After years of litigation, two major Bay Area refineries have agreed to drop their lawsuits against the regional air quality management district and come into compliance with one of the most string…
Smoke from a flaring incident at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif. is visible from San Francisco, Calif., late Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 27, 2023. After years of litigation, two major Bay Area oil refineries have agreed to drop their lawsuits against the regional air quality management district and come into compliance with one of the most stringent air quality standards in the country.
In order to meet the stricter standards, Chevron will likely have to install a piece of equipment known as a wet gas scrubber that reduces emissions of tiny particles that can cause heart disease, asthma and low-birth-weight babies when ingested. That could cost the refinery as much as $1 billion. The Martinez refineryIn their lawsuits, both Chevron and the Martinez Refining Company had argued that meeting the new regulations was too cost-prohibitive.
To the surprise of many, the Martinez Refining Company chose to sue the Air District when it was already quite close to meeting the new standards two years ago. At a Tuesday morning news conference, air quality officials said that they were unsure why the refinery chose to fight the rule rather than come into compliance. The refinery chose not to comment on why they decided to sue.
Rule 6-5, which the air district refers to as “the most health-protective rule of its kind in the nation,” is meant to address those concerns.
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