Anti-Birdseye outside money – 3 new expenditure reports

By Roger Straw, October 24, 2018

Valero / Labor PAC alters its telephone script and shows new video ads

Three NEW Expenditure Forms 496 were posted on the City of Benicia website Tuesday, showing amended costs, new negative phone calling scripts and new tv ads bought by the anti-Birdseye PAC.

This round of phone calls focuses on local jobs, and makes unsubstantiated claims against Kari Birdseye while praising her opponents.  The ads show Birdseye’s opponents’ faces along with a positive message rather than Birdseye’s face with negative message.  They must believe the damage is done – or that the blatantly negative ads were not helping their cause.

The reports posted by the City are simply listed by number without much guidance for voters.  I’ll try to sort it out below, with new totals.  (I confess, however, that I have no idea why the PAC’s costs are less now than in previous reports – it makes no sense…)

In summary, the PAC is still absolutely LOADED for more big campaign expenditures during these final weeks before election day.

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS: $154,200
LESS EXPENDITURES TO DATE: $25,124.81
YET TO BE SPENT:  $129,075.19
NEW EXPENDITURE REPORTS – AMENDMENTS (as of Oct. 24)

  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_12.pdf
    EXPENDITURE AMENDMENT PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connection calls $8,288.75 on 10/16 (showing a new telephone script) (cumulative to date $25,124.81) as amended on 10/22
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_13.pdf
    EXPENDITURE AMENDMENT PRO-LARGAESPADA (but actually showing photocopies of new digital ads for STRAWBRIDGE): Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_14.pdf
    EXPENDITURE AMENDMENT PRO-LARGAESPADA (showing photocopies of new digital ads for LARGAESPADA): Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81)TOTAL EXPENDITURES TO DATE: $25,124.81

CONTRIBUTIONS (as of Oct. 24, no change since Oct. 18)

PREVIOUSLY REPORTED EXPENDITURES (through Oct. 18)

  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_1.pdf
    PRO-STRAWBRIDGE: Winning Connections calls $5,166.67 on 10/10; Valero Use of Poll $4,733.34 on 10/10
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_2.pdf
    PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connections calls $5,166.67 on 10/10; Valero Use of Poll $4,733.34 on 10/10
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_3.pdf
    ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Winning Connections calls $5,166.67 on 10/10; Valero Use of Poll $4,733.34 on 10/10
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_4.pdf
    ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/11 (cumulative to date $16,589); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/11 (cumulative to date $16,589)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_5.pdf
    PRO-STRAWBRIDGE: Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_6.pdf
    PRO-LARGAESPADA: Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_7.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-1 PRO-STRAWBRIDGE Winning Connection calls $5,413.73 (not $5,166.67) and (cumulative to date $16,836.07); Heat & Frost contribution of $20,000 (not $30,000) on 10/16
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_8.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-2 PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connections calls $5,413.73 (not $5,166.67) and (cumulative to date $16,836.07) on 10/16
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_9.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-3 ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Winning Connections calls $5,413.73 (not $5,166.67) and (cumulative to date $16,836.07) on 10/16
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_10.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-4 ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Digital Turf media buy and ad production (and cumulative to date $16,836) on 10/15
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_11.pdf
    NEW EXPENDITURE PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connection calls $9,000 (cumulative to date $25,836.06) on 10/16
    TOTAL EXPENDITURES REPORTED AS OF OCT 18: $25,836.06

Bay Area Air District proposing to give refineries a pass on air monitoring

[Editor: For more, including HOW TO SEND THE AIR DISTRICT YOUR COMMENT, see the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Notice of Public Hearing.  Plan to attend on December 19, 2018.  – RS]

BAAQMD: Costs for daily air monitoring too expensive… poor refineries…

By Benicia Vice Mayor Steve Young, October 23, 2018 
Steve Young, Benicia Vice Mayor

The Bay Area Air District (BAAQMD) recently released their proposal on how to deal with the problem of excess ROG (Reactive Organic Gas) emissions from refinery cooling towers. Here are my favorite two sections from their proposed way of dealing (or more accurately, not dealing), with the problem …

Amendments to Rule 11-10 reduce monitoring of cooling towers for hydrocarbon leaks from daily to weekly, with provisions to extend monitoring periods after proving no leaks for an extended time. Costs for daily monitoring were found to be excessive relative to the potential hydrocarbon emission reductions. Requirements for cooling tower best management practices and reporting were eliminated when found to be focused primarily on Process Safety Management and cooling water chemistry rather than leak detection.

