The Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board have fined a Valero refinery in Benicia nearly $82 million for “significant” air pollution violations — the largest penalty in the regional agency’s history.
The penalty is the result of a 2019 inspection that found the refinery failed to report emissions from its hydrogen system that allegedly included cancer-causing compounds such as benzene, toluene, and xylene, violating the air quality regulations, according to an Oct. 31 announcement by the Bay Area agency.
Valero Refinery Co. did not respond to a request for comment, instead directing Open Vallejo to the settlement agreement. The company “does not admit or necessarily agree with the allegations,” according to the settlement.
A joint complaint by the state and federal air quality agencies alleged that refinery management had known since at least 2003 that the facility’s emissions contained harmful chemicals, but they did not report it or take any steps to reduce the pollution, according to the press release.
Air quality officials estimated that Valero released 8,400 tons of these organic compounds during the last two decades, or an average of 2.7 tons daily — more than 360 times the legal limit.
Subsequent investigations revealed other problems involving the facility’s hydrogen system, such as the company’s alleged failures to decrease emissions and inspect for leaks, according to the press release.
“This penalty sends a strong message: adherence to air quality standards is both necessary and expected, and failure to do so can lead to significant fines,” said Benicia Mayor Steve Young, a member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board of directors, in the statement. “Benicia residents need to know that air quality violations are taken seriously.”
More than $64 million of the penalties will fund local projects aimed at reducing exposure to air pollution, mitigating its impacts, and improving public health in the areas around the refinery, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The remaining funds will be used to create clean air projects elsewhere in the Bay Area and offset the cost of the investigation.
In addition to the fines, Valero must reconfigure its Benicia refinery’s main hydrogen vents to limit the release of emissions, implement an air quality training program for staff, and provide regulators with quarterly progress reports.
The settlement against Valero is the third major fine the air quality agency issued against a Bay Area refinery this year, according to regulators. It announced a $20 million penalty against the Chevron refinery in Richmond in February and a $5 million fine against the Marathon refinery in Martinez last month.
“These significant penalties should put the refineries and other industrial operations on notice,” said the agency’s general counsel Alexander Crockett in the release. “If you violate our regulations and pollute our air, we will hold you accountable to the maximum extent provided for by law.”
The Benicia facility employs more than 400 people and processes about 165,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to the settlement agreement. Valero purchased the refinery, which was first commissioned in 1968, from the Exxon Mobil Corporation in 2000.
