At its regular meeting Tuesday, the Benicia City Council heard from the public regarding Valero Benicia Refinery’s Crude-By-Rail Project and further advised city staff regarding proposed changes to water and wastewater treatment billing, among other items. The Council also took a few minutes to acknowledge and offer a formal farewell to City Manager Brad […]
State AG: Valero DEIR ‘inadequate’
■ Kamala Harris letter to city: Crude-by-rail report fails to address multiple key issues In a letter composed Oct. 2, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris urged Benicia to revise the Draft Environmental Impact Report prepared for the proposed Valero Crude-by-Rail Project. She and Deputy Attorney General Scott J. Lichtig wrote Benicia Principal Planner Amy […]
From military to industrial: Benicia’s ‘overnight’ transition
How a refinery and the Industrial Park shaped the city In Benicia’s not-too-distant past, its financial situation was so dire that employees who were handed checks on Friday were told not to cash them until Tuesday. That was before the U.S. Army announced in the early 1960s that the Benicia Arsenal would be the first […]
Comment period on crude-by-rail extended to 90 days
Benicia Planning Commission decided Thursday to double the amount of time the public will be able to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Valero Crude-by-Rail Project, to 90 from 45 days. And rather than keep Thursday’s meeting going until those who filled City Hall had a chance to speak, the panel […]
Open letter to the City Council: Support CBR
TO BENICIA CITY COUNCIL AND BENICIA PLANNING COMMISSION, RE: THE VALERO CRUDE-BY-RAIL PROJECT: Ladies and gentlemen, This letter is written in support of the proposed Valero Refinery crude by rail (CBR) project. I have a unique perspective on the issue, for two reasons: • I am a board-certified occupational and environmental medicine physician. Having researched, […]
Valero: Crude-by-rail plan would reduce emissions, make refinery more competitive
General manager: If you have a refinery in your community, ‘you want Valero to run that refinery’ Valero Benicia Refinery’s Crude-by-Rail Project is a logistics endeavor that ultimately would reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions not only in Benicia but throughout other Bay Area communities, a packed room in the local Ironworkers Union building heard Monday […]
Valero refinery engineers to address DEIR
Monday meeting requires RSVP Valero Benicia Refinery engineers will speak Monday at a public meeting on the refinery’s Crude-by-Rail Project and Benicia’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) that was released June 17. “Valero remains committed to informing the community about the project and to promoting public discussion of the DEIR,” refinery officials said in an […]
Planning Commission prepares for release of oil-by-rail report
Several residents spoke out Thursday about the proposed Valero Benicia Refinery Crude-by-Rail project, which would add train track to the refinery’s own property so Union Pacific could deliver domestic crude oil, replacing some of the oil currently supplied to Valero by oceanic tanker ships. Residents speaking to the Planning Commission asked that the public get […]
Long-awaited Valero crude-by-rail EIR delayed again
A draft of the city’s environmental impact report (EIR) for the Valero Crude-by-Rail use permit request was due to be released Tuesday, but a last-minute staff decision has delayed the report by a week, Benicia Principal Planner Amy Million said. “City staff determined that additional information was needed to more completely address potential air quality […]
Agency again tabs refinery as ‘Star Site’
California Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recertified Valero Benicia Refinery as a Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) Star Site, Public Affairs Manager Sue Fisher Jones said Wednesday. The refinery received the award Wednesday from Cal-OSHA representatives at a ceremony at Benicia Veterans Memorial Building, Fisher Jones said.