All posts by Roger Straw

Editor, owner, publisher of The Benicia Independent
Crude By Rail

Tesoro refinery to pay $4M for inadequate air emission controls for 7 years

Repost from Contra Costa Times

Tesoro refinery to pay $4 million for inadequate air emission controls for seven years

By Denis Cuff, 08/05/2015 02:08:39 PM PDT

MARTINEZ — Saying Tesoro created unlawful and dangerous fumes periodically over a span of seven years, the Bay Area’s clean-air agency is collecting $4 million in penalties from the Golden Eagle refinery in one of its largest-ever pollution settlements.

Tesoro has agreed to pay the penalties for bypassing air pollution controls designed to capture butane, propane and other gas emissions, the agency announced Wednesday.

From 2007 to 2014, the refinery east of Martinez periodically drained gas-laden process water directly to its plant sewer system without first running it through equipment to capture vapors, air officials said.

As a result, officials said, volatile, smog-forming organic gases like butane and propane evaporated into the air at uncontrolled rates.

An aerial view shows the Tesoro Golden Eagle Refinery in Pacheco on March 18, 2008. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

The fumes exposed plant workers to risks of explosions and the public to greater risks of smog, the air district said.

“We brought it to their attention several times, and it took a little less than a year to fix the problem,” said Ralph Borrmann, an air district spokesman. “The size of the penalty is related to the delay.”

An air district inspector discovered the periodic bypass during a routine refinery inspection in 2013, and the company fixed the problem in 2014 after repeated pleas to do so, officials said.

Tesoro spokesman Brian Nunnally said the refinery “responded quickly to the cited incidents once they were identified, and has taken corrective measures to avoid their recurrence.”

Repost from SFGate

Tesoro settles Martinez refinery pollution suit for $4 million

By Kurtis Alexander, August 5, 2015 5:08 pm

Texas-based oil manufacturer Tesoro Corp. has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the company spewed smog- and ozone-producing pollutants at its refinery in Martinez.

Bay Area air quality regulators announced the deal Wednesday after an eight-year investigation found that refinery workers disposed of the plant’s byproducts in sewer and water-treatment facilities without first removing contaminants that could evaporate and pollute the atmosphere.

The emissions of butane and propane hydrocarbon were recorded at the facility from 2007 to 2014, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Local regulations require refineries to treat liquid waste so that volatile compounds are removed.

District officials called Tesoro’s practices “unlawful and dangerous.”

Without admitting liability, the company said it has addressed the concerns of regulators.

“Tesoro takes compliance with environmental regulations seriously and strives to comply at all times,” the company said. “In all cases, Tesoro responded quickly to the cited incidents once they were identified, and has taken corrective measures to avoid their recurrence.”

The company is no longer discharging its waste illegally, according to the district.

“We require Bay Area refineries to control their emissions at every step of their process,” Jack Broadbent, the district’s executive officer, said in a statement. “Through the air district’s aggressive enforcement program, these violations were discovered and this uncontrolled release of air pollution stopped.”

Tesoro operates six refineries in the western United States and can produce up to 850,000 barrels of oil daily.

Carbon dioxide, Coal industry, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Natural gas, Oil Industry, Power plants

US carbon pollution from power plants hits 27-year low

Repost from the Associated Press
[Editor:  Significant quote: “A factor behind all these trends is that the writing is on the wall about the future of coal and thus the future of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. The regulatory noose is tightening and companies are anticipating a future with lower and lower dependence on fossil fuels and lower and lower carbon dioxide emissions.”  (Princeton University professor Michael Oppenheimer)  For background data, see U.S. Energy Information Administration report on April emissions.  – RS]

US carbon pollution from power plants hits 27-year low

By Seth Borenstein, Aug. 5, 2015 5:00 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Heat-trapping pollution from U.S. power plants hit a 27-year low in April, the Department of Energy announced Wednesday.

A big factor was the long-term shift from coal to cleaner and cheaper natural gas, said Energy Department economist Allen McFarland. Outside experts also credit more renewable fuel use and energy efficiency.

Carbon dioxide — from the burning of coal, oil and gas — is the chief greenhouse gas responsible for man-made global warming.

“While good news for the environment, we certainly would not want to assume that this trend will continue and that we can simply relax,” said John Reilly, co-director of MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.

Electric power plants spewed 141 million tons of carbon dioxide in April, the lowest for any month since April 1988, according to Energy Department figures. The power plants are responsible for about one-third of the country’s heat-trapping emissions.

April emissions peaked at 192 million tons in 2008 and dropped by 26 percent in seven years.

Carbon pollution from power plants hit their peak in August 2007 with 273 million tons; summer emissions are higher because air conditioning requires more power.

In past years, experts said the U.S. reduction in carbon dioxide pollution was more a function of a sluggish economy, but McFarland said that’s no longer the case.

“You don’t have a 27-year low because of an economic blip,” McFarland said. “There are more things happening than that.”

The price of natural gas has dropped 39 percent in the past year, he said. Federal analysts predict that this year the amount of electricity from natural gas will increase 3 percent compared to last year while the power from coal will go down 10 percent.

