Category Archives: Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia CA, Health and safety impacts, Just transition, Tank farms, Valero Benicia Refinery

Dr. Richard Fleming: Public Health Risks of Tank Farms

The health problems caused by refineries are well-established. What about tank farms?

Valero Benicia 2023-09-21 M_do_Nascimento KQED
Richard Fleming, M.D., Benicia, CA

For the Benicia Independent, by Richard Fleming, M.D., Benicia resident and author, April 7, 2026

With the Valero refinery shutting down, a number of options are being considered for what to do with the property. One possibility is turning the location into a “tank farm,” a place which stores petroleum products in massive tanks. The health problems caused by refineries are well-established. But what are the health risks of tank farms? Are there reasons we should be worried about a tank farm being set up in our city? And should our city government be concerned about the possible public health impact of a tank farm replacing the refinery?

Good studies have been done looking at the potential health risks of tank farms. While they tend to be a bit less harmful to surrounding communities than refineries, they do present potential health problems we should all be aware of.

The two major areas of concern with tank farms are the risks they can send toxic chemicals into the air and the potential they can leak toxic materials into the land they sit on and into nearby groundwater systems. Let’s look briefly at each problem.

Emissions. Oil storage tanks produce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and others. Many of these chemicals are carcinogenic. As is true of refineries, when these emissions enter the air, they have an adverse impact on surrounding communities.

How do dangerous emissions happen at tank farms, given that they are just large tanks storing petroleum products? One of the main ways happens when additional oil or gasoline is being pumped into a partially filled storage tank. This inevitably leads to the densely-concentrated vapors inside the tank being pushed out into the air. These emissions are full of toxic VOCs. VOCs can also be emitted during pumping itself, as well as through leaking seals, vents, and fittings in the tanks themselves. It is impossible to guarantee that tanks will never have any possible breaches leading to toxic emissions.

Chemical leakage. Various factors can lead to the petroleum-based liquids stored in tanks leaking into surrounding soil and water. Corrosion of tank walls can create leaks, and these can be hard to detect until significant outflow has already occurred. Operational errors during filling or draining procedures can lead to leaks. Defective welds can leak.

Natural disasters like flooding and earthquakes can lead to massive leaks. The Valero property is at significant risk of flooding during massive storms, and these seem to be happening more frequently every decade. Sea level rise itself also puts the Valero property at risk of flooding, especially since some of the land is at or  below sea level. And we all know that our state is at risk for major earthquakes.

The risk from leakage into groundwater is especially concerning because, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, one gallon of gasoline can contaminate one million gallons of water.

*    *    *

So what is the take-home message? Establishing a tank farm on the Valero property would likely be somewhat less risky for public health than an operating refinery, but tank farms still pose major potential problems for Benicians and nearby communities. Since there are many other uses which could be developed on the Valero property after it is cleaned up, why not move towards safer development?

More…

Article from the Journal on Environmental Health Science & Engineering on emissions from tank farms:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6985329/#:~:text=Introduction,and%20emptying%20from%20the%20tank.

Article from Inside Climate News on health risks from living near tank farms:
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18042021/toxic-neighbords-tank-fumes-epa-harmful-chemicals/

EPA on water contamination from gasoline:
https://archive.epa.gov/region02/capp/web/pdf/fs_swpp_ast.pdf

Dr. Richard Fleming, Benicia

Benicia City Council, City of Benicia, Valero Benicia Refinery

NBC: Two Dozen Valero Benicia refinery workers went to the emergency room with burns

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: THE BENICIA BRIDGE
The following excellent reporting comes from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. Their online publication is The Benicia Bridge. Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here.  – Roger Straw
A plume of smoke and soot was released from a flare stack at the Valero Benicia Refinery on March 26, as seen here in a photo taken in the Hillcrest neighborhood by Benicia resident and small business owner, Jamie Jang.

