valero on May 5, the county can order the company to provide a preliminary report 72 hours later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's the case in Contra Costa County, but the Valero facility is in Solano County and therefore not subject to the same rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"VihDcvotb6JMyj33FnGeRaKPmj9bqgLI\"]\"When everything started going out of the smokestacks, it was very alarming and there was no information about what was going out,\" said Patterson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage only lasted 18 minutes, but to relieve pressure the refinery sent gases to its flares. Flaring is a process refineries use to relieve pressure when their facilities undergo malfunctions. The flares sent up flames and a plume of smoke into the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initial flaring sent at least a dozen people to the hospital, and prompted an evacuation of a nearby industrial area and shelter-in-place orders for two elementary schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has taken the refinery at least two weeks to get fully back on-line, causing intermittent flaring in the mean time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under Patterson's proposal the oil company would pay for the enforcement of the safety ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Valero would pay the fair costs of what it takes to protect the citizens of Benicia,\" said Patterson, adding that fees Valero pays to Benicia in property and sales taxes would help fund the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has not responded yet to request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patterson is also floating the idea of having Benicia contract with Contra Costa County to help administer a future safety ordinance. That would be similar to the way Richmond enforces a similar ordinance governing the Chevron refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one Contra Costa lawmaker is on board with the idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The refinery should be held to higher safety standards, the same standards that the four refineries in Contra Costa are held to,\" said Supervisor John Gioia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of serious refinery accidents in Contra Costa have dropped since the industrial safety ordinance was adopted in 1999, according to Gioia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It gets refineries to change the way they look at risk, minimize and reduce risk,\" Gioia said. \"It's an effective ordinance.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa's law was adopted after a fire at the Tosco refinery in Martinez killed four refinery workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Valero outage is under investigation\u003c/a> by California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Solano County hazardous materials specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after the outage, the air district issued \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/communications-and-outreach/publications/news-releases/2017/2017_045_valeronovs_050917-pdf.pdf?la=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">six notices of violation\u003c/a> against Valero in connection with the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The oil company has blamed PG&E for the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The May 5 PG&E incident was solely the result of electrical work PG&E was doing on its power lines,\" the company wrote to Benicia City officials in a letter read out loud at last week's city council meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based utility has said the outage was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect power circuits, but has avoided accepting outright blame for the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E hired a third party engineering firm, Exponent, to review the cause of the outage, according to company spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>City officials would have greater oversight over the Valero refinery under a \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/73476/1._Two-Step_Agenda_Request_-_Industrial_Ordinance_Patterson_May_16.2017_v.2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">proposal \u003c/a>set to be unveiled at the Benicia City Council meeting on Tuesday—a potential reform prompted by \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the major outage at the facility\u003c/a> earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Elizabeth Patterson is proposing the city develop regulations similar to those in Contra Costa County, home to several refineries. That county's \u003ca href=\"http://cchealth.org/hazmat/iso/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">industrial safety ordinance\u003c/a>, considered to be one of the strongest in the country, requires oil refining facilities to undergo safety audits and have risk management plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, after a major refinery problem, like the one at Valero on May 5, the county can order the company to provide a preliminary report 72 hours later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's the case in Contra Costa County, but the Valero facility is in Solano County and therefore not subject to the same rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\"When everything started going out of the smokestacks, it was very alarming and there was no information about what was going out,\" said Patterson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage only lasted 18 minutes, but to relieve pressure the refinery sent gases to its flares. Flaring is a process refineries use to relieve pressure when their facilities undergo malfunctions. The flares sent up flames and a plume of smoke into the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initial flaring sent at least a dozen people to the hospital, and prompted an evacuation of a nearby industrial area and shelter-in-place orders for two elementary schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has taken the refinery at least two weeks to get fully back on-line, causing intermittent flaring in the mean time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under Patterson's proposal the oil company would pay for the enforcement of the safety ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Valero would pay the fair costs of what it takes to protect the citizens of Benicia,\" said Patterson, adding that fees Valero pays to Benicia in property and sales taxes would help fund the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has not responded yet to request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patterson is also floating the idea of having Benicia contract with Contra Costa County to help administer a future safety ordinance. That would be similar to the way Richmond enforces a similar ordinance governing the Chevron refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one Contra Costa lawmaker is on board with the idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The refinery should be held to higher safety standards, the same standards that the four refineries in Contra Costa are held to,\" said Supervisor John Gioia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of serious refinery accidents in Contra Costa have dropped since the industrial safety ordinance was adopted in 1999, according to Gioia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It gets refineries to change the way they look at risk, minimize and reduce risk,\" Gioia said. \"It's an effective ordinance.