Category Archives: Just transition

Benicia CA, CA Assemblymember Lori Wilson, California Energy Commission, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Just transition, Mario Giuliani, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Energy Corporation

Giuliani: ‘Benicia can proceed with refinery closure’

September 16, 2025 Roger Straw

The saga of Benicia’s Valero Refinery may finally have an official end date.

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Thomas Gase, September 15, 2025

Despite legislators working around the clock to reverse the decision, Benicia City Manager Mario Giuliani told the Times-Herald on Monday that, “Benicia can now proceed with the closure of the refinery in April or possibly sooner.”

Last April, Valero Energy Corporation’s subsidiary, Valero Refining Company-California, submitted notice to the California Energy Commission of its intent to idle, restructure, or cease refining operations at the Benicia Refinery by the end of next April.

“State officials have been working feverishly to explore other options since April, but it seems with no new news in the last few days, that the clear option that would make Valero stay didn’t work in their best interests,” Giuliani said. “Certainly as a city manager and longtime resident I’m disappointed that a solution wasn’t made. This is not only going to impact Benicia, but California as well. It’s frustrating, because the city was finally in a position to turn the corner.

“Now we’re going to have significant and seismic changes,” the city manager said.

Giuliani said that there is $60 million in the general fund budget and that it will now have to be reduced by $7.7 million by July. Despite the grim news, Giuliani tried to sound optimistic on Monday.

“It’s a problem we’re going to have to solve and it’s certainly difficult,” Giuliani said. “But while a difficult challenge, Benicia has been given the pen to be the author of the next chapters of the cities history.”

The news from Guiliani comes just two days after Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) announced that Senate Bill 237, authored by state Sen. Tim Grayson, passed the California State Assembly with broad bipartisan support in a 63–4 vote and passed in the Senate in a 28–0 vote. That bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

SB 237 responds to the state’s shifting energy landscape, where refinery closures, declining gasoline demand, and reliance on imports have left families, workers, and communities vulnerable.

“As the representative for Benicia, I know firsthand the impact refinery closures have on local economies, union workers, and small businesses,” said Wilson in a news release. “SB 237 is about managing change responsibly while protecting California families, workers, and communities. The closure of the Valero refinery means the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in local economic activity.”

Valero Energy Corporation has owned and operated the Benicia Refinery since 2000. The refinery was originally built for Humble Oil, later called Exxon. Construction of the facility began in 1968 and was completed in 1969.

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products, and sells its products primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Latin America.

Valero owns 15 petroleum refineries located in the United States, Canada and the UK with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day.

Valero Headquarters in San Antonio, and has more than 9,900 employees, with approximately 400 at the Benicia venue. That refinery has a throughput capacity of 170,000 barrels per day, according to the company. According to a list from the California Energy Commission, Benicia has 8.94 percent of the state’s crude oil capacity.

“We understand the impact that this may have on our employees, business partners, and community, and will continue to work with them through this period,” said Lane Riggs, Chairman, CEO and President of Valero.

Meanwhile, Wilson’s legislation aims to strengthen safety standards for offshore oil and gas pipelines, directs state agencies to evaluate consumer protections at the pump, prohibits drilling permits in health protection zones, and takes steps to stabilize gasoline prices for California families.

SB 237 also directs the California Energy Commission, in consultation with the Air Resources Board, to explore temporary suspensions of the state’s summer gasoline blend if it would protect consumers from significant price increases. In addition, the Energy Commission is tasked with studying the potential for a western regional gasoline blend to stabilize markets and submitting recommendations to the Legislature on strategies for a safe, equitable, and affordable transition away from fossil fuels.

The Valero Refinery in Benicia was one of four refineries in the SF Bay Area that did not meet air quality requirements for compliance with the Bay Area Quality Management District in 2023. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald file)

While Valero is a big part of Benicia business, is it not without its critics — particularly after the refinery became the site of a series of air pollution incidents. This includes a hydrogen vent at the refinery that had been leaking 2.7 tons of toxics into the air for 15 years. That discovery resulted in an historic $84 million fine imposed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (an oversight agency) in 2024.

Critics also point to inspectors reporting that Valero management had known about the leaks for years, but failed to report them or take steps to mitigate the leak. The fine reportedly was the largest penalty ever assessed by the district.

Valero was one of four other refineries that in 2023 didn’t meet requirements as defined by BAAQMD and Rule 12-15. That rule — passed in 2016 — requires refineries to monitor and report fugitive gasses from their operating equipment, such as valves, compressors, and storage tanks. These emissions impact the health of the surrounding communities — the toxic gases released include noxious chemicals like the cancer-causing benzene.

