ISO town hall discussion panel tonight The city of Benicia is the only refinery town in the Bay Area not protected by an Industrial Safety Ordinance. In Contra Costa County, the Hazardous Materials Division of the Health Department is responsible for enforcing an ISO that governs the three refineries in the county’s unincorporated areas – […]
Letters: ISO and water woes
We need an ISO As a Benicia resident I found out about the May 5 Valero refinery near-catastrophic emergency shutdown and major flaring incident in real time, when I drove through the large black cloud of smoke looming over Interstate 680 which was headed directly toward the Suisun Marsh and the city of Fairfield. The […]
Letters: Submariners and ISO
Benicia needs an ISO As a long-time advocate for local measures and policies that aim to protect public health and safety, I urge everyone who shares this concern to attend the panel discussion, to be held this coming Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the Benicia Public Library, about what adoption of an Industrial Safety Ordinance [“ISO”] […]
Letters: LWV forum and ISO
Learn about open government at LWV forum Current local news and discussion is rife with concern about elected officials being “paid off” by corporate interests or wealthy donors. While our election system has some definite flaws, it does have required procedures and penalties for reporting campaign financing. Just last week, the Fair Political Practices Commission […]
Panel to answer questions on potential Industrial Safety Ordinance at library
Following the May 5 flaring incident at the Valero Benicia Refinery in May, local organizations have been advocating for the city to adopt an Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) to ensure that such an incident is never repeated. These organizations will be hosting a panel at the Benicia Public Library to go over how a similar […]
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 one of 50 national companies recognized for community service
For the fourth consecutive time, Valero Energy Corporation— which has a refinery in Benicia— was recognized by Points of Light as one of the most community-focused companies in America as part of its Civic 50 list. The Civic 50 honors corporations throughout the country that have created a culture of community engagement. The winners were […]
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 approves first step of Industrial Safety Ordinance request
The Benicia City Council voted Tuesday evening to approve Mayor Elizabeth Patterson’s request to agendize discussion of a city Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) for a future council meeting. Patterson said the need for an ISO “became apparent” following the May 5 incident where a power outage at the Valero Benicia Refinery led to a large […]