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa's law was adopted after a fire at the Tosco refinery in Martinez killed four refinery workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/10/after-valero-refinery-outage-three-probes-and-rising-gas-prices/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Valero outage is under investigation\u003c/a> by California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Solano County hazardous materials specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after the outage, the air district issued \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/communications-and-outreach/publications/news-releases/2017/2017_045_valeronovs_050917-pdf.pdf?la=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">six notices of violation\u003c/a> against Valero in connection with the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The oil company has blamed PG&E for the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The May 5 PG&E incident was solely the result of electrical work PG&E was doing on its power lines,\" the company wrote to Benicia City officials in a letter read out loud at last week's city council meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based utility has said the outage was triggered by an \"inadvertent operation\" to protect power circuits, but has avoided accepting outright blame for the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E hired a third party engineering firm, Exponent, to review the cause of the outage, according to company spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "More of Bay Area May Be Vulnerable to Refinery Mishaps Than Previously Believed",
"title": "More of Bay Area May Be Vulnerable to Refinery Mishaps Than Previously Believed",
"headTitle": "The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>The recent conclusion by local air regulators that malfunctions at \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/17/air-district-blames-chevrons-richmond-refinery-for-s-f-odor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chevron's Richmond facility sent toxic gas 11 miles across San Francisco Bay\u003c/a> late last year means that a larger part of the region may be vulnerable to refinery malfunctions than many previously believed, environmentalists and experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's a greater risk here than people realized,\" said Patrick Sullivan, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity. \"We have to have a different calculus of how these refineries affect communities.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Bay Area Air Quality Management District\u003c/a> issued four notices of violation against Chevron for problems at the refinery in late December that prompted flaring, moments before residents in San Francisco complained of a sulfurlike odor. The district concluded that the smell was caused by releases of hydrogen sulfide from the Chevron refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mysterious smell in San Francisco came two months after dozens of Vallejo residents sought medical treatment \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/12/02/oil-spill-sickening-odor-prompt-vallejo-to-consider-buying-new-air-monitors/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">from an odor that spread through that city\u003c/a>. The sickening fumes appear to have coincided with an oil spill on the other side of the Carquinez Strait near the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the district's announcement came less than two weeks after a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/05/benicia-refinery-power-outage-triggers-evacuations/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">power outage at Valero's Benicia refinery\u003c/a> sent a huge plume of smoke and toxic gas into the sky. The initial flaring there sent at least 12 people to the hospital and prompted a series of evacuation and shelter-in-place orders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chances that a problem at a refinery on one side of the bay could send toxic gas to another depends in part on which way the wind blows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If the wind direction is not blowing the air towards you, you're not going to smell it,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of \u003ca href=\"https://aqrc.ucdavis.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The winds the night of the Chevron malfunction were blowing between 5 and 10 mph from the north-northeast to the south-southwest, according to Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are other weather facts at play, according to Wexler. If plumes of smoke and gas that erupt during refinery flaring don't mix well enough into the atmosphere, they can travel and affect a larger area, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Chevron case involved hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Given that Chevron's own monitors apparently measured a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide shortly before people smelled an odor in San Francisco, and winds can blow a rotten smell 10 miles in 10-20 minutes, I strongly suspect the San Francisco odor was caused by Chevron's refinery,\" said Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and director of the school's Atmosphere and Energy Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents of Richmond, Rodeo, Benicia and Martinez—cities where local refineries are located—have complained for years about unhealthy air coming from their oil industry neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But residents in large parts of the rest of the region might not feel a refinery can affect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Unfortunately, the source at Chevron has had issues like this before. The difference here is that it affected a wider area, including San Francisco,\" said John Gioia, a Contra Costa County supervisor and member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's board of