Tag Archives: The Benicia Bridge

Air District will require Valero to expand fenceline monitoring program after “significant incidents” that polluted surrounded community, including a gasoil release in Dec. 2021

The Valero refinery, seen in this archival photo, has been idled but new fenceline monitors are slated to be installed in surrounding areas. (Adobe)

The Benicia Bridge, By Monica Vaughan, April 28, 2026

Valero Refining Company has agreed to pay an additional $3,250,000 penalty for air quality violations related to its now-idled Benicia refinery in a new settlement with the Bay Area Air District announced Tuesday.

The settlement resolves 118 notices issued by the air pollution regulator for violations that occurred between 2019 and 2023, according to Kristine Roselius, a spokesperson for the Air District. In addition to the penalty, Valero will be required to expand its fenceline air quality monitoring program, and provide public access to and reporting of the monitoring data.

The pollution emitted during that period includes particulate matter, butane and sulfur-related pollutants, Roselius told The Benicia Bridge. […continued on The Benicia Bridge (including Q&A with spokesperson for the the Air District)…]

Reposted with permission, The Benicia Bridge
Excellent reporting from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. – Roger Straw
Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here.

Back to top.

Benicia City Council, Benicia parks, City of Benicia

Swings will soon return to downtown’s Playground of Dreams

April 26, 2026 Roger Straw

Swings will be installed at the Playground of Dreams on First Street in Benicia within the next six weeks. The historic wooden play structure at the downtown park requires major restoration work that won’t likely begin until 2030.

The Benicia Bridge, By Laura López González, April 26, 2026

Benicia’s Playground of Dreams was built in 1992. Famed playground architect Robert S. Leathers used local schoolchildren’s drawings as inspiration, which gave rise to the structure’s iconic dragon slide. Credit: Benicia Friends of the Playground

Swings are expected to return to downtown’s Playground of Dreams in the next six weeks. The new, donated equipment will be the first swings at the City Park in five years, said Dan Smith of the local nonprofit Benicia Friends of the Playground. Smith was speaking at Tuesday’s City Hall meeting.
… [Continued on The Benicia Bridge…]

Reposted from The Benicia Bridge
Excellent reporting from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. – Roger Straw
Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here.

Back to top.

Benicia City Council, Cal/OSHA, City of Benicia, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero's Community Advisory Panel (CAP)

Valero Benicia Refinery delayed reporting the March flare tower incident that caused shelter-in-place

April 18, 2026 Roger Straw

March 26 refinery “material release” remains under investigation…

A black plume erupted from a flare tower at the Valero Benicia Refinery March 26, prompting a voluntary shelter-in-place order from the city. Photo taken in the Hillcrest neighborhood by Benicia resident and small business owner, Jamie Jang.

The Benicia Bridge, By Laura López González & Monica Vaughan, April 18, 2026

Valero delayed reporting the March 26 flare-tower “material release,” which remains under investigation by several agencies. The plant may not have reported the flaring to state authorities at all, had it not been for Solano County officials’ urging.

A distinctive black plume from one of Valero’s three flare stacks made local headlines in March. Unsure of what was being spilled into the air, Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick issued a voluntary shelter-in-place warning for the city, as previously reported by The Benicia Bridge. NBC News reported that about two dozen Valero workers were sent to the hospital with chemical burns caused by cleaning chemicals involved in the incident. Company officials denied that happened.

Earlier this week … [Continued on The Benicia Bridge…]

Back to top.

Benicia Fire Department, City of Benicia, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero's Community Advisory Panel (CAP)

Valero laid off its Benicia firefighter crew, hopes for outside aid in case of tank fire

April 18, 2026 Roger Straw

Final Community Advisory Panel meeting: Who will respond if there is trouble?

The stacks at Benicia’s Valero refinery have gone cold but layoffs during company’s transition away from refining have also cost the plant its dedicated fire brigade.

The Benicia Bridge, by Laura López González, April 17, 2026

Valero laid off its refinery firefighters in Benicia. Now, company executives have said they hope to rely on the Benicia Fire Department, contractors, and neighboring refineries to provide the manpower needed to tackle a future fire.

Valero completed its latest round of layoffs this week, leaving about 70 employees, General Manager Lauren Bird said Tuesday at the refinery’s final community advisory panel meeting. About 20 employees will be left alongside contractors as the plant continues to import, store and distribute gas and diesel in the near future. The company will no longer import jet fuel through Benicia, citing easier routes to support airports, Valero Section Business Law Chief David Giles said at the meeting. Valero will use a fraction of its tanks for storage.

Among the layoffs were Valero’s own firefighters, leaving serious questions … [Continued on The Benicia Bridge…]

Back to top.