Category Archives: Just transition

Benicia CA, Just transition, Refinery fire, Valero Benicia Refinery

Marilyn Bardet: Will Valero decide to fix the furnace – or permanently idle the facility now?

Email letter, by Marilyn Bardet, May 9, 2025

Marilyn Bardet, Benicia

Today, May 9, I read in the Mercury News the article headlined, “Is Gavin Newsom changing his tune with the oil industry?”  It happens that yesterday I’d been discussing this possibility with Matthew Green (at KQED News). In his April 26th article, Matthew had conjured that Valero could be throwing a Hail Mary for regulatory relief, for at least indeterminate years’ survival of its Benicia refinery.

I’d followed up with his football  analogy imagining who Valero’s wide receiver would be. Based on what I’d been hearing about possible legislative changes to authority governing refineries and other heavy industrial polluters, it wasn’t difficult to think Valero and its lobbyists with the Western States Petroleum Associates would be targeting the Governor, whose political career hangs on the state’s economy.

Newsom would be defended by CARB (Cal-EPA’s California Air Resources Board). In such scenarios in play, Valero’s long shot could end up “incomplete” or be intercepted; or somebody at scrimmage gets “off sides” yardage penalty. Whatever’s the case, right now the state’s plays aren’t over and neither are Valero’s. The only certainty, the game being played is a nail-biter for Benicians. But wait a minute.

The fire that happened Monday ignited at a furnace, as stated in the Air District’s Notice of Violations released this week. That particular furnace happens to heat the oil feed  to 1000 degrees F, before it enters the distillation tower, the “FCCU”— the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit or “cat cracker” which is the primary processing unit distilling gasoline, kerosene (jet fuel), diesel and other products, which then go on to be further refined throughout the facility. Without the furnace and FCCU there is no oil refining. Was the FCCU tower damaged in the fire?

It was uncanny that the fire was occurring just as our mayor was being interviewed on KQED’s Forum, when he was discussing the vexing financial problem for the City of Valero’s announcement. Certainly, in that very moment, the fire was adding complexity to Valero’s decision-making which they’d left hanging, purportedly til next year, April 2026. But, given that “idling” is one of three proposed options announced to the CA Energy Comm (CEC), I assume that the refinery is at least temporarily forced into idling as a result of the fire.

Will Valero decide to make significant capital investment now to fix the furnace and, if damaged, the FCCU, in order to keep operating for another year? I sure don’t think the City should have to wait weeks and weeks for a “root cause analysis” investigation to be completed to hear Valero’s decision. If their decision is to restore operations and do a temporary fix, OR permanently idle the facility now, this decision has immediate ramifications for the City and community, and certainly for Valero employees, operators, contract workers.

Putting optimum idealizations aside, under current circumstances, we here in Benicia are hardly experiencing the beginnings a “just transition”  We’re going to endure an ABRUPT transition.

In the meantime, we have to stay vigilant and resolutely care about safety and health risks posed by a very vulnerable facility in its apparent final phases of operational existence.

We must look ahead: closure and cleanup, and the huge prices they exact, are near-term issues now that finally demand public attention.

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

Benicia CA, Just transition, Valero Benicia Refinery

Dirk Fulton: A Great Day for Benicia, Part Two

VALERO FIRE: A CALL TO ACTION FOR PERMANENT CLOSURE OF THE REFINERY

By Dirk Fulton, May 8, 2025
[and appearing in the Benicia Herald on May 11, 2025]

Dirk Fulton, Benicia

Last Monday’s Valero Refinery fire and shelter-in-place order provided Benicia residents-including Robert Semple Elementary School students and teachers- with a real time reminder that the refinery should be shut down for good while the opportunity exists.

The fire allowed us to visualize the risks we face. Beyond this, there are known risks we cannot visualize: For at least 16 years, the Valero refinery secretly polluted us with cancer-causing toxins such as benzene, toluene, and xylene—all known to cause cancer, reproductive harm and other negative health effects. After discovery, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) imposed a record-setting $82 million dollar fine against the refinery. The settlement highlighted Benicia as an “air dump” for the State of California, further tarnishing the city’s image.