directors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've been used to some of these odor issues in Richmond,\" Gioia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Center of Biological Diversity's Sullivan says the Chevron incident means there's a bigger risk to a larger part of the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've always viewed these refineries as a serious hazard to the people who live around them, often those are low-income people, people of color who seem to bear the brunt of this sort of pollution,\" Sullivan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron questions the air district's findings, in part because its refinery is so far away from San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is a complex issue, but given the small amount of H2S (hydrogen sulfide) released, the 11-mile distance across the bay, and the wide geography of the odor complaints, we believe it is unlikely that the flaring was the source of the odors,\" said Chevron spokeswoman Leah Casey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The distance made it tougher for local air regulators to identify the source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This was really a complicated issue, because it did span quite a distance and affect a big part of the Bay Area,\" said Tom Flannigan, an air district spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When such a large area is affected, we really have to look closely at all the sources that could have caused it,\" Flannigan said in an interview. \"In this case, that meant more time, that meant more energy, that meant more analysis. That meant more data review.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco officials will now tackle the issue. Now that the air district investigation is complete, a Board of Supervisors committee is expected to hold a hearing on the refinery malfunction in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Chevron must be held accountable for the toxic gas that lingered in the air,\" said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who called for the hearing. \"Reforms must be implemented immediately to ensure this never happens again.\"\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The recent conclusion by local air regulators that malfunctions at \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/17/air-district-blames-chevrons-richmond-refinery-for-s-f-odor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chevron's Richmond facility sent toxic gas 11 miles across San Francisco Bay\u003c/a> late last year means that a larger part of the region may be vulnerable to refinery malfunctions than many previously believed, environmentalists and experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's a greater risk here than people realized,\" said Patrick Sullivan, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity. \"We have to have a different calculus of how these refineries affect communities.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"http://www.baaqmd.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Bay Area Air Quality Management District\u003c/a> issued four notices of violation against Chevron for problems at the refinery in late December that prompted flaring, moments before residents in San Francisco complained of a sulfurlike odor. The district concluded that the smell was caused by releases of hydrogen sulfide from the Chevron refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mysterious smell in San Francisco came two months after dozens of Vallejo residents sought medical treatment \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/12/02/oil-spill-sickening-odor-prompt-vallejo-to-consider-buying-new-air-monitors/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">from an odor that spread through that city\u003c/a>. The sickening fumes appear to have coincided with an oil spill on the other side of the Carquinez Strait near the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the district's announcement came less than two weeks after a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/05/benicia-refinery-power-outage-triggers-evacuations/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">power outage at Valero's Benicia refinery\u003c/a> sent a huge plume of smoke and toxic gas into the sky. The initial flaring there sent at least 12 people to the hospital and prompted a series of evacuation and shelter-in-place orders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chances that a problem at a refinery on one side of the bay could send toxic gas to another depends in part on which way the wind blows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If the wind direction is not blowing the air towards you, you're not going to smell it,\" said Anthony Wexler, director of \u003ca href=\"https://aqrc.ucdavis.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The winds the night of the Chevron malfunction were blowing between 5 and 10 mph from the north-northeast to the south-southwest, according to Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are other weather facts at play, according to Wexler. If plumes of smoke and gas that erupt during refinery flaring don't mix well enough into the atmosphere, they can travel and affect a larger area, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Chevron case involved hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Given that Chevron's own monitors apparently measured a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide shortly before people smelled an odor in San Francisco, and winds can blow a rotten smell 10 miles in 10-20 minutes, I strongly suspect the San Francisco odor was caused by Chevron's refinery,\" said Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and director of the school's Atmosphere and Energy Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents of Richmond, Rodeo, Benicia and Martinez—cities where local refineries are located—have complained for years about unhealthy air coming from their oil industry neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But residents in large parts of the rest of the region might not feel a refinery can affect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Unfortunately, the source at Chevron has had issues like this before. The difference here is that it affected a wider area, including San Francisco,\" said John Gioia, a Contra Costa County supervisor and member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's board of directors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've been used to some of these odor issues in Richmond,\" Gioia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Center of Biological Diversity's Sullivan says the Chevron incident means there's a bigger risk to a larger part of the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've always viewed these refineries as a