Bay Air District Hails 'Decisive Victory' in Battle to Cut Refinery Pollution - KQED

Bay Air District Hails 'Decisive Victory' in Battle to Cut Refinery Pollution | KQED

“The air district agreements with Chevron and MRC mark a turning point in our commitment to enforcing air quality regulations and deterring future violations throughout the Bay Area, especially in communities already overburdened by air pollution,” said Dr. Philip Fine, the district’s executive officer, in a statement announcing the agreements.

The board that oversees the air district approved the new rule in July 2021. Two months later, Chevron and PBF sued in Contra Costa County Superior Court to block its implementation.

The rule, known as Regulation 6, Rule 5, focuses on the operation of the refineries’ fluidized catalytic cracking units, which break down heavy crude oil into lighter products like gasoline. Following that process, carbon material known as coke is burned off, pushing large volumes of particulate matter into the air.

Particulate pollution — consisting of both fine particles, known as PM2.5, and larger particles, PM10 — can be inhaled and is associated with a wide range of lung, heart and other chronic health problems.

To satisfy the new rule, the Richmond and Martinez refineries were expected to buy and install devices known as wet-gas scrubbers at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the past, the two energy companies have argued that the air district overstated the health benefits of the new rule and underestimated the cost of implementing it.

On Tuesday, both companies confirmed the deal.

Chevron, though, raised concerns about how the air district comes up with its regulations.

“The settlement ends our litigation over BAAQMD’s adoption of some of the most stringent environmental regulations in the world. It provides for an extended compliance timeframe to navigate California’s difficult permitting landscape and settles the BAAQMD’s 5-year backlog of enforcement actions,” Chevron said through company spokesperson Caitlin Powell.

“Chevron is committed to working with agencies, like the BAAQMD, on efforts to improve air quality. However, we remain concerned that the BAAQMD’s rulemaking process is fundamentally broken and believe it’s another example of how California policies have led to a hostile business environment for manufacturers, disincentivizing production of the transportation fuels that millions of Californians depend on every day,” the company said.

A PBF Energy representative said the Martinez Refining Company has been working to comply with the new rule.

“We thank our employees and consultants whose ingenuity and hard work led to an innovative technical solution to comply with the new rule, as well as the BAAQMD for working constructively with us to arrive at our mutually desired goal of improving air quality in the Bay Area,” company spokesperson Brandon Matson said.