March 26 refinery injuries being investigated…

By Monica Vaughan, Excerpt from the Benicia Bridge Newsletter, April  10, 2026

NBC reported that two dozen workers went to the emergency room with burns when black liquid rained down on them for about five minutes from the flare stack incident on March 26. Cal-OSHA is investigating. A quick review of OSHA records show this is the second investigation into worker safety opened at the facility this year. Last year, Valero racked up at least 11 violations amounting to $80,000 in penalties for worker safety violations at the Benicia refinery. Valero is contesting the findings.

Read more about the April 7 City Council meeting, here: 

Story by Monica Vaughan of The Benicia Bridge.
Subscribe to the Bridge newsletter here.
Reach out to the Benicia Bridge via their About page.

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Bay Area Air District, Benicia CA, Just transition, Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia’s Terry Scott: Local Community Benefits Fund Round 1 Guideline Changes Explained

IMPORTANT UPDATE on January 28, from Benicia Mayor Steve Young: “This morning the Board of the Bay Area Air District unanimously approved the revised guidelines for use of the penalty funds. This is a huge win for the community and will allow the City and nonprofit organizations to apply for up to $60 million for eligible projects.”
Read Terry Scott below for details…

Benicia Exempted from Traditional Application Process in Major Win for City

By Terry Scott, Benicia City Councilmember, January 23, 2026

Benicia City Councilmember Terry Scott.

On January 14, The Bay Area Air District released revised guidelines for penalty fund grants after months of public hearings, discussions and significant personal lobbying efforts by Mayor Steve Young.

We’re very pleased to report the Air District  has made significant modifications to its Local Community Benefits Fund Round 1 guidelines, creating special exemptions for Benicia in recognition of the extraordinary economic challenges facing the city following Valero’s refinery closure.

In these recently released Call for Project Guidelines, the Air District clearly states that “Valero Refining Company announced that it would close the Benicia refinery in 2026.” According to the Air District, “while the refinery closure will bring improvements in air quality, the sudden nature of the refinery closure will also create immediate adverse economic impacts, including job losses for refinery workers and loss of direct and indirect tax revenue for local government entities.”

“Due to the ongoing strain on Benicia’s community, civic, and organizational capacity resulting from the impending refinery closure, the Air District is making unprecedented exceptions for Catalyst Grant (up to $40 million) applications for Benicia.”

As a quick recap, The Local Community Benefits Fund Program Goals are to:
  • Reduce air pollution or mitigate its impacts, improve public health outcomes, and build economic resilience for a just transition away from the harmful effects of afossil-fuel-based economy.
  • Advance integrated projects to holistically meet community needs.
  • Strengthen community-led and collaborative solutions.

This Call for Projects requests project proposals from eligible applicants in Benicia and surrounding communities.

There are in total three Grant Levels including Catalyst, Opportunity and Seed. As noted the City will be applying for the largest funding which is the Catalyst Grant; process and programs proposed for the Catalyst Grant will be vetted most likely by the community Sustainability commission and the ISO oversight commission.

There will be ample opportunity for local non-profits to apply for Opportunity Grants of between $500,000 and $5 million, or Seed Grants of between $100,000-$200,000. These two grants have easier application requirements and ca be made directly to the District.  Applications currently have a May 1 deadline, but Mayor Steve Young has requested that the deadline be extended to June 1.  ( links at bottom)

The Grants in further detail:

Seed Grant Size is $100-200,000.  Grant term up to 2 years and is open to 501c3 Non-profit, no Co-applicants.

Opportunity Grant size is $500,000-$5 million and the grant term is up to 3 years.  Lead applicants must partner with at least 1 Co-Applicant(s)

Catalyst Grant size is $10-$40 million.  Grant term is up to 5 years.  Exemption: no co-applicant required. This will be the City application .

In short, the Air District has exempted Benicia from the traditional Catalyst Grant application process and approval timelines—a major win for the city.