serious hazard to the people who live around them, often those are low-income people, people of color who seem to bear the brunt of this sort of pollution,\" Sullivan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron questions the air district's findings, in part because its refinery is so far away from San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is a complex issue, but given the small amount of H2S (hydrogen sulfide) released, the 11-mile distance across the bay, and the wide geography of the odor complaints, we believe it is unlikely that the flaring was the source of the odors,\" said Chevron spokeswoman Leah Casey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The distance made it tougher for local air regulators to identify the source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This was really a complicated issue, because it did span quite a distance and affect a big part of the Bay Area,\" said Tom Flannigan, an air district spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When such a large area is affected, we really have to look closely at all the sources that could have caused it,\" Flannigan said in an interview. \"In this case, that meant more time, that meant more energy, that meant more analysis. That meant more data review.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco officials will now tackle the issue. Now that the air district investigation is complete, a Board of Supervisors committee is expected to hold a hearing on the refinery malfunction in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Chevron must be held accountable for the toxic gas that lingered in the air,\" said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who called for the hearing. \"Reforms must be implemented immediately to ensure this never happens again.\"\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Benicia Mayor Calls For Key Emergency Improvements After Valero Refinery Outage and Flaring",
"title": "Benicia Mayor Calls For Key Emergency Improvements After Valero Refinery Outage and Flaring",
"headTitle": "The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>Benicia has to do a better job of telling its residents about major emergencies, the city's mayor said Monday, after a series of communication problems surfaced in connection with a power outage at the Valero refinery that has caused intermittent flaring since Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city's \u003ca href=\"http://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/btv\" target=\"_blank\">government access television station \u003c/a>broadcast inaccurate and inadequate information in the hours after the outage and not enough residents could hear the city's emergency sirens, said Mayor Elizabeth Patterson in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's really troubling that we don't have these things in place,\" Patterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday air regulators announced that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/05/benicia-refinery-power-outage-triggers-evacuations/\" target=\"_blank\">Valero is being penalized\u003c/a> for the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which is investigating the flaring, issued four notices of violation to the energy company on Friday, three for excessive smoke and one for causing a public nuisance, according to agency spokeswoman Kristine Roselius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday afternoon the district issued a fifth notice of violation for excessive visible emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Valero was preparing for start-up when smoke started coming out of one of the stacks,\" Roselius said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero spokeswoman has not returned a request for comment on the district's penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery's first full power loss in 30 years started around 6:30 a.m. Friday. The outage began shortly after crews took one of two transmission lines offline to complete upgrades, said Matt Nauman, a Pacific Gas and Electric spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Circuit breakers opened after a component of a \"protective relay system failed,\" according to Nauman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the San Francisco-based energy company did not directly contact Benicia officials quickly enough about the outage, Mayor Patterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Why didn't PG&E call the city of Benicia so that we could begin to think about the consequences of power loss to the refinery 15 minutes earlier than we were alerted by Valero?\" Patterson asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E says it did tell the city, just not as fast as the mayor would have liked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A company representative contacted the Benicia fire chief and the Solano County of Emergency Services at 8 a.m., according to PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras, adding that utility crews worked quickly and safely to restore power in 18 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage caused gases used in the refining process to build up inside the refinery. To relieve pressure, Valero sent toxic gas to its flares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero, like other refining companies, emphasizes that the flaring process is a safety device.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first that process sent flames and a huge plume of smoke into the sky, which resulted in the evacuation of an industrial area near Valero and a shelter-in-place order for two elementary schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even that order wasn't clear. Initially, some authorities called for the rest of the city, except for the adjacent industrial area, to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"All other areas of town shelter in place. Keep doors and windows closed. Bring pets inside,\" said a tweet from the Benicia Police Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Minutes later the agency published a corrected tweet, focusing the order on the two schools, but that was not entirely clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"No shelter in place for the rest of the (city) except for Matthew Turner and Robert Semple. Everyone's encouraged to close doors and windows,\" the follow-up tweet read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, officials said that only two residents called with respiratory complaints, and there was no indication that anyone was hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, it turns out, the toxic air did send people to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 10 and 20 people went to the emergency department at Kaiser Permanente's Vallejo Medical Center, according to Kaiser spokeswoman Deniene