The Benicia City Council on April 2 voted 5-0 on a safety ordinance that aims to help protect Benicians against potential fires, explosions and toxic emissions connected to the Valero Refinery and other facilities causing health concerns in the city. Before the vote, Benicia was previously the only Bay Area refinery town to not yet have an Industrial Safety Ordinance.

However, the Benicia City Manager said that the Benicia City Council passing an Industrial Safety Ordinance 5-0 earlier in April was a separate entity and that the reasons for the possible departure had more economic and political reasons.

“There has been a sale in the works for some time with Valero, so I don’t believe the passage of the ordinance has anything to do with this,” Giuliani said in April. “San Antonio has highlighted some trust issues for some time, so to that extent this news isn’t shocking. When Valero announced a sale, we had heard rumors for some time … However, the news that they might be leaving entirely, that is shocking.”

Benicia CA, California Energy Commission, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Just transition, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Energy Corporation

Benicia’s Marilyn Bardet: ‘The state has its tail between its legs, wagging, suckered into deal-making with an oil giant.’

September 12, 2025 Roger Straw

The Benicia Independent, by Marilyn Bardet, September 12, 2025

VALERO BENICIA REFINERY TO CLOSE? – BACK ROOM PRIVATE NEGOTIATIONS

On April 15th, Valero Energy Corp stunned our city making their “surprise” well-orchestrated announcement to the California Energy Commission [CEC] saying they intended to”idle, restructure or cease operations” at their Benicia refinery by next April. Evidently, the state was caught off guard, ill prepared for a second refinery closure, just after Phillips 66’s Wilmington refinery had announced last year that they’d be closing this year, (in fact, that closure is in progress).

So, I speculate in the dark, wondering about the state’s backroom private negotiations with the largest refiner in the USA whose profits please its investors. It’s well documented that Big Oil despises California’s extensive environmental regulations that they say impede doing business in this state. Valero tried to blame a restrictive regulatory environment including the City’s adoption of our Industrial Safety Ordinance for its reasons to opt out of refining in Benicia.

JUST A BARGAINING THREAT

But wait. Think about Valero’s position in negotiations. The law requiring refineries to report to the California Energy Commission [CEC] a year in advance of any proposed major change like closure gave Valero in particular a real advantage—a year after P66’s refinery closure that by itself wouldn’t strain the state’s gasoline supply. But if they were to threaten to end production in Benicia?

Surely Valero Corp knew the stats: stopping production at Benicia would cause a significant, though not bottomless, tanking of the state’s gasoline supply, such that consumers’ demand, while trending downward, could not be met without threatening the state’s economy: skyrocketing prices at the gas pumps, long lines for gas, empty stations—just what the all-powerful oil lobby, WSPA (“Whispa”– Western States Petroleum Association) wants us to understand.

Getting into negotiating position, Valero could demand capitulations on regulatory policy, and finesse a financial windfall to stay in business in California— with long-range implications for other oil giants’ maneuverings.

NEWSOM AND THE CEC FALLING FOR IT

After all, Valero Corp knew the governor would be very worried for his own political future as well as the state’s. He would have only four months to come up with tangible results before the end of the 2025 legislative session, which ends today, Sept 12. Newsom had quickly done his own gasoline-supply gap-math homework, and asked the CEC to advise about how to stabilize the state’s “petroleum market economy”. The CEC scrambled together an insider group of stakeholders, including environmental orgs, Benicia’s city manager, and industry reps, to put together recommendations to achieve “balance between available supply and current demand”. As it evidently turned out, the recommendations made public pivoted around the concessions that could be made to Valero to entice them to stay in business in Benicia.

In my view, Valero holds all the cards, keeping its 3 options open with no official mention of “closure”. So far, there’s no final resolution to adopt a budget that would have to incorporate the extraordinary expense of the Valero/state deal—what California tax dollars in the tens of millions will be paying so that prices at the pump will be stabilized.

IT’S ALL ABOUT A ‘JUST TRANSITION’

Think how Big Oil thinks: Valero knew their plays from the get-go: they knew the state has yet to pass “just transition” legislation; AND, the state has made clear it can’t (politically) afford to have any gap in the gas supply chain. . .

Whoever does the negotiating for the state, their hands are tied: the state had yet to adopt any clear, fair plans, policy guidance and requirements for closing refineries, for example, for ensuring thorough cleanups with full costs to be borne by the industry as Responsible Party. Right now, there are no such protections in place as called for by major environmental orgs who have worked hard to get the state to listen. The state has its tail between its legs, wagging, suckered into deal-making with an oil giant.