The fire and secret toxic emissions are stark reminders that it would be a grievous mistake to replace Valero with another operator. When Shell Oil Martinez recently ceased operations, the refinery was taken over by another company. Since then, shelter-in-place orders have become a regular occurrence. We can avoid such a result by pursuing a modern vision for Benicia without a refinery. By doing so, we can enjoy toxic-free air, nurture healthy children and realize higher home values as the “refinery town” stigma is eliminated.

We cannot surrender to published scare tactics that closure will cause a “financial doomsday”. This is wrong. We are no longer a small 1960s town of 5,000 dependent on the Benicia Arsenal for jobs, nor are we Vallejo of the 1990s dependent on the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for economic survival. The present Benicia economy is diversified and does not rely solely on a single military installation or oil company for its prosperity. We are a commuter-oriented residential community where our 13,100 working residents commute from Benicia or work from home. Less than one percent (1%) of our city’s residents work at the refinery and fewer than 100 of Valero workers live in town. Accordingly, the predicted job loss following closure, although unfortunate, is not material to our local economy.

Proponents of the refinery, including some city officials, falsely state that the city will immediately lose $12 million in revenue if the refinery closes. This is wrong. Taxes and fees do NOT immediately vanish when a business closes, or a home becomes vacant. Real properties maintain inherent value. Valero’s property taxes should largely stay the same, as its 900 acres, infrastructure and improvements continue to hold value. Additionally, Valero has already benefited from significant Prop. 8 property tax reductions after extensive litigation with the County Assessor.  Further, any projected property tax loss should be offset by higher property taxes as post-closure, higher value homes turn over and new homes are built.

Additionally, without a refinery, there are many revenue streams available to Benicia:

    1. New Development Fees. On the 900-acre refinery site, new housing construction along the East 2d Street corridor and clean energy projects sited in the refinery footprint will result in millions of dollars in new development fees.
    2. Water Revenue. Valero pays the city a nominal rate of $2 million for 50% of the city’s total water supply compared to the almost $7 million that residents pay for the remaining 50% of our water supply. Accordingly, this newly available water resource once treated has a multimillion-dollar value when offered on the free market to other municipalities.
    3. UTT. The Utility User Tax (UUT) generates ongoing revenue. Since 1989, Benicia residents have paid UUT at a rate of 4%. Valero has never paid its fair share of UTT as its predecessor Exxon sued the city to receive a special rate of approximately 1%. Valero remains under a reduced rate UUT agreement negotiated in 2018. Upon closure, the refiner should be forced to buy-out of its 2018 agreement or pay fees to rectify its 35 years of underpayment, which could result in millions of dollars to the city.
    4. Increased Sales & TOT (Hotel) Taxes. Following refinery closure, Benicia will be more attractive to tourists, thereby increasing visits and business at shops, restaurants and hotels allowing the city to capture increased sales and TOT (hotel) tax.
    5. Port Tax. Port tax is a potential source of revenue for port communities. The Port of Benicia handles approximately 260,000 imported vehicles annually accounting for about 20% of California’s seaborne vehicle imports. A $50 port use fee imposed on each vehicle entering the port could raise $13,000,000.00 annually for the city. Such fee could be passed on to consumers as an inclusion in the “vehicle prep” fees common on all new car invoices.
    6. BAAQMD Funds. The BAAQMD’s Settlement Agreement with Valero provides $56 million to the city as pollution mitigation fees. The funds may be viewed as a safety net to bolster the city during the transition away from the refinery. The funds can be used to support various city projects, including refinery closure costs, oversight of environmental cleanup, assistance to schools, development of parks and open space, and the like.

In sum, to ensure clean air, healthy kids, and safe homes with rapidly appreciating values, we should heed the call to action presented by the Valero fire, envision a new modern-era Benicia without a refinery and resist scare tactics that promote its continued operation. As set forth above, the city can financially endure the transition in a just way.

Change admittedly can be challenging for all of us: I do miss Mabels, the art glass studios, Tia Theresa, the Brewery and Sam’s Harbor restaurant, but I will not miss refinery fires, secret toxic air emissions or shelter-in-place orders.