Erickson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flaring continued over the weekend and on Monday as Valero restored operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We may have some intermittent flaring as we continue through safe startup process,\" said Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas in an email Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the city has begun a top-to-bottom review of its emergency response, according to Benicia Fire Chief Jim Lydon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are some systems that we need to go back and look at and assess their functionality and make sure they're working properly,\" Lydon said in an interview Monday, adding that he saw complaints from residents about the emergency communication on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After that review is completed, Mayor Patterson is calling for a City Council hearing to explore ways to improve emergency communication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hearing would also investigate why Valero does not have a backup power source, something Patterson said she was unaware of until Friday's emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The afternoon of the outage a company official blamed California's greenhouse gas regulations for preventing the creation of an alternative power source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero expanded its refinery in recent years to reduce emissions, according to Don Cuffel, the company's health, safety, environmental director. That expansion increased the facility's electrical load but the company never got a permit to create a \"co-generation unit\".\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Adding another co-generation unit to the refinery only increases our carbon footprint,\" Cuffel said at a Friday news conference.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"headline": "Benicia Mayor Calls For Key Emergency Improvements After Valero Refinery Outage and Flaring",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Benicia has to do a better job of telling its residents about major emergencies, the city's mayor said Monday, after a series of communication problems surfaced in connection with a power outage at the Valero refinery that has caused intermittent flaring since Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city's \u003ca href=\"http://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/btv\" target=\"_blank\">government access television station \u003c/a>broadcast inaccurate and inadequate information in the hours after the outage and not enough residents could hear the city's emergency sirens, said Mayor Elizabeth Patterson in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's really troubling that we don't have these things in place,\" Patterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday air regulators announced that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/05/05/benicia-refinery-power-outage-triggers-evacuations/\" target=\"_blank\">Valero is being penalized\u003c/a> for the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which is investigating the flaring, issued four notices of violation to the energy company on Friday, three for excessive smoke and one for causing a public nuisance, according to agency spokeswoman Kristine Roselius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday afternoon the district issued a fifth notice of violation for excessive visible emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Valero was preparing for start-up when smoke started coming out of one of the stacks,\" Roselius said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valero spokeswoman has not returned a request for comment on the district's penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The refinery's first full power loss in 30 years started around 6:30 a.m. Friday. The outage began shortly after crews took one of two transmission lines offline to complete upgrades, said Matt Nauman, a Pacific Gas and Electric spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Circuit breakers opened after a component of a \"protective relay system failed,\" according to Nauman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the San Francisco-based energy company did not directly contact Benicia officials quickly enough about the outage, Mayor Patterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Why didn't PG&E call the city of Benicia so that we could begin to think about the consequences of power loss to the refinery 15 minutes earlier than we were alerted by Valero?\" Patterson asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E says it did tell the city, just not as fast as the mayor would have liked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A company representative contacted the Benicia fire chief and the Solano County of Emergency Services at 8 a.m., according to PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras, adding that utility crews worked quickly and safely to restore power in 18 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage caused gases used in the refining process to build up inside the refinery. To relieve pressure, Valero sent toxic gas to its flares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero, like other refining companies, emphasizes that the flaring process is a safety device.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first that process sent flames and a huge plume of smoke into the sky, which resulted in the evacuation of an industrial area near Valero and a shelter-in-place order for two elementary schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even that order wasn't clear. Initially, some authorities called for the rest of the city, except for the adjacent industrial area, to stay indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"All other areas of town shelter in place. Keep doors and windows closed. Bring pets inside,\" said a tweet from the Benicia Police Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Minutes later the agency published a corrected tweet, focusing the order on the two schools, but that was not entirely clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"No shelter in place for the rest of the (city) except for Matthew Turner and Robert Semple. Everyone's encouraged to close doors and windows,\" the follow-up tweet read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, officials said that only two residents called with respiratory complaints, and there was no indication that anyone was hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, it turns out, the toxic air did send people to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 10 and 20 people went to the emergency department at Kaiser Permanente's Vallejo Medical Center, according to Kaiser spokeswoman Deniene