By Tyler Kacalek
As of recent, Valero has been facing lots of backlash and conflict with not only city and health laws, but public safety as well. It has been recently discovered within the past years that Valero has been emitting unhealthy amounts of harmful gases and chemicals into the atmosphere, and it has the public and the city worried for the wellbeing of the people.
Now, Valero is facing even more backlash after just being fined for $3.25 million by the Bay Area Air Quality District due to its emission of harmful gases, and also “equipment-related incidents at the refinery over several years” (Vallejo Sun)
Valero is also being fined for the noncompliance with the city that it has been committing, as well as noncompliance with things like health codes and safety regulations. If this behavior from Valero keeps up, we could possibly see even more hefty fines hit Valero.
David Lindsay, head director of Benicia Community Air Monitoring Program states, “If they import gasoline, it would come to the port, get pumped into tanks, and then trucks would pick it up and deliver it to the Bay Area or it would go out by pipeline.” This quote is important because Lindsay also states that during any of those steps, there is a possibility of releasing dangerous chemicals into the air that can cause things like dizziness, respiratory damage, lung issues, and possibly cancer.
The cities of Benicia and Vallejo both have mixed feelings about the Valero dilemma, with people protesting and demanding the closure of Valero and also people on the other side, protesting to keep Valero in place to maintain things like gas and housing prices.
Could we see the full closure, or even the disappearance of Valero in the coming years? Or will we see even more years of fines and regulations slammed onto Valero?
beniciapaw.com 