What does “just transitioning” mean to the Governor? What it should mean—and does mean to us—is adoption of concrete regulatory policy for moving away from fossil fuel extraction and production within the state; for health and safety protections for fenceline communities; for maintaining CEQA—the California Environmental Quality Act, the only defense of citizens’ right, within their jurisdictions, to be informed and comment on large-scale development proposals; compensating cities for fiscal and physical impacts of a refinery closure; for worker retraining within the energy sector; for the ultimate goal, namely, protecting the climate from catastrophic runaway global warming.

Big Oil very easily gambles, playing their extortionist game. Very Big Bucks will be siphoned out of state coffers to pay Valero what it considers its due as the poor victim of state regs, now under threat of evisceration by backroom deal concessions.

[See ‘California in Talks to Pay Hundreds of Millions to Valero to Stave Off Refinery Shutdown‘]

This is very ugly backroom politics indeed. What will be the time limit set for Valero’s “phase out” to closure—three years? Or…. ten? Or, will the state find another operator? And what kind of deal would that call for?

CITIZENS UNHEARD IN THE HEARING

This is what some of us from Benicia needed to hear about at the Aug 20th Assembly Oversight Committee hearing on “Transportation Fuels Transition Plan”. We needed to learn details of the state’s aim to keep the Benicia refinery operating and to voice our concerns for our own city and about state’s strategies to ensure a sufficient gas supply. There were 3-1/2 hours of presentations, mainly by the CEC, with Q&A. Benicia Mayor Young spoke for 10 minutes, speaking about the City’s estimated $8-$12 million loss of revenue should the refinery close, thus indicating his primary fear. Why was there no recommendation by the CEC to incentivize “demand destruction”— transport electrification? etc etc.

It was 5:15 p.m. by the time the public got to speak; there were only a handful of Assembly members or CEC staff left in the room. Over 40 people had lined up to testify, each given 1 minute to speak. Some had come up from Kern County to oppose more drilling near their neighborhoods. The day’s performance seemed like window dressing, all for show, with most of the assembled minds having been already made up, not apparently caring much about the fallout of negotiations for fenceline communities’ future health and safety, or how the state will ever meet its lofty climate goals.

Marilyn Bardet
Good Neighbor Steering Committee
BCAMP Board Member
BISHO Working Group
Valero Community Advisory Panel

Dirk Fulton: Report on Benicia concerns before Assembly hearing in Sacramento

August 21, 2025 BenIndy

[Comment from BenIndy editor: We previously issued a call for Benicians to attend an August 20 hearing before a Joint California Assembly Committee in Sacramento to consider the legislation known as the “Petroleum Market Stabilization” bill. Several Benicia residents attended, including Dirk Fulton, who offers the following reflections. – RS]

California Assembly holds hearing on Gov. Newsom’s hot mess of a “Petroleum Market Stabilization” bill

By Dirk Fulton, August 21, 2025

My reflections on the 6 hour hearing yesterday:

The legislature is clearly following the recommendations of the California Energy Commission (CEC) at Gov. Newsom’s request. CEC Vice-Chair Gunda made a lengthy presentation and answered followup questions from legislators. Late in the hearing, an Assemblyman from Los Angeles asked if the State was considering “taking over” the refinery. Gunda responded saying that Valero is in private talks with the CEC and all options are being explored to keep Valero open. One option could of course include a joint venture structure between Valero & the State. Oil companies do this all the time.

This alternative would be a horrible result for Benicia from both a regulatory and refinery closure standpoint.

Another Assemblyman commented that if exports of California refined product to Nevada and Arizona were reduced, there would be a 10% surplus in capacity of refined product thereby eliminating the prospect of any California gas shortages following a Valero closure. There was also discussion of increasing imports which is doable, and subsidizing further EV usage thereby reducing demand for gasoline, which would allow Valero to close without causing gasoline prices to spike.

Importantly, a longtime energy consultant to Citizens for a Better Environment and now a consultant to the CEC released a study yesterday morning demonstrating that as the PBF Martinez refinery returns to production (closed since the February fire), its production will offset any loss of production from a Valero closure.

A lobbyist from the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) was allowed to present for twenty minutes and respond to questions for another twenty. He stated that he meets regularly with the CEC to advocate for Valero remaining open. He seemed to have strong influence over the CEC and legislators including Benicia’s representative Lori Wilson.

Mayor Young’s 10 minutes of testimony did not help us regarding getting Valero closed. He basically wants the refinery to remain open for at least five more years-which basically means forever. He did NOT address our high cancer or asthma rates or address ongoing health risks to residents.

