Category Archives: Valero Benicia Refinery

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Crude Oil, Derailment, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Oil trains, Tar sands crude, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail, Washington State

Benicia cares – Oil Train derails and catches fire in Custer, Washington

[Editor: Thanks goodness we stopped our own Valero Benicia Refinery from all this in 2016!  See also coverage of this Washington story in the San Francisco Chronicle.  – R.S.]

Evacuations ordered as train carrying crude oil derails, burns near Custer

Bellingham Herald, by Denver Pratt, December 22, 2020

A train derailed and caught fire in the Custer area Tuesday morning and residents and visitors within a half-mile were being evacuated, according to Whatcom County Public Works, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol.

The northbound train carrying crude oil derailed around 11:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 22, in the Custer area, according to Courtney Wallace, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesperson, and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. It is a BNSF train and track, Wallace said.

The train derailed near the 7500 block of Portal Way, according to the sheriff’s office on Twitter. The sheriff’s office evacuated people within a half-mile of the derailment. Shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said on Twitter that the evacuation order was lifted for local residents of Custer. Once residents return home, they are asked to shelter in place and stay inside, the sheriff’s office said. Residents must show proof of residency in order to return home, the sheriff’s office said.

Roadblocks in the area will remain in place.

Seven railway cars derailed from the train and a fire started in two of the seven derailed cars, the sheriff’s office said. The fire was under control as of 3 p.m., but a few were still active as of 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.

There have been no reported injuries at this time, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management Deputy Director John Gargett told The Bellingham Herald about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Gargett said it’s unclear at this time whether there was damage to nearby structures or buildings. While he didn’t know the exact number of people who were evacuated, he said evacuations were ordered within a half-mile around the center of Custer.

He said the train was carrying Bakken crude oil, so evacuations were ordered out of an abundance of caution. People are asked to avoid the incident site, as it’s not safe to approach, the sheriff’s office said.

BNSF has set up a claims hotline for people who have been impacted by the evacuation at 1-866-243-4784.

Wallace, with BNSF, said the first priority is safety issues and BNSF is working with local authorities to assess and mitigate the situation.

She said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

“Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by this incident,” BNSF said on Twitter.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Heather Axtman said there were still a few small pools of oil on fire as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Axtman said fire officials determined the fires would burn themselves out in a little while. Axtman said at this time it’s believed there was no damage to nearby structures from the derailment.

2020 elections, Benicia elections, Benicia Mayor, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Campaign finance, Fair elections, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero PAC

Valero PAC final 2020 campaign spending report: over $227,000 spent in failed bid

By Roger Straw, November 16, 2020

Valero PAC spends over $227,000 in failed bid to oppose Mayor-elect Steve Young, discloses $128,173 of that total in outstanding debt

The anti-Young Valero PAC submitted two more campaign financial reports as required by law on November 6, 2020.

Form_460_Pre_Election_4.pdf shows the following:

During the period Oct. 26 – Nov. 3
  • Income of $24,000 from the Int. Brotherhood of Boilermakers, etc. (previously reported here on the BenIndy on Nov. 3).
  • Accrued unpaid bills totaling $18,106
    • $5,000 for Live Calls (Winning Connections, Washington, D.C.)
    • $13,106 for professional services (law firm Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP, Sacramento)
2020 Year to date
  • Total Income of $49,000
  • Cash payments of $99,333
  • Accrued unpaid bills of $128,173
  • Total Expenditures (cash & unpaid) $227,506
Current Cash Statement
  • Ending Cash Balance of $197,779

The PAC’s ending balance of $197,779 can pay its accrued unpaid bills of $128,173 leaving over $51,000 in Valero’s war chest for future projects.  Sigh….

Another form submitted, Form__465_3.pdf, did not disclose any new information.

Final accounting?

According to a Nov. 12 email from Benicia City Clerk Lisa Wolfe, no further campaign finance reports are anticipated until December 31, 2020.   Evidently, the Valero PAC will not need to report payment of its unpaid bills and any further income or outlays until then.

2020 elections, Benicia elections, Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Christina Strawbridge, Climate science, Kari Birdseye, Lionel Largaespada, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero PAC

KQED: Candidate Targeted by Valero Wins Benicia Mayoral Race

[Significant quote: “