Environment
Rafael Castro-Chavez was 13 years old when he heard a loud explosion in August 2012. He darted outside his North Richmond apartment and noticed his neighbors pointing toward the Chevron refinery, saying, “Hay un incendio!” As he turned to look, flames rose from the facility, and a large plume of black smoke advanced over his street. “They were telling us in the news that there is a lockdown and that it is not recommended for the community to go out,”…
At Chevron’s first town hall meeting with residents, community members had an opportunity to address their concerns about flaring and pollution directly to company representatives. The session Wednesday at Richmond CoBiz came out of Chevron’s $20 million settlement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in February, which called for the company to host two-hour meetings twice a year with residents about flaring events. “We are really trying to come at this with a learning intent and growth mindset…
As the sun dips below the horizon in Richmond, the Chevron refinery’s tall columns cast long shadows against the dusky sky. At a Chevron station on West Cutting Boulevard, David Stanford mutters as he fills his tank. “It makes zero sense. We are half a mile from the refinery, and gas prices are still $5 a gallon,” he said. “It’s not sustainable for normal people. Hard working people cannot afford the gas right now. It’s ridiculous.” It’s a thought echoed…
Transit agencies in the East Bay are promoting California Clean Air Day on Wednesday, with several providing free fares to encourage riders to use public transit. The goal of Clean Air Day is to encourage residents to participate in more sustainable activities to minimize air pollution. The agencies offering free rides include the San Francisco Bay Ferry, WestCAT, Wheels and County Connections. But the largest transit agencies in the Bay Area — AC Transit, BART, and MUNI — will not…
White Pony Express was trying to develop an app that would make it easier for grocery stores, restaurants and other small businesses to alert volunteer food runners when they had excess food that could be redistributed. So the nonprofit, which is based in Concord, applied for and received $100,000 from the Contra Costa County Innovation Fund grant. “It made a lot of things possible because we were a little bit stuck, where we had the technology, but the technology needed…
Chevron Corp. has agreed to pay Richmond $550 million over the next decade in exchange for the city dropping a proposed refinery tax from the November ballot. The mayor’s office announced the deal in an Aug. 8 news release, saying the agreement enables the city to avoid being sued by Chevron, while achieving the same goal as the measure. Under the agreement, Chevron will pay Richmond $50 million annually in the first five years and $60 million annually in the…
Richmond City Council voted in a special meeting Friday to back a $40 million sale of Point Molate to the East Bay Regional Park District, ending years of discussion about how to develop the sprawling coastline property that once was a Naval depot and a winery. “Twenty plus years of community organizing, continuously bringing to the forefront the hopes and dreams of our residents for a major park at Point Molate, have once again demonstrated that with hard work and…
Richmond voters will be asked in November to decide whether the city should impose a refinery tax on Chevron as a way to address pollution. City Council unanimously approved the ballot measure Tuesday, citing concerns about the city’s budget deficit, poor air quality and worsening health conditions. Council member Doria Robinson was absent. “What we need is that they pay their fair share so we have the means and resources,” council member Claudia Jiménez said before the vote. The proposed…
Under a historic settlement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Chevron recently cleared all 678 of the air pollution infractions that had been pending against its Richmond refinery. With the settlement, BAAQMD, the regional agency that enforces air quality standards, cleared part of a major backlog. While the air district has a history of issuing infractions, it also has a pattern of letting most fines go unpaid for years as it works through cases and negotiates with polluters….