The only feasible method to reduce ROG emissions from cooling towers is more frequent monitoring and repair, but this method was concluded to not be feasible due to economic factors as per CEQA Guidelines §15364. Thus, no feasible mitigation measures have been identified that could avoid the significant impact or reduce the impact to less than significant.

Generally, CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act) does not allow  an environmental impact to be ignored based on the fact that reducing those impacts will cost money. And refineries certainly SHOULD be expected to spend money on such things as more frequent monitoring and repairs.

Going to testify at these hearings – where testimony is limited to no more than three minutes, and often shorter – is both necessary and, seemingly, pointless.

California Air Resources Board announces Symposium on Refinery & Chemical Industry Emissions

From a CARB email bulletin

Announcing the first Refinery and Chemical Industry Emissions Symposium

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

CARB_header


October 23, 2018

Announcing the First Refinery and Chemical Industry Emissions Symposium

21st Century Technologies for Quantifying Fugitive and Accidental Releases


The California Air Resources Board (and other sponsors) in partnership with the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center is organizing an educational symposium on the use of modeling for emergency preparedness and response for California refineries.  The scope of the symposium will include:

  • Modeling and monitoring for both routine and emergency operations;
  • Improvements and enhancements of air modeling, air monitoring, and coordination during significant releases from refineries; and,
  • Harmonization of modeling and emergency air monitoring with recent state initiatives that require enhanced routine air monitoring at and near these facilities.

Do you have an idea/topic to share? Work you want to discuss with others? Issues you would like a solution? Share your ideas and join our mailing list with Conference Organizer Sandra Hall.

Survey


Sessions currently will focus on:

  • Review of existing/emerging modeling strategies for fitness of purpose and proper application, best approaches for risk quantification and planning purposes, and modeling of cascading effects including offsite consequences of hydrofluoric acid releases;
  • Use of models for training, drills, and exercises by first responders, industry, and local agencies to prepare for real time considerations during emergency response;
  • Synergies with newly required air monitoring under AB 617 and AB 1647; and,
  • Feasibility of enhancing leak detection and repair surveys at refineries and other chemical facilities to a continuous program based on enhanced continuous air monitoring and backward trajectory modeling.

Participants will include CARB, California air districts, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. EPA, other Interagency Refinery Task Force Agencies, local first responders, industry, academia, consultants, and citizen groups.

Currently our conference topics include but are not limited to:

  • Monitoring & Measurement
  • Modeling: Dispersion; Meteorology
  • Emissions Characterization & Inventory Development: Quantity & Speciation; Height & Plume Rise (NOX, SOX/H2S, VOCs, HAPs)
  • Data Communication & Dissemination/Notification
  • Sensors
  • Laws & Jurisdiction for Emergency & Routine Emissions
  • Community Science/AB617
  • Policy

Tentatively set for November 2019 in Northern California. We look forward to hosting you.


Contact

Sandra Hall
UC Davis Air Quality Research Center
(530) 754-8374

Visit the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center and CARB’s Refinery Air Monitoring websites.

Constance Beutel – educational videos on Benicia Air Quality and Valero

From Constance Beutel, Youtube

Constance Beutel

Benicia videographer and educator Constance Beutel has a stellar history of advocating for sustainable clean energy in Benicia.  The former chairperson of Benicia’s Community Sustainability Commission recently made five short educational presentations before our City Council during the Open Comment period.  The presentations are about 5 minutes each, and were videotaped, as follows below.  (Don’t miss the last one, on Valero and our Benicia air!)

Air Quality – August 21, 2018

Air Monitors – September 4, 2018

Air Quality and Health – September 18, 2018

Air Quality and Benicia’s Health – October 2, 2018

Valero and Benicia