According to Appendix C of the revised Round 1 guidelines, the Air District has made the following key changes specifically for Benicia:
“Partnerships: The partnership requirements outlined in Section 4.1 of the grant guidelines have been waived. Co-applicants will not be required as an element for the Catalyst Grant in Benicia, though applications demonstrating diverse community support will be prioritized.

These guideline changes represent a significant acknowledgment by the Air District of the unique and severe economic impact the Valero refinery closure has had on Benicia. By modifying their rules dramatically in favor of the city, the Air District has created a streamlined pathway for Benicia to access critical funding resources during this unprecedented transition period.

The modifications demonstrate the District’s understanding that Benicia’s situation requires an exceptional response, removing bureaucratic barriers that could delay the city’s access to funds needed to address immediate economic challenges and begin building a sustainable post-refinery future.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Clearly these are not unrestricted funds and they cannot be spent on salary increases..  However, we believe these rule changes provide the City with a significantly more latitude in building a comprehensive grant request that covers some traditional and non-traditional General Fund  expenditures to help fill the loss of Valero Tax revenues.

Given this new understanding  of Benicia ‘s situation , Mayor Young and I do not feel we need to ask the community to bus over to Oakland on 1/28 to deliver public comment.

Links: Please copy and paste link or visit the Baaqmd website. 

Updated overarching guidelines: https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/community-health/cio/documents/lcbf-r1-guidelines-pdf.pdf?rev=b30a07a3fa744577b5eaead937b8b3f4&sc_lang=en

Updated Call for Projects – Benicia: https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/community-health/cio/documents/lcbf-r1–call-for-projects-benicia-and-surrounding-communities-pdf.pdf?rev=71b421ce010c4888975991286c2283a3&sc_lang=en

Terry Scott
Benicia City Councilmember

More on BenIndy…

Previous reports on Valero fines

Bay Area Air District, Benicia, Just transition, Public Comment, Stephen Golub, Valero Benicia Refinery

Stephen Golub: Wed. Nov 25 deadline to comment on $millions for Benicia

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub

November 25 is the deadline to submit to the Bay Area Air District comments on its Draft Guidelines that will govern use of $60 million in Valero fines for the benefit of Benicia and surrounding communities.  (Valero was penalized because of its refinery’s over 15 years of undisclosed, massive toxic emissions.)

More specifically, now’s the time to back Mayor Steve Young’s proposal to the Air District: $25 million over five years from that $60 million should go for budget support to help Benicia through the imminent loss of Valero revenues (at about $10 million per year, so totaling $50 million over five years), now that it’s closing the refinery.

Or, if you prefer, you may simply argue for a flexible approach, suggest that more than $25 million is necessary or of course otherwise comment in any way you wish on the Draft Guidelines by the November 25 deadline.

You may submit comments to the Air District by emailing the following: communityinvestments@baaqmd.gov, mhiratzka@baaqmd.gov and vjohnson@baaqmd.gov. Please request that the comments be forwarded to the Air District Board of Directors (and retain your emails because they could come in handy down the line).

If unclear on what you’d put in the subject line, you could write something like:

Comments on the Draft Guidelines for the Local Community Benefits Fund: in favor of a flexible approach.

For additional background and information, including the link to the Draft Guidelines themselves, you may go to the Benicia Independent, at https://beniciaindependent.com/, and scroll down at left to Steve Golub’s detailed November 11 post. Particularly in a subheading titled “Arguments for a flexible approach,” he makes a case for flexibility in this Air District grantmaking.

If you wish, you could cc or bcc Mayor Young , Vice Mayor Scott, City Manager Giuliani (syoung@ci.benicia.ca.us, Terry Scott tscott@ci.benicia.ca.us, Mario Giuliani MGiuliani@ci.benicia.ca.us) and/or other City Council members.[sta_anchor id=”below” /]

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

CHECK OUT STEPHEN GOLUB’S BLOG, A PROMISED LAND

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent

 

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