Environment
The phone rang shortly after 6:30 p.m. It was a Monday night in August and Sam Singer was still at his office in downtown San Francisco, writing and brainstorming strategies for clients. He picked up. The call was from the Chevron refinery in Richmond. They were, they said, “having an issue.”
A unanimous vote from the Richmond City Council provided a $19 million promise to fund Doctors Medical Center over the next three years. The principle plan that the council members voted on was the $15 million allocated through the Chevron Environmental & Community Investment Agreement (ECIA), a $90 million package contingent upon the company’s $1 billion modernization of its Richmond refinery. Beyond the $15 million contribution in three annual installments the council also approved an urgent $4 million cash infusion,…
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) passed a resolution last Wednesday meant to cut refinery emissions, such as greenhouse gases, by 20 percent.
Thanks to an electronic waste recycling service, electronic gadgets that have reached the end of their lives will no longer end up in a landfill. Richmond residents came to drop off their end-of-life or unwanted electronics for free recycling last Saturday at Hilltop Mall. The unwanted electronics will be sent to a de-manufacturing line, according to Martin Sarkis, a staff member at BlueStar Electronics, which co-hosted the event. Computers and other electronic devices will be dismantled and separated into valuable…
San Francisco Bay Keeper, an environmental group, reached an agreement on Friday with a storage company it sued two years ago for allegedly polluting San Francisco Bay, violating the Clean Water Act, and endangering the health of wildlife and neighboring communities.
While desalination is currently an approved option, the actual construction of a plant could be as far off as 2020.
Chevron’s Community Tour Day last Saturday showed Richmond residents the inside of the 2,900 acre refinery and the progress of the refinery modernization project.
Droves of cleanup volunteers came by land and sea to comb the jagged rocks, sand and grass of Richmond Bay Trail for the 24th annual Coastal Cleanup Day Saturday morning.
A new bill aimed at increasing transparency in California oil refineries has an unexpected opponent –a free speech rights group. The First Amendment Coalition raised concerns over SB 1300, a bill they claim will actually allow oil companies to hide some information as “trade secrets.” “It sets a dangerous precedent,” said Peter Scheer, the coalition’s executive director. Scheer said the bill paves the way for turnaround procedures–which involve shutting down parts of the refinery for repair, maintenance and inspection —…