People of Richmond: Do you want the Chevron refinery to close?
on January 16, 2025
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity.
Q: Do you think it would be good for Richmond if Chevron closed the refinery?
Rob LeBeau
“With a refinery closing down, we would have to clean up that land. You thought Superfund sites existed now? You have no idea what kind of mess exists there. We’re talking about big changes, but it’s not impossible. But it would have to be with the acknowledgment that there’s going to be some downsides either way to realize a long-term solution.”
Ed Burghardt
“No. I think that generally, the public doesn’t understand that Chevron will never sell that land – that land is so polluted. That land will just be a hole if you take the refinery away. You can’t build on it. Back in the 1920s, there were no regulations about this stuff, and now we are dealing with the consequences. The taxes will go away because the profits and everything will go away, and there’s nothing that can be done with the land. Give it enough time, Chevron will go away on its own, but you’re not going to drive Chevron out.”
Ingrid Burghardt
“No. I think that the city relies more on the money that they get from Chevron than they even know. I also think they stuck themselves in the foot by allowing the current zoning laws. … Why not zone properly so that you don’t have houses that get built right next to the refinery? The city gets greedy with wanting all of that property and puts people at risk by letting it happen.”
Annette Segal
“That’s a complicated question because, on the one hand, we suffer from a lot of the byproducts of what they’re doing, and in terms of our health, the health of future generations, our animals’ health, etc. On the other hand, Richmond has come a very long way from how it used to be so violent. And a lot of that is due to the contributions Chevron makes to the City Council.”
Terri Quits
“It’s polluting this whole area, and it has been for decades, even before I was born and before you were born. Some days, the smell is so bad you can’t breathe. It’s just dirty. The environment is horrible. It’s been trashed. I don’t think our environment’s going to come back, but they’re going to be there no matter what. It’s all about money. It’s not about the environment.”
Aaron Springer
I don’t know enough about the economics of the city or how much Chevron pays in taxes, so I don’t think I’m qualified to state a learned or knowledgeable opinion on that. I was kind of thinking the other day when I saw a post complaining about the refinery that I’m sure it’s a big part of Richmond and why it’s here now as it is. And I — and most people — drive a lot. So I don’t know if I’m going to call people out for using gas when I’m driving regularly myself.”
Ramonte Watson
“It’s complicated, but if they can come up with some type of more clean energy, that probably will help. But you are making so much money, that’s what they really want to do. It doesn’t matter, you know. A healed patient is no longer a customer, you know? So they really don’t want us to have our own independence. They always want us to find a way to come back to them for help instead of us being able to help ourselves.”
Mkenna Mosby
“I am not super aware of the impact it would have on the community, but I do know that it’s a big polluter. And I am definitely always seeing our neighbors complain about it on Nextdoor. I don’t really feel like it affects us that much, personally. I mean, we commute every day over the Richmond Bridge, so I see the gases coming off of the refinery. But I do still feel like the air here is pretty clean. And I definitely know that that creates a lot of jobs. So I am not really sure, actually.”
Elizabeth Gardner
“I’m mixed, because that’s an employer. They’ve been an employer for a very long time. It has also been a polluter for a very long time. I imagine that eventually all the refineries will wind down because fossil fuels are not the fuel of the future. But it won’t be soon. For the sake of the people in North Richmond, I wish it would.”
Eugene Berkeley
“Hell no, It needs to continue to stay open. But we’ve got to have more protocols regarding safety.”
Sabrina Shelby
“Well, I guess that’s a complicated question, right? Because I think that closing the refineries would obviously be amazing for our planet, our neighborhoods, our communities, and definitely, obviously, for our health. I do think that the complicated part is that Chevron has a lot of money but I don’t know if it really does anything for the community and the people who live in Richmond, but my guess is that it doesn’t. So my initial response is to close it.”
MX.Joy Diaznoriega
“I think it would be beneficial. I grew up in Richmond and San Pablo, so I’ve seen the trajectory of the refinery and how it’s impacted the land, health, and wellness of students and families. And just the exploitation of the workers and the space. I think that if [Chevron] were to leave, a lot of the communities and the local orgs and the people that live near would have better health and wellness.”
People of Richmond: How should the city spend the Chevron windfall?
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