The year 2018 is just around the corner. Before we see what the new year has to offer, let us look back at the big stories that affected Benicia in 2017. Staff changes In February, interim City Manager Steve Salomon left to become the interim city manager of Orinda. Fire Chief Jim Lydon initially filled […]
Solano County Environmental Health report details meetings over Valero flaring incidents
No violations found in refinery outage A report released by Solano County environmental health investigators found that Valero Benicia Refinery did not violate any Certified Unified Program Agencies regulations when more than 74,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide were released into the air following a flareup back in May and at least two other release incidents. […]
Valero files $75 million suit against PG&E
Valero Refining Company filed a lawsuit Friday against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) for the 18-minute shutdown of their Benicia refinery. The Valero Refining Company accuses PG&E of shutting off the electricity to the refinery, which resulted in a refinery shutdown on May 5. When the power came back on, flaring at the refinery […]
BAAQMD investigation into Valero flareup continues
Approximately 74,000 pounds of sulfur have been released into the atmosphere since the Valero Benicia Refinery shutdown on May 5, according to a report the company submitted to the California Office of Emergency Services. On May 5, a disruption at the refinery led to a power outage. After power was restored, a large plume of […]
Council hears update on Valero flaring incident
Fire Chief Jim Lydon delivered a preliminary report on the May 5 Valero Refinery incident at Thursday’s City Council meeting which prompted additional questions by residents. On the morning of the incident, Valero’s Benicia refinery experienced a power outage as Pacific Gas & Electric was doing maintenance on power lines. The outage resulted in black […]