Erickson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flaring continued over the weekend and on Monday as Valero restored operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We may have some intermittent flaring as we continue through safe startup process,\" said Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas in an email Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the city has begun a top-to-bottom review of its emergency response, according to Benicia Fire Chief Jim Lydon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are some systems that we need to go back and look at and assess their functionality and make sure they're working properly,\" Lydon said in an interview Monday, adding that he saw complaints from residents about the emergency communication on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After that review is completed, Mayor Patterson is calling for a City Council hearing to explore ways to improve emergency communication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hearing would also investigate why Valero does not have a backup power source, something Patterson said she was unaware of until Friday's emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The afternoon of the outage a company official blamed California's greenhouse gas regulations for preventing the creation of an alternative power source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero expanded its refinery in recent years to reduce emissions, according to Don Cuffel, the company's health, safety, environmental director. That expansion increased the facility's electrical load but the company never got a permit to create a \"co-generation unit\".\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Adding another co-generation unit to the refinery only increases our carbon footprint,\" Cuffel said at a Friday news conference.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated May 8 at 11:55 a.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local air regulators are penalizing the Valero Energy Corporation in connection with the power outage at its Benicia refinery that has sent toxic gases into the air since Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District told KQED that the agency issued four notices of violation against Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three are for excessive smoke and one is for causing a public nuisance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss of electricity prompted flaring, a process by which the facility relieves pressure by sending out flames and toxic gas into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, that caused a big plume of smoke to shoot into the sky, and also resulted in nearby evacuations and a shelter-in-place order on Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Friday, on-and-off flaring has continued at the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has blamed the power outage on PG&E, which said it was caused while crews were completing upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post from May 5:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia authorities have lifted a shelter-in-place order at two elementary schools after a power outage at the city's Valero refinery early Friday morning, which led to flaring that sent black plumes of smoke into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The order was lifted at approximately 1:20 p.m. at the Matthew Turner Elementary and Robert Semple Elementary schools, based on the results of air monitoring by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Both schools are upwind from the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No students showed any signs or symptoms of health problems, said Charles Young, Benicia Unified School District superintendent. He said parents opted to keep many of their children at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials also ordered the evacuation of businesses near the plant, and the mandatory evacuation order for the industrial park remains in place, said Benicia Fire Department Chief Jim Lydon during a press conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said two people had reported respiratory effects, but neither were transported to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage, which began about 6:40 a.m., lasted for 18 minutes and took place as PG&E crews were conducting a \"routine switching of an electrical transmission\" device, said a spokesman for the utility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage led to flaring at the refinery, officials said. Flaring is a process that allows the refinery to relieve pressure, but it can send out smoke and toxic gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At about 7:50 a.m., warning systems were activated in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some residents, like Marilyn Bardet, are concerned that warning systems were not triggered quickly enough -- and some did not hear sirens that went off around the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The precautionary principle would’ve said, turn those sirens on as soon as you know that something dreadful is happening with that amount of flaring,\" Bardet said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia police advised all other areas of town to shelter in place, keep doors and windows closed, and bring pets inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\u003cp>— Benicia Police (@BeniciaPD) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BeniciaPD/status/860516905265676288\">May 5, 2017\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Police also advised any business or structure downwind from the refinery to evacuate and avoid the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\u003cp>— Benicia Police (@BeniciaPD) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BeniciaPD/status/860506620278693888\">May 5, 2017\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Local air regulators were on scene and investigating, including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AirDistrict\">@AirDistrict\u003c/a> has inspectors at the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Valero?src=hash\">#Valero\u003c/a> refinery + has launched an investigation into the outage + flaring. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KQEDnews\">@KQEDnews\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://t.co/PS8iLGRFN2\">https://t.co/PS8iLGRFN2\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Ted Goldberg (@TedrickG) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TedrickG/status/860523887787819008\">May 5, 2017\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>During the incident, toxic gases from the flares, such as hydrogen sulfide, peaked at more than 10 times normal background levels for the area, said Steve Calanog, a spokesman for the EPA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The flaring operation is designed to keep our employees and our neighbors and the community safe,\" said Don Cuffel, director of health, safety, environment and government affairs for Valero. \"And they’re doing exactly what they need to do by burning the hydrocarbon that cannot be safely stored.