November 25 is the deadline to submit to the Bay Area Air District comments on its Draft Guidelines that will govern use of $60 million in Valero fines for the benefit of Benicia and surrounding communities.  (Valero was penalized because of its refinery’s over 15 years of undisclosed, massive toxic emissions.)

More specifically, now’s the time to back Mayor Steve Young’s proposal to the Air District: $25 million over five years from that $60 million should go for budget support to help Benicia through the imminent loss of Valero revenues (at about $10 million per year, so totaling $50 million over five years), now that it’s closing the refinery.

Or, if you prefer, you may simply argue for a flexible approach, suggest that more than $25 million is necessary or of course otherwise comment in any way you wish on the Draft Guidelines by the November 25 deadline.

You may submit comments to the Air District by emailing the following: communityinvestments@baaqmd.gov, mhiratzka@baaqmd.gov and vjohnson@baaqmd.gov. Please request that the comments be forwarded to the Air District Board of Directors (and retain your emails because they could come in handy down the line).

If unclear on what you’d put in the subject line, you could write something like:

Comments on the Draft Guidelines for the Local Community Benefits Fund: in favor of a flexible approach.

For additional background and information, including the link to the Draft Guidelines themselves, you may go to the Benicia Independent, at https://beniciaindependent.com/, and scroll down at left to Steve Golub’s detailed November 11 post. Particularly in a subheading titled “Arguments for a flexible approach,” he makes a case for flexibility in this Air District grantmaking.

If you wish, you could cc or bcc Mayor Young , Vice Mayor Scott, City Manager Giuliani (syoung@ci.benicia.ca.us, Terry Scott tscott@ci.benicia.ca.us, Mario Giuliani MGiuliani@ci.benicia.ca.us) and/or other City Council members.

CHECK OUT STEPHEN GOLUB’S BLOG, A PROMISED LAND

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent

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