Category Archives: Benicia CA

Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Benicia CA, Benicia City Council Member Kari Birdseye, Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO), Keeping Watch on Earth News, Valero Benicia Refinery, Vice-Mayor Terry Scott

Moving Forward to Improve Benicia’s Industrial Safety and Health – An Open Letter to Benicia

Valero’s Benicia Refinery.  | Pat Toth-Smith.

On Sept 5, Benicia’s City Council unanimously initiated the first step of a process to assess the need to graduate the current Memo of Understanding (MOU) with Valero Benicia Refinery to an ordinance.

This step, which asks staff review the MOU, underscores the importance of transition from an MOU to an ordinance that would provide additional local oversight to help ensure appropriate measures are in place to protect the health and safety of our community.

Timing of the request corresponds with early planning for the sunset of the current Valero MOU set to terminate in June 2025.

Vice Mayor Terry Scott and Council Member Kari Birdseye, the two councilmembers who introduced the issue, clearly believe the primary responsibility of our City Council and City Government is to safeguard the health, safety and well-being of our residents, businesses, and visitors.

It is also Council’s responsibility to ensure that industries, which operate within our jurisdiction, employ the best available technology to detect emissions and discharges and best practices. Community notifications of emergencies or failures to meet state and federal regulations are a priority as well.

This responsibility extends beyond traditional roles like policing, firefighting, safe water, and wastewater treatment. It encompasses ensuring the quality of the air we breathe.

The two-step request posed the question: Does the City of Benicia possess the most efficient and effective tools to regulate, monitor, and enforce air and toxic safety standards that impact our community? This includes real-time emission measurement, performance monitoring, transparency, air quality management and stronger communications.

Our defined ask in the two-step process is for staff to analyze current MOU’s performance metrics and evaluate whether additional regulation is needed. Additionally, we request that an analysis of key learnings of our current working communications, monitoring and cooperation agreement with Valero be included in this process.

It is our belief that the time has come to explore the best practices to manage air quality and emissions, amplify transparency and real-time communication, establish cutting-edge monitoring measures, prioritize public health, encourage environmental stewardship, cultivate community trust, and elevate measurement and trust standards.

Simply put, we can only manage what we monitor. We must adequately monitor our air quality near the refinery and throughout our community.

We look forward to working with city staff, community groups, businesses, and concerned citizens to create a model of local air and health regulations that better protects Benicia.

In Service,

Vice Mayor Scott and City Council Member Birdseye

There is a group of concerned citizens of Benicia who also support the adoption of a Benicia Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance (BISHO). To learn more about the effort and add your support, visit www.bisho.org.

Benicia CA, California Forever Inc., Duane Kromm, Flannery Associates, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County CA, Solano County Water Agency

Duane Kromm: “Please think long and hard about how you respond to Flannery’s pitches”

[Note from the BenIndy: Former Solano County Board Supervisor Duane Kromm has been incredibly active in the fight to rip the glossy veil off Flannery Associates aka California Forever’s slick renders and lofty claims.  He’s been featured in several articles about the project and recently introduced an incredibly informative panel at the College of Exploration featuring California Forever CEO Jan Sramek and State Senator Bill Dodd – an early and as of yet rare chance for the public to participate in this huge discussion (which we hope to cover in more detail soon). Below, please find an opinion he shared with the Northern Solano Democratic Club (NSDC) in their November 2023 newsletter. Read more about NSDC below Mr. Kromm’s op-ed.]

Duane Kromm. | Jason Henry / WSJ.

By Duane Kromm, November 2023

My guess is everybody has heard about Flannery Associates, LLC (aka California Forever) by now. This is a secretive organization funded by a handful of rich Silicon Valley tech and venture capital tycoons. They have purchased over 50,000 acres of Southeastern Solano County, which is about 10% of Solano’s land mass.

They started buying in 2018, farm by farm by farm. Nobody knew who these guys were until the New York Times blew their cover with an August 2023 story about the billionaires hiding behind their Delaware registered LLC, where ownership can be masked. The NYT’s story made it clear that these are investors looking for a high rate of return. “If the plans materialize anywhere close to what is being contemplated, this should be a spectacular investment,” per Michael Moritz billionaire venture capitalist, lead investor in Flannery.

Please look at the Solano County Orderly Growth Committee’s website for a good map of the land owned by Flannery: https://solanoorderlygrowth.org/flannery

Not only has Flannery consumed most of the Montezuma Hills and Jepson Prairies areas of Solano County, they have also sued farmers who have dared to refuse to sell to them. Having spent over $800,000,000 (yes that is 800 million dollars) buying land, they now look to recover $560,000,000 by suing multi-generational farm families.

Flannery’s stated goal is to build a new city, or cities, somewhere in the Montezuma Hills area. There are reports that these cities could eventually have a population of 400,000. Flannery has not shared any specifics about their goals. Nobody in the community has any clue about roads, water, infrastructure, schools, public safety, and the impacts on our agricultural economy.

Solano County has been a leader in California regarding development and protection of farmland and open space. Starting with an initiative in 1984, our voters have consistently supported the concept of city centered growth. The motto is “What is Urban Shall be Municipal” For more information on what our voters have supported, look at the 2008 ballot measure.

