Area residents can learn more about refinery safety Thursday at a California Interagency Refinery Task Force forum at Crockett Community Center.

One of the speakers will be Gordon Schremp, California Energy Commission specialist, who will describe how crude and refined oil products are moved in and out of the Bay Area.

Also scheduled to speak is Heather Tiernan, community warning system emergency coordinator at the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department, who will explain how the warning system is used and how it has been recently modified.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is one of a series of such forums taking place in various California cities.

The meetings cover a range of safety topics to inform the public about pertinent refinery matters and encourage conversations among individuals and organizations near oil refineries, said Paul Penn, manager of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Emergency Management and Refinery Safety Program.

The California Interagency Refinery Task Force was formed one year after the August 2012 fire at the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond caused members of the public to question refinery safety procedures and official responses to such emergencies.

After the fire, Gov. Jerry Brown released his July 2013 report, “Improving Public and Worker Safety at Oil Refineries.”

The next month CalEPA formed the task force, with members representing 10 state agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local agencies from parts of California where certain refineries have been built.

Task force members were told to work collaboratively to achieve the highest possible level of safety for refinery workers and local communities and to prepare for and effectively respond to emergencies.

The California Interagency Refinery Task Force safety forum will take place from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the Crockett Community Center, 850 Pomona St., Crockett.

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