Chevron Corp. over-oxygenated fuel at its Richmond and Montebello terminals in separate incidents 2010 and 2011, and has paid $329,700 in penalties to the California Air Resources Board, ARB spokesperson Melanie Turner said this week.
The energy company reported its violations of the state’s reformulated gasoline regulations voluntarily and is cooperating with the board, Turner said.
In each case the company reported to the board, the violations were for a total of 4.4 million gallons that exceeded the standard, she said.
The standard is a 10-percent cap by volume for oxygenate, Turner said. “In both cases, oxygenate volume of the gasoline was about 11 percent,” she said.
Oxygenates are added to gasoline to help reduce the carbon monoxide and soot created when fuel is burned, she said. However, the content of oxygen in gasoline must be limited to a certain range, because too much oxygen causes engines to emit excessive nitrogen oxide, a key component of smog.
“Chevron’s over-oxygenated fuel made its way to retail gas stations, resulting in harmful emissions being released into our air,” ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden said.
The major offense was reported at the Montebello terminal, where an estimated 3.75 million gallons of fuel exceeding the standard was supplied for 48 days in late 2010, Turner said.
Another 660,000 gallons of noncompliant fuel was supplied for four days in April 2011 at the Richmond terminal, she said.
In both cases, Turner said, Chevron blamed an equipment malfunction that caused inaccuracy in meters that report the volume of premium grade CARBOB, a blendstock that is mixed with oxygenate before being trucked to retail gas stations.
“Chevron fully cooperated with ARB in this matter and took steps to correct the violations,” Turner said.
Of the $329,700 in penalties, $247,275 will go to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, she said. Another $82,425 will go to the Statewide School Bus and Diesel Emission Reduction Supplemental Environmental Project administered by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, which refits or replaces old diesel school buses.
“Enforcing requirements for fuel composition is just one way that ARB helps reduce air pollution from motor vehicles, a major source of concern in California,” Ryden said.
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From the article:The energy company reported its violations of the state’s reformulated gasoline regulations voluntarily
Interesting, and worth noting, that if Chevron had not self-reported this the ARB would have never known.
The major offense was reported at the Montebello terminal
$329,000 is, of course, a drop in the bucket for Chevron, as is a 10% excessive oxygenation of 4.4 million gallons when compared to how much gasoline Chevron produces. Not sure how this qualifies as a “major offense”.