Solano County, in our seven cities, has added housing at a faster rate than the rest of the Bay Area, or the State. We have also protected our farmlands and open spaces to help our, mostly thriving, agricultural economy. I say mostly because agriculture is an always changing marketplace with foreign competition, climate change, and investment needs, all of which present relentless challenges.

Please think long and hard about how you respond to Flannery’s pitches. As Senator Bill Dodd noted; this feels like Professor Harold Hill in the Music Man trying to sell 76 trombones.

This opinion from Mr. Kromm was reposted with permission from the Northern Solano Democratic Club, a fantastic Dem club based in  Northern Solano. If you’d like to read NSDC’s full newsletter, click here. It’s chock-full of exciting news and ideas from this amazing group, which has been operating in Solano for more than 70 years! To learn more about NSDC more generally, click here to be redirected to the NSDC website.

Other articles featuring Duane Kromm on Flannery/California Forever:

Benicia CA, California Forever Inc., Elizabeth Patterson, Flannery Associates, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County CA, Solano County Water Agency

Where Solano’s Habitat Conservation Plan & Flannery’s New City Collide

  • [Note from BenIndy: Respected environmental consulting firm LSA has generated a fascinating but lengthy memorandum regarding California Forever’s proposed new city’s impact on conservation and mitigation in the Solano Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). While the whole memorandum offers a clear case for concern as well as an excellent blueprint of the various federal and state hurdles California Forever will have to overcome, those who don’t have time to dive into a 23-page document will certainly benefit from former Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson’s excellent summary of the document, available below.]
Former Benicia mayor Elizabeth Patterson.

By Elizabeth Patterson, November 8, 2023

 The Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is a federal program that allows projects that impact ecosystems (generally species-specific) to mitigate the impacts by acquiring habitat and conserving it in perpetuity. In this case the Solano County Water Agency (SCWA) is a contractor with the federal government for the operation and management of the Monticello dam and Putah South Canal (that is the canal that conveys Benicia’s water) and other components to the dam system. As part of the contract renewal twenty-odd years ago, SCWA has been required to mitigate the impacts associated with this project. The water agency has worked with Solano County and cities to identify habitat conservation areas that meet the requirements. The cities would benefit by being able to have the developer buy into the conservation areas. In other words, cities designated as the places to grow urban development would be able to have the developer pay their fair share for habitat conservation. Generally, such arrangements are hard to do one project at a time, and thus the overall plan of the HCP makes these mitigation plans more efficient and effective.

This HCP also allows contiguous conservation areas targeting specific species and ecosystems. When the large grassland areas are broken up, the result is a kind of a ‘museum’ of separate habitat areas lacking connectivity, and thus they do not represent not a sustainable habitat. After all, we can’t and don’t know all there is about habitats and how they work. The best we can do is to preserve these areas with corridors for migrating species and diversity of plants and other considerations. The viability of HCPs are based on these factors.
According to LSA’s memorandum, what the Flannery group’s proposed new city will do is impact, extirpate and lead to extinction of flora and fauna due to the land-use conversion from grasslands and riparian habitats. Because the price paid for the land is 200% greater than what the market had been, the Solano County Water Agency can’t easily buy land for habitat conservation plan, which is part of their responsibility as a federal water project operator. The HCP is also needed for projects already entitled or within the planning future for the cities. They were relying on the HCP to mitigate their projects.
The maps in the document clearly demonstrate the massive impact of a new city (or any creeping into habitat by existing cities). The SCWA and future urban developers in existing cities will be stuck with a very high and costly mitigation for meeting the HCP.
And the grasslands habitat will be wrecked.
Benicia CA, California Forever Inc., Flannery Associates, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County CA, Solano County Water Agency

Another opportunity to say NO to Flannery/California Forever this Nov. 9, 6:30pm

Here is another opportunity to use the channels of public participation to learn more about and register your concerns regarding Flannery aka California Forever’s bid to build a new city in eastern Solano.

On Thursday, November 9, at 6:30 pm, the Solano County Water Agency (SCWA) Board of Directors will meet to consider continuing water supply discussions with California Forever. The topic is slated for agenda item #12.

SCWA staff have apparently recommended continuing discussions to learn more about the proposed new city. Solano activists, meanwhile, are calling for Solano residents to join the meeting and urge the Board to not support the staff recommendation – and say “NO!” to Flannery.

Unlike the Nov. 16 public hearing, it looks like Solano residents will be able to Zoom in to listen and share any concerns. Follow the instructions below at the date and time indicated to participate.

SOLANO COUNTY WATER AGENCY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

DATE: TIME: PLACE:

Thursday, November 9, 2023 6:30 P.M.

Berryessa Room
Solano County Water Agency Office
810 Vaca Valley Parkway, Suite 203
Vacaville, CA 95688

Zoom Information: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83363088045?pwd=akxrSVU0OG1HaUh0NEVRNT FoMVNqUT09

Meeting ID: 833 6308 8045 | Passcode: 810810
One tap mobile: +16699006833,,83363088045#,,,,*810810#

Phone Number: +1 669 900 6833