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero said it's been 30 years since the last time the refinery lost total power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia is home to nearly 30,000 residents and is located in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11441705\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11441705\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-800x337.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-800x337.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-160x67.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-1020x430.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-1180x498.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-960x405.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-240x101.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-375x158.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-520x219.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valero acquired the Benicia Refinery in 2000. Valero says the plant has undergone significant modifications and upgrades to become what is today one of the most complex refineries in the United States. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Valero)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated May 8 at 11:55 a.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local air regulators are penalizing the Valero Energy Corporation in connection with the power outage at its Benicia refinery that has sent toxic gases into the air since Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District told KQED that the agency issued four notices of violation against Valero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three are for excessive smoke and one is for causing a public nuisance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss of electricity prompted flaring, a process by which the facility relieves pressure by sending out flames and toxic gas into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, that caused a big plume of smoke to shoot into the sky, and also resulted in nearby evacuations and a shelter-in-place order on Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Friday, on-and-off flaring has continued at the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero has blamed the power outage on PG&E, which said it was caused while crews were completing upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post from May 5:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia authorities have lifted a shelter-in-place order at two elementary schools after a power outage at the city's Valero refinery early Friday morning, which led to flaring that sent black plumes of smoke into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The order was lifted at approximately 1:20 p.m. at the Matthew Turner Elementary and Robert Semple Elementary schools, based on the results of air monitoring by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Both schools are upwind from the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No students showed any signs or symptoms of health problems, said Charles Young, Benicia Unified School District superintendent. He said parents opted to keep many of their children at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials also ordered the evacuation of businesses near the plant, and the mandatory evacuation order for the industrial park remains in place, said Benicia Fire Department Chief Jim Lydon during a press conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said two people had reported respiratory effects, but neither were transported to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage, which began about 6:40 a.m., lasted for 18 minutes and took place as PG&E crews were conducting a \"routine switching of an electrical transmission\" device, said a spokesman for the utility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage led to flaring at the refinery, officials said. Flaring is a process that allows the refinery to relieve pressure, but it can send out smoke and toxic gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At about 7:50 a.m., warning systems were activated in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some residents, like Marilyn Bardet, are concerned that warning systems were not triggered quickly enough -- and some did not hear sirens that went off around the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The precautionary principle would’ve said, turn those sirens on as soon as you know that something dreadful is happening with that amount of flaring,\" Bardet said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia police advised all other areas of town to shelter in place, keep doors and windows closed, and bring pets inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\u003cp>— Benicia Police (@BeniciaPD) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BeniciaPD/status/860516905265676288\">May 5, 2017\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Police also advised any business or structure downwind from the refinery to evacuate and avoid the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\u003cp>— Benicia Police (@BeniciaPD) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BeniciaPD/status/860506620278693888\">May 5, 2017\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Local air regulators were on scene and investigating, including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AirDistrict\">@AirDistrict\u003c/a> has inspectors at the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Valero?src=hash\">#Valero\u003c/a> refinery + has launched an investigation into the outage + flaring. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KQEDnews\">@KQEDnews\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://t.co/PS8iLGRFN2\">https://t.co/PS8iLGRFN2\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Ted Goldberg (@TedrickG) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TedrickG/status/860523887787819008\">May 5, 2017\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>During the incident, toxic gases from the flares, such as hydrogen sulfide, peaked at more than 10 times normal background levels for the area, said Steve Calanog, a spokesman for the EPA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The flaring operation is designed to keep our employees and our neighbors and the community safe,\" said Don Cuffel, director of health, safety, environment and government affairs for Valero. \"And they’re doing exactly what they need to do by burning the hydrocarbon that cannot be safely stored.