In a huge victory for pollution-burdened frontline communities, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Board of Directors voted on July 21 by a surprising 19-3 majority to adopt the strictest particulate matter emission standard for Chevron and PBF, the two Bay Area refineries with catalytic cracking units without wet gas scrubbers. According to the BAAQMD press release, this emissions rule “is now the most health-protective and stringent regulation of its kind in the country.”
The benefits are enormous as these cat crackers are the largest single industrial source of air pollution in the Bay Area. Alone, they account for over 15% of regional particulate matter (PM 2.5) emissions, which will now be slashed by a whole 70%. Chevron and PBF have been given five years to meet this standard. While the District cannot specify how the refineries should meet the emission limits, they are clear that the only way these limits have been met in oil refineries across the country is with the installation of wet gas scrubbers.
Industry vehemently opposed this standard, crying financial hardship and regulatory overreach. This, in spite of the Air District calculation that for the million people most affected, exposure to PM 2.5 from the Chevron refinery in Richmond causes an average of up to 11.6 deaths per year, and particulate matter from PBF in Martinez 6.3 deaths per year. Repeated threats from the refiners to shed hundreds of jobs in lieu of compliance to a robust emissions standard caused the Building Trades and other refinery unions into a false opposition with climate and environmental justice advocates. In addition to the oil industry’s relentless fear mongering and worker blackmail, it also mounted a misleading “environmental protection” campaign, arguing that the water needed for the wet gas scrubbers would have major negative impacts during our drought. Board members rejected this narrative once it became clear that the water required by the scrubbers is only a small percentage of the total water already being used by the refineries.
Hesitant board members were won over by a mobilized public health community, which called attention to the serious underestimation of the health impacts of refinery emissions. While state policy requires BAAQMD to analyze the cost to industry of any new rules, they are under no similar obligation to include the actual costs to public health. As a result, when in meeting after meeting the community called on BAAQMD staff to start analyzing public health impacts, staff lacked the tools and resources to come close to an accurate assessment. Groups like Climate Health Now and the California Nurses Association were absolutely critical in turning out health care workers to fill in the factual gaps and advocate passionately for the protection of their patients.
Communities for a Better Environment, Sunflower Alliance, Sierra Club and other local environmental and climate justice groups led the way in organizing hundreds of community residents to lobby their representatives on the board and testify at hearings. Jed Holtzman, former policy analyst for 350 Bay Area, played a lead role in driving the inside game, astutely navigating the BAAQMD bureaucracy for over two years as he consulted tirelessly with staff and conferred one-on-one with board members. His institutional and technical leadership within the activist coalition was pivotal to the development of effective strategy, policy, and even press outreach. Unfortunately, because of a lack of future funding from 350 Bay Area, we will be losing this crucial resource in ongoing BAAQMD organizing.
Key local BAAQMD board members also helped to achieve this victory. Emeryville council member John Bauters, as Co–Chair of the Stationary Source Committee, brought forward the resolution to adopt the most stringent (rather than the weaker) standard to a vote by the full Board. His dynamic opening statement on July 21st set the tone for the day. Contra Costa Supervisor John Gioia, a longtime BAAQMD and former CARB board member from Richmond, was crucial in moving cautious colleagues to stand clearly for protecting public health.
This win has finally put the role of refinery emissions squarely into the public arena. Below are links to some of the many news reports, press releases, and commentary on our victory. May we continue to inspire the Air District and other agencies to do their job, protect public health, stop permitting new fossil fuel facilities, and enable an equitable and managed transition from fossil fuels that protects workers, our communities, and the climate.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11876301/bay-area-refineries-must-dramatically-cut-pollution-air-district-says-in-historic-vote
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/northern-california-air-board-requires-oil-refiners-slash-pollution-2021-07-21/
Air quality board requires Richmond, Martinez refineries to drastically cut air pollution
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Big-Oil-has-fouled-the-Bay-Area-s-air-for-too-16322842.php
https://www.cbecal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FINAL-Cat-Cracker-PR-7_21_21-1.pdf
https://www.sierraclub.org/san-francisco-bay/blog/2021/07/victory-for-public-health-refinery-emissions-rule-passes-19-3-vote
https://www.baaqmd.gov/news-and-events/page-resources/2021-news/072121-reg6-5
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pbf-energy-comments-on-bay-area-air-quality-management-district-decision-301339040.html