The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has settled with Valero Oil Co. – California for $196,000 in civil penalties for air quality violations at its refinery in Benicia. The settlement covers 23 notices of violation that the Air District issued for incidents that occurred in 2012. “The Air District takes every violation of air quality regulations very seriously,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. “Our inspectors are engaged and we are monitoring around the clock at each of the Bay Area refineries to ensure that air quality remains protected, and every violation is uncovered and corrected.”
The two most significant violations involved errors in an inspection database that resulted in missed leak inspections for valves omitted from the database; eight were brief violations of emission limits as measured by monitors that continuously measure emissions from refinery equipment; six were hydrocarbon vapor leaks from valves or seals on storage tanks, and seven involved late reports or other minor administrative violations. All of the violations were corrected as soon as they were discovered.
Currently, the Air District is proposing four new rules that will require even tougher emissions limits, more monitoring and quicker equipment repairs and upgrades to help meet the Air District’s ambitious 20 percent refinery emissions reduction goal by 2020. All settlement funds will be used to fund Air District activities, such as the inspections and enforcement activities that led to this settlement. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area.
