“So many people worked so hard and for so many years to achieve this.”

Benicia Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance (BISHO), 5/25/25

Benicia, CA—A coalition of Benicia citizen activists and government leaders has been awarded the 2025 San Francisco Baykeeper’s Blue Rivet Award for its work in passing the Benicia Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISHO). The group was presented the award at the annual SF Baykeeper Celebration of Community of Support on Saturday, May 17 at San Francisco’s Dolphin Club.

SF Baykeeper Executive Director Sejal Choksi-Chugh presented the award to Benicia Council member Kari Birdseye and BISHO member Terry Mollica with more than a dozen other Benicia ISO advocates attending.

Birdseye and fellow Benicia Council member Terry Scott were the sponsors and advocates for passage of the Benicia ISHO. After the Council voted in December 2023 to have City staff study the issue of formulating a specific Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance for Benicia, Birdseye, Scott and Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick spent months talking with citizens, stakeholders, businesses, and others to determine the best piece of legislation to monitor and protect Benicia’s air quality. Last month, the Council voted unanimously to pass the draft ISO.

Benicia Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance (BISHO) group is a citizens advocacy group which was founded in early 2023 to work toward passage of a strong ISO. More than 265 supporters became part of the group calling for more accountability from Valero and other industrial companies in the City.

For several years, Benicia has had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) specifically with Valero but it was long believed and advocated that a stronger, more accountable and enforceable ordinance was necessary, particularly in light of ongoing violations. Benicia was the only refinery city in the Bay Area without such an ordinance. Passage of an ISO came close in 2018 but ultimately was not passed by the then-City Council who opted for the MOU. BISHO was formed as an outgrowth of the 2018 effort.

SF Baykeeper was founded in 1989 with the mission to defend the San Francisco Bay and its watershed by holding polluters and government agencies accountable to create healthier communities and help wildlife thrive. The organization uses a unique combination of investigation, advocacy, and litigation to defend the Bay’s waters and the Bay Area’s communities including science field teams that use boats and drones to patrol the waters checking on reports of polluters and legal teams that challenge polluters in court.

The annual Blue Rivet Award honors individuals and groups who have made a significant difference for San Francisco Bay. The Blue Rivet Award includes a plaque with an actual Golden Gate Bridge rivet representing individual efforts by the many community members and businesses that join together to create a thriving, healthy San Francisco Bay.

“The Benicia Industrial and Safety Ordinance is a pivotal legislative public health safeguard that was created through a process of transparency and substantial community outreach,” said Benicia Council Member Terry Scott, who co-sponsored the Ordinance. “And Saturday, we celebrated how a community focused on working toward solving a common problem can come together and achieve greatness.”

“We are honored to be recognized by SF Baykeeper for the success in passing the ISO,” Mollica said. “So many people worked so hard and for so many years to achieve this. All of Benicia should be proud of this significant move toward making our community safer, cleaner and an even better place to live, work and raise families.”