My takeaways:

- Refining capacity is manageable. It can be maintained at acceptable limits following a Valero closure so gas prices don’t spike.
- A State/Valero venture would be horrible for Benicia as increased regulation would be difficult and the refinery likely would never close. This seems to be a WSPA idea and comes from the Donald Trump playbook , e.g., what Trump has our federal government doing with Intel – a joint-venture-like concept where USA is contributing capital to sustain Intel Corp and receiving equity and profits in return.
- Our best strategy to discourage the State and Valero going forward and to discourage any potential buyer is the local Polluters Pay Excise tax ballot measure. A $1 per barrel tax would substantially diminish refinery profit thereby operating as a disincentive. The Richmond example shows it works. Mayor Young told me in a hallway conversation that he supports the idea, and has received advice from City Attorney Ben Stock this week that it is legal.
- We need a local citizens committee to be formed to lobby for this proposal.

Dirk Fulton

Read more Dirk Fulton on the Benicia Independent

Dirk Fulton, Lifelong Resident & former Solano County Planning Commissioner, Vice Mayor, City Councilman & School Board President
For More Information visit: www.greatdayforbenicia.com

Benicia CA, Just transition, Valero Benicia Refinery

Dirk Fulton: A Great Day for Benicia – Making Polluters Pay

August 17, 2025 Roger Straw

Valero fire 5/5/2025 | photo by Larnie Fox

AS THE CITY & STATE WORK TO KEEP VALERO OPEN, A LOCAL REFINERY “POLLUTERS PAY” EXCISE TAX IS REQUIRED TO PROTECT US

By Dirk Fulton, August 17, 2025

URGENT: STATE ACTION & LEGISLATIVE HEARING THIS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20

We know Governor Newsom, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the legislature are seeking to keep the Valero Benicia refinery open. Our city leaders have been complicit with the State in this effort. In fact, the CEC is acting as a broker to find a replacement operator and the Governor is sponsoring legislation to cut refinery regulations as an enticement to attract a successor.

A hearing is set for 1:30 PM this Wednesday (8/20) before a Joint State Assembly Committee in Sacramento to consider the legislation, known as the ‘Petroleum Market Stabilization” bill. Benicia residents are encouraged to attend the hearing and express their opposition. A sign-up form is here. Further info and talking points will be provided once you’ve signed up. And please reach out to action@sunflower-alliance.org if you can give a ride on Wednesday or want to join some others on the train.

OUR HIGH CANCER RATES REQUIRE CITY ACTION

Benicia residents Dr. Richard Fleming and columnist Steve Golub have separately published articles documenting that Benicia’s rates of cancer are much higher than Solano County and the State of California. The rates are astonishing:

- Our breast cancer rate is 94% higher than the California rate.
- Our prostate cancer rate is 70% higher than the State’s.
- Our rate of lung cancer is 44% higher than the State rate.

Valero’s emissions routinely exceed Air Board limits and over a 16-year period ending last November, the emissions exceeded Air Board limits by 360%, often constituting 2.7 metric tons of hazardous pollution daily. Extensive medical studies have found a well-documented connection between residents living in refinery communities and higher cancer rates.

A “POLLUTERS PAY” EXCISE TAX CAN BE USED TO PROTECT US

Unless citizens’ efforts in opposition to the Governor’s bill are successful on Wednesday, it appears likely that the State will cause the Valero refinery to remain open indefinitely, perhaps through a new operator.

The Benicia City Council, accordingly, should immediately take action to place a refinery $1-per-barrel excise tax (“Polluters Pay Tax”) on the ballot. Only a simple majority vote is needed for passage. The tax would apply to all feedstock refined at Valero’s two refineries, including product refined elsewhere and placed in storage tanks at the refinery, and would generate $50-$70 million per year for a 50-year period. The tax proceeds can support pollution-fighting services like real-time extensive air monitoring, air filters for schools, advanced health and safety monitoring for neighborhoods, and environmental oversight and cleanup. Importantly, the tax can be crafted as an excise tax—targeted specifically at local refining, not a broad manufacturing or consumer tax.

In mid-2024, the Richmond City Council unanimously approved placing a refinery excise tax ballot measure on the ballot targeted at the Chevron refinery. Chevron opposed the proposal which led to a settlement on June 18,2024 as follows: Chevron agreed to pay the city of Richmond $550 million structured as $50 million annually the first five years, and $60 million for the next five years in exchange for the city removing the tax proposal from the ballot.

Our Benicia City Council has a duty to protect us from refinery pollution and should move forward expeditiously to place a similar $1-per-barrel excise tax on the ballot. Should the City Council once again fail to act, residents can circulate Initiative petitions, gather signatures and cause the tax to be placed on the ballot in June 2026. Hopefully, our city leaders will do the right thing and the Initiative process will not be necessary.

Read Dirk Fulton’s series, A Great Day for Benicia