Those reductions were calculated before this week’s announcements of new power plant rules. The new rules aim to cut carbon pollution from electricity generators another 20 percent from current levels by 2030.

The pollution cuts in April are because efficiency has cut electricity demand and energy from non-hydropower renewable sources has more than doubled, said Princeton University professor Michael Oppenheimer.

“A factor behind all these trends is that the writing is on the wall about the future of coal and thus the future of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions,” Oppenheimer said in an email. “The regulatory noose is tightening and companies are anticipating a future with lower and lower dependence on fossil fuels and lower and lower carbon dioxide emissions.”

City of Benicia, Energy reduction, Recycling, Renewable energy, Water efficiency

Winners of first Benicia Eco Award announced

Repost from the Vallejo Times Herald

Winners of first Benicia Eco Award announced

By Times-Herald staff report, 07/28/15, 1:09 pm PDT; UPDATED 08/05/15
Constance Beutel and Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson. COURTESY PHOTO

Benicia >> A reception was held at the Benicia City Hall courtyard before the City Council meeting on July 21 to celebrate the accomplishments of the first Eco-Award winners. They were presented to the City Council afterward.

A resident and a business were selected in each category: energy reduction and renewable energy, water efficiency and conservation, recycling and trash reduction. A non-profit/community-based organization was also chosen as an overall winner.

The seven winners received a $100 gift certificate to First Street Café and a recycled glass trophy designed by Lindsay Art Glass of Benicia as well as a certificate signed by Mayor Patterson.

The Benicia Eco Award, by Lindsay Art Glass. COURTESY PHOTO

The winners are as follow:

  • Residents: Constance Beutel for energy reduction and renewable energy; Steve and Marty Young for water efficiency and conservation; and Mary Lou and John McVeigh for recycling and trash reduction.
  • Business: Ponder Environmental Services, Inc. for energy reduction and renewable energy; Pedrotti Ace Hardware for water efficiency and conservation; and Ruszel Woodworks for recycling and trash reduction.
  • Community-based or non-profit organization: Benicia Community Gardens.

The event was a “Zero Waste” event, meaning there was no trash from the event. All food scraps went to John & Mary Lou’s chickens, real dishes and utensils eliminated any paper or plastic waste, and the cups were recycled. The napkins were composted. Real fruit flavored water hydration stations were provided so no water bottles or sodas were needed.

The program is sponsored by the Green Umbrella group, a coalition of Benicia organizations and individuals dedicated to working together with a focus on environmentalism and sustainability. The group’s work is funded by a grant from the Community Sustainability Commission with support from Arts Benicia and the City of Benicia. Awards are sponsored by Marin Clean Energy, WattzOn, and Republic Services.

Crude By Rail, Local Regulation, Rail spur, Transload facility

County votes down rail

Repost from the Williston Herald

County votes down rail

Prefers to take a ‘wait and see’ approach
By Eric Killelea, August 4, 2015
Williams County Commissioners
Williams County Commissioners – Top Row: Barry Ramberg, Wayne Aberle, Martin Hanson. Bottom Row: David Montgomery, Dan Kalil

WILLISTON —The Williams County Commission on Tuesday refused a proposed 992-acre rail spur and transload facility in Pherrin Township northeast of Williston.

The board voted 3-2 against the facility aimed to set up south of 57th Street Northwest.

“I don’t think it’s necessary,” said Commissioner Martin Hanson, who based his vote to oppose the project on environmental and safety concerns and the township’s recommendation for denial of the project. “I don’t think it’s needed.”

Hanson’s remarks come as state officials report North Dakota produces nearly 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, of which about 700 bpd is shipped by rail. State officials want to continue pursuing the build-out of pipelines as another means of transportation, but think rail is still needed to transport crude oil out of state. Rail traffic has increased 233 percent from 2005 to 2012.

Previously speaking on behalf of the applicant, Jordon Evert, of Williston-based Furuseth, Kalil, Olson and Evert Law Firm, said “reputable companies” in the oil patch had shown interest in the project that could accommodate 40 percent natural gas liquids, 50 percent dry goods (frack sand, pipe and perhaps agricultural commodities) and 20 percent oil. Evert said Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway had not formally announced its support, but its representatives had confirmed its interest in the project.

“This facility would be needed,” Evert said during a commission meeting in June. “But these oil companies are afraid, or don’t want to commit to anything in writing until the project is approved.”

Commissioner Dan Kalil was absent during that June meeting when the commission voted 2-2 in deadlock.

He previously abstained from voting on the county planning and zoning commission because his son works for the Furuseth, Kalil, Olson and Evert Law Firm. The commission on Tuesday allowed him to vote on the project after deciding there was no conflict of interest because the outcome would not welcome personal gain.

“Is this the new normal? Is this the new old? Are we going to see a ramp-up in activity?” asked Kalil, who also voted against the project. “Those are the factors going into this and we don’t know these things.”

Commissioner Barry Ramberg agreed with Hanson and Kalil and their thinking the project could be brought to the board in the next several years if the need to transport crude-by-rail continued.

“Time will tell,” said Chair David Montgomery, who joined Commissioner Wayne Aberle in voting in approval of the project.