Chevron `upgrade' would downgrade Richmond air

Chevron has proposed upgrading its Richmond refinery at a cost of $800 million to a billion dollars. These upgrades would pour 989,000 more tons of greenhouse gases into the air each year. Other pollutants would adversely impact the air quality of Richmond residents, especially the low-income minority communities near the facility.

The Sierra Club opposes this upgrade unless measures are taken to responsibly respond to the community's public-health concerns and to mitigate for the huge increase in greenhouse gases. So far Chevron has not adequately responded to the health concerns and has flat-out refused enforceable curbs on the greenhouse gases. Instead Chevron claims that the greenhouse emissions would not be significant.

The city has failed to act. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Councilmember Tom Butt have been outspoken for controls on Chevron, but other councilmembers have been non-responsive.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown has made it clear that the Chevron project and its Environmental Impact Report (EIR) do not comply with AB 32, the state's recent global-warming-reduction legislation. (This bill was authored by Assemblymember Loni Hancock, who is running for Senate and is endorsed by the Sierra Club.) Brown has stated that he will sue cities and agencies who do not comply with AB 32.

Chevron made $17.2 billion in profits last year. It can afford to protect Richmond residents and control its greenhouse-gas emissions.

WhatYouCanDo

The Planning Commission will vote on certifying the EIR , and its decision will probably be appealed to the City Council. Write to the Richmond City Council at:

1401 Marina Way South
Richmond, CA 94804

Urge the Council to require full protections for public health and full mitigations of greenhouse-gas emissions before approving Chevron's refinery upgrades.

Norman La Force, chair, West Contra Costa County Group