Environment
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 —…
The University of California Board of Regents voted Wednesday to add several environmental responsibility initiatives into its investment portfolio, but declined to act on student fossil-free coalitions’ demands that it divest from fossil fuel companies.
In the words of environmental activist David Helvarg, Point Molate “is the most beautiful part of the bay nobody’s ever heard of.”
A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by environmental groups that sought to halt rail shipments of volatile Bakken crude oil into Richmond. Judge Peter J. Busch ruled that the lawsuit was filed too late.
City releases a draft Environmental Impact Report of Chevron’s Modernization Project.
California is in a drought. Though the Bay Area experienced a few showers this week, far more rain is needed to make a dent in the state’s water shortage. Last year was the driest on record, and on January 17 Governor Jerry Brown made the drought emergency official. On Friday, the Department of Water Resources director released a statement reflecting the dire situation. “It is our duty to give State Water Project customers a realistic understanding of how much water…