What caused Chevron pipeline to leak diesel into bay?

Cleanup complete after a Chevron oil spill in February

It could take as long as six months before people in Richmond know what caused a Chevron pipeline to leak hundreds of gallons of a diesel product into San Francisco Bay in February.  An independent firm will investigate what caused a quarter-inch hole to open in the line, allowing 500 to 750 gallons of a…

Read More

Earnings report caps off week of mixed news for Chevron

The announcement this week of the approximately $11 million in losses Chevron sustained in fines and claims related to the August 6 Richmond refinery fire was dwarfed by its fourth-quarter earnings. Although Chevron’s total earnings for the entire year fell by three percent in 2012, the corporation brought in $7.2 billion in the final three…

Read More

Chevron to replace pipes, union workers to discuss Cal/OSHA

The section of pipe damaged during the Aug. 6 fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery (Photo courtesy of: US. Chemical Safety Board).

Chevron will replace all piping in the damaged sections of the Richmond refinery with chrome alloy, the company said in a letter Wednesday to the city of Richmond and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The move comes six weeks after Chevron announced that it believed the Aug. 6 fire may have occurred because…

Read More

EPA says it’s premature to discuss prosecuting Chevron

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says investigations into Chevron’s August 7 fire in Richmond will take at least a year, and it’s premature to discuss prosecution or fines. At an August 27 public briefing on the investigations, Dan Meer, the assistant director of the EPA’s Region 9 Superfund Division, said the EPA would prosecute to the…

Read More

Chevron announces $1 million in grants

Chevron announced $1 million in grants for six local initiatives in job training and science education on Monday. Recipients include the West Contra Costa Unified School District and Contra Costa College. “[We’re] happy to contribute a total of $1 million – that’s easy to say, $1 million,” said refinery General Manager Nigel Hearne at a…

Read More

Hearing opens Monday on Chevron’s $58 million property tax appeal

Chevron will present its case for a $58 million tax refund before an appeals board on Monday, as the company seeks to prove that it overpaid property taxes on its Richmond refinery between 2007 and 2009. Chevron believes the county has overvalued its Richmond refinery by nearly $2 billion per year.

If the company succeeds in its appeal, it would create a “brutal situation” for the county and cities, Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin said.

Read More