Dirk Fulton, Lifelong Benicia resident
Former Solano County Planning Commissioner, Benicia Vice-
…..Mayor, City Councilman & School Board President
Visit: www.Greatdayforbenicia.com

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

Benicia CA, BISHO, Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO), Just transition, KQED, Refinery fire, Valero Benicia Refinery

KQED’s extensive recent coverage of Valero’s Benicia refinery

Benicia’s Industrial Safety Ordinance April 1; Valero announces impending closure April 16;  Huge refinery fire on May 5

Valero Benicia 2023-09-21, Martin do Nascimento/KQED

Valero Refinery Fire in Benicia Is Under Control After Warnings to Stay Indoors
May 5 – The fire comes just weeks after Valero executives announced they were considering closing the sprawling refinery by next April. (Including quotes by Larnie Fox and Pat Toth-Smith of Benicia.)

Benicia Contends With Valero Refinery Closure
We talk about the possible closure of the Benicia Valero refinery and what it means for our region. (Guests include Benicia Mayor Steve Young)

Potential Valero Refinery Closure Leaves Benicia, State Officials Scrambling for Alternatives
The potential closure of the massive Benicia oil refinery by next April would have a major impact on the city’s economy and the state’s oil supply. (Including comments of Benicia Mayor Steve Young and Benicia attorney-activist Terry Mollica.) 

‘Shocking News’: Valero Announces Plans to End Operations at Benicia Refinery
Apr 21 – Last week, the oil giant Valero announced that it will “idle, restructure, or cease operations” at its Benicia refinery that employs more than 400 workers. (Including comments of Benicia City Councilmember Kari Birdseye.)

Oil Giant Valero Looks to Shutter Troubled Bay Area Refinery. It’s ‘a Big Surprise’
Months after Valero was hit with a record $82 million fine by air regulators, the company said it would ‘idle, restructure, or cease operations’ in Benicia by the end of April 2026. (Quotes by Benicia Mayor Steve Young and Benicia City Councilmember Kari Birdseye.)

Benicia Moves Toward Tougher Oversight of Valero Refinery
Benicia City Council gives preliminary approval to an ordinance that could create a citizen’s oversight panel and allow the city to issue fines for safety and air-quality violations. (Quotes by Benicia attorney-activist Terry Mollica, Benicia City Councilmember Kari Birdseye and several other Benicians.)

See also on KQED:
Benicia CA, Just transition, Refinery workers, Valero Benicia Refinery

Our hearts go out to Valero employees…

How they found out about the closure

By Benicia Independent, April 27, 2025

The stacks from the Valero Benicia Refinery are seen as a pedestrian walks in a nearby neighborhood, in Benicia, Calif. (Capitol Public Radio) | Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo

Almost everyone in Benicia has a friend, neighbor or a loved one who works at the Valero Refinery.

For the most part, Valero workers are regular folks, people with jobs of all kinds, people whose jobs have felt secure, now suddenly undercut. Our friends and neighbors have stories to tell about the closure. There are some who were planning to retire with extended benefits soon. Others who won’t have that option. Many are wondering where they will land after the refinery closes.

A friend of mine talked to a neighbor who is a good friend and a longtime refinery employee. He said they were notified by email the morning the news came out, Wednesday, April 16th, but he didn’t check his email, and was shocked to find out in a morning meeting at the start of his shift.

At the morning meeting, they were told the pending changes had a number of causes:

    • stricter state of California regulations
    • reduction in profits due to pending tariffs on oil from Canada that they use for refining
    • the barrel price of their refined product has fallen, which affects profitability
    • and the overall reduction of potential profits due to the increasing trend of fuel efficient and electric car sales.

…all signs of the times.

He wondered about the possibility of Valero restructuring, but doubted it was possible. Anyway, that wasn’t discussed at their meeting.

He said Valero almost had a buyer, but the buyer backed out because of what was seen as a lack of profitability – the same factors causing Valero to decide to close the operation.

He said that recent changes in Valero leadership felt like a signal that something big was about to happen. And speaking of signals – he’s heard that a Valero boss bought a hybrid car. But he’s worked at the refinery for more than two decades, and so this announcement came as a big surprise.

Although he will survive with a generous retirement package, he’s really concerned about younger workers. No one he knows was given any “heads up” about this decision. It came down like a thunder bolt on Wednesday, April 16th, the same day that the public learned about it.

Our hearts go out to the workers. One can hope that Valero and the City of Benicia will cooperate in planning a “just transition” – with care and compassion for employees and a deep stewardship for the land in Benicia’s Industrial Park.

MORE ABOUT VALERO CLOSURE… (here on the BenIndy)