Steve Golub: There is a MAY 10 DEADLINE to weigh in, via a Bay Area Air District (BAAD) survey, on guidelines that will determine how Benicia and other communities could benefit from fines imposed on/negotiated with air quality violators in the region.

By Stephen Golub, email of May 7, 2025

Hi folks,

Forgive the shouting conveyed by the all-caps subject line, but there is a MAY 10 DEADLINE to weigh in, via a Bay Area Air District (BAAD) survey, on guidelines that will determine how Benicia and other communities could benefit from fines imposed on/negotiated with air quality violators in the region. Benicia has by far the most to gain from this, by virtue of the $82 million fine (which I’m informed translates into $56 million that can actually be used here) paid by Valero for its 15 years of illegal, undisclosed toxic emissions. 

Here’s the link to the survey:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=qu9dha69Yk6B5Tu3qgT8OiL4HcmWY-1Oobc1nrTUnk1URFoyVUdKVVVYN0JFQjNVVEtWVjBTRlNWRi4u&route=shorturl

I found the survey useful in some regards and too narrow in others. Most of all, I feel that the BAAD Community Investments Office (which controls the monies – it does not automatically hand them over to Benicia or other localities) should allow maximum flexibility for affected communities to benefit from use of the relevant funds. 

 

For Benicia, that could include the possibility of what I’d call a Bridge to the Future Fund that would allow the City to utilize all or part of the $56 million fine to compensate for the revenue reductions resulting from Valero’s closure, as long as the spending went to current or potential services or projects relevant to air quality, public health, community resilience or just transitions to more environmentally friendly policies and industries. That Fund would ease the severe budget crunch we face by supporting spending that, broadly interpreted, could fall within those categories.

 

The survey may already provide some wiggle room for such flexibility. For instance, one option includes support for firefighting services. But we can weigh in to try to maximize options.

 

Whether you agree with this perspective or not, I hope you’ll consider filling out the survey, otherwise contacting the CIO (email below) and/or favoring a very flexible approach to utilizing the funds.

A bit more background from the BAAD (what an acronym!) site: 

Community Investments Survey

This anonymous survey is designed to gather input from the Bay Area community on how funds from enforcement actions should be allocated. The Air District collects penalties from industry and businesses that violate its regulations. These funds will be managed by the newly established Community Investments Office, which will create the strategy to distribute over $124 million in local and regional funds. Your feedback will help shape the Community Investments Office’s strategy to ensure that investments address local and regional priorities and promote environmental justice. Your responses are confidential and will directly influence the use of funds. The survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

 

Here’s  a link for more extensive background:

https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/community-health/community-investments-office

And here’s the email for the Community Investments Office, if you want to weigh in beyond or instead of the survey: communityinvestments@baaqmd.gov

 

Cheers,

Steve Golub