Refinery to pay $345,000 for air quality violations unrelated to recent Hearing Board case
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Air District fines Valero $345K for 2017 violations
Air District Reaches $345K Settlement With Benicia Valero Refinery Over 2017 Violations
KPIX CBS SF Bay Area, March 24, 2022BENICIA (CBS SF) – The Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced Thursday that they have reached a $345,000 settlement with Valero over violations at its Benicia refinery in 2017.
According to an agency statement, the settlement addresses 17 notices of violations at the facility. Violations include excessive visible emissions, exceeding limits on carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, along with violations on late reporting.
“The hundreds of emissions points at each refinery require regular inspections, monitoring and data review by the Air District,” said Damian Breen, the agency’s senior deputy executive officer of operations/enforcement. “Penalties resulting from that oversight ensure that facilities fix and avoid future air quality violations. This helps to protect public health.”
Agency officials said the violations leading up to the settlement have been corrected.
Thursday’s settlement is unrelated to an abatement order issued against the refinery last week over unreported emissions that the air district was not aware of for years. The air district said that penalties regarding the abatement order have yet to be determined.
WATCH: Judge Jackson tears up, Senator Booker says ‘No one’s stealing my joy!’
Senator Cory Booker is my hero…
Check out this incredible video of Senator Booker addressing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. She wasn’t the only one brought to tears.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wiped away tears as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., delivered a passionate speech on how she earned her spot to become the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court.
“You are worthy. You are a great American,” he told Jackson. In lieu of asking questions, Booker later told Jackson that “I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.”
As the Senate Judiciary Committee continued its Supreme Court confirmation hearings March 23, Booker also railed against GOP senators pulling out specific cases from Jackson’s past and said it would not steal his joy.
The senator referenced abolitionist Harriet Tubman and Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge in 1966, as role models in his life and who paved the way for Jackson’s historic path.
“Today, you’re my star. You are my harbinger of hope,” Booker told Jackson.
Wednesday was senators’ final day to question Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman on the high court. On the final day of the hearings March 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from friends and colleagues of Jackson about her temperament and approach to the law.
Solano County reporting large number of COVID hospitalizations, Benicia sees zero new cases
NOTE: The information below is not the latest. TAP HERE for today’s latest information.
By Roger Straw, Thursday, March 24, 2022
Solano County’s Monday report: 91 new COVID infections, 46 hospitalizations and 1 new death. Reports of hospitalizations up dramatically this week. Fifteen deaths reported in February, seventeen so far in March.
Solano Public Health COVID dashboard, Thursday, March 24, 2022:
DEATHS: Solano reported 1 new COVID-related death in today’s report, someone age 50-64. Fifteen new deaths were reported in February, ALL over 65 years of age. So far in March, 17 County residents were reported to have died with COVID. A total of 413 Solano residents have now died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.
TRANSMISSION RATE: With today’s report, Solano dipped for the first time since July 9, 2021 into the desired MODERATE transmission rate. Solano has seen 211 new cases in the last 7 days, just barely under the CDC’s SUBSTANTIAL rate. CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County’s population, 450 or more cases in 7 days places Solano in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate. We need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to show MODERATE community transmission. Numbers between 225 and 450 are considered SUBSTANTIAL transmission.
ACTIVE CASES: Solano reported 251 ACTIVE cases today, up from 215 at last report.
CASES BY CITY – Thursday, March 24:
- BENICIA added 0 new cases today! This was Benicia’s first report of no increase in cases since June 30, 2021. Benicia has seen a total of 3,118 cases since the outbreak began. That’s over 11% of Benicia’s total population. TRANSMISSION RATE: Benicia’s 7-day case count dipped into the MODERATE range last Monday and rose slightly to 15 on Thursday, but fell again this week to only 10 on Monday and only 5 today, firmly back into the highly desirable MODERATE rate of transmission. For a city with Benicia’s population, anything over 27 cases in 7 days is considered HIGH TRANSMISSION. 14 to 27 cases is considered SUBSTANTIAL. Below 14 is rated MODERATE. (See chart below.)
- Dixon added 3 more cases today, total of 4,333 cases.
- Fairfield added 33 new cases today, total of 22,606 cases.
- Rio Vista added 2 new cases today, total of 1,189 cases.
- Suisun City added 10 new cases today, total of 5,934 cases.
- Vacaville added 18 new cases today, a total of 21,573 cases.
- Vallejo added 25 new cases today, a total of 25,449 cases.
- Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 199 cases.
TEST RATE: Solano County’s 7-Day Percent Positive TEST RATE fell dramatically in March, and remains at only 4% today. Even at this lower rate, SOLANO DOES NOT COMPARE FAVORABLY: The CALIFORNIA 7-day % positive rate remained at only 1.7% today. [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center] and the U.S. 7-day % positive rate remained at only 2.2%. [Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker.]
HOSPITALIZATIONS:
CURRENT: The number of those currently hospitalized with COVID in Solano County rose today from 7 persons to 10. Current hospitalizations don’t tell the whole story, though, as this number reflects both admissions and discharges. Only from the increase in total hospitalizations (below) can we know how many new admissions have come into our hospitals as of this date.
TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano played “catch-up” in its Age Group and Race/Ethnicity charts for the second day in a row today, adding 46 new hospitalizations. These 46, on top of Monday’s addition of 35, (only some of which are new this week), give us a March total of 157 newly reported hospitalizations. Compare: Solano reported 284 hospitalizations in January and 184 in February. Solano’s pandemic total of hospitalizations is now 3,850. (The County’s hospitalization numbers for Race/Ethnicity is less accurate, but presented here to show relative percentages.)
ICU Bed Availability in Solano County dropped today from 49% to 40%, still in the County’s GREEN safe zone .
Ventilator Availability in Solano County rose today from 67% available to 71% available, in the County’s GREEN safe zone.
HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE? See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 in my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).
>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard. The Dashboard is full of much more information and (as of 3/14/2022) is updated Monday and Thursday between 4 and 6pm. On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information. Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.” Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.
See also my BENINDY ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet). I have also archived the hundreds of full CORONAVIRUS REPORTS posted here almost daily on the Benicia Independent since April 2020.
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