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero said it's been 30 years since the last time the refinery lost total power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia is home to nearly 30,000 residents and is located in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11441705\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11441705\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-800x337.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-800x337.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-160x67.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-1020x430.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-1180x498.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-960x405.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-240x101.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-375x158.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut-520x219.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/valero_benicia-qut.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valero acquired the Benicia Refinery in 2000. Valero says the plant has undergone significant modifications and upgrades to become what is today one of the most complex refineries in the United States. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Valero)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Valero Refining Company-California agreed on a settlement this week that will force the oil company to pay a $157,800 fine for mismanagement of hazardous waste and toxic chemicals at its Benicia crude oil refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA cited the oil company for illegally disposing benzene -- a \u003ca href=\"http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/benzene\" target=\"_blank\">known human carcinogen\u003c/a> -- into an unlined stormwater retention pond in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which governs the management and disposal of hazardous waste. The settlement also covers violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, where Valero failed to inform the public about all of its toxic chemical releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The violations were discovered during a routine EPA inspection of the facility in May 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This settlement was primarily driven by difficulty we experienced on a handful of occasions during some extreme weather events that occurred a number of years ago, and the agreement outlines what we are doing improve the refinery's ability to handle extreme rainfall events in the future,\" said Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of the settlement, Valero will have to improve its piping by June 2017 to prevent similar toxic releases in the future. These improvements would allow hazardous waste to be recycled into the system instead of discharged into a stormwater basin, and the EPA estimates they will prevent 5,000 pounds of benzene from being released into the environment over the next 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Any stormwater that could potentially get into the groundwater and/or into the bay are major concerns with the violations,\" said Joel Jones, assistant director for enforcement for EPA Region 9. Jones said that even though these were relatively minor violations, the dense population surrounding the Benicia refinery makes it crucial that Valero comply with regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In any case where there are violations, we take it very seriously even if they're minor,\" Jones said, \"and the companies are fairly responsive to solving those issues.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other violations covered by the settlement include failing to determine if solid waste generated at the Benicia refinery was hazardous, failing to minimize the risk of unplanned chemical releases and failing to maintain complete and accurate records at the facility.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Valero Refining Company-California agreed on a settlement this week that will force the oil company to pay a $157,800 fine for mismanagement of hazardous waste and toxic chemicals at its Benicia crude oil refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA cited the oil company for illegally disposing benzene -- a \u003ca href=\"http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/benzene\" target=\"_blank\">known human carcinogen\u003c/a> -- into an unlined stormwater retention pond in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which governs the management and disposal of hazardous waste. The settlement also covers violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, where Valero failed to inform the public about all of its toxic chemical releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The violations were discovered during a routine EPA inspection of the facility in May 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This settlement was primarily driven by difficulty we experienced on a handful of occasions during some extreme weather events that occurred a number of years ago, and the agreement outlines what we are doing improve the refinery's ability to handle extreme rainfall events in the future,\" said Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of the settlement, Valero will have to improve its piping by June 2017 to prevent similar toxic releases in the future. These improvements would allow hazardous waste to be recycled into the system instead of discharged into a stormwater basin, and the EPA estimates they will prevent 5,000 pounds of benzene from being released into the environment over the next 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"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": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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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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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"planet-money": {
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"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.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"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.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"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.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"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": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"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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"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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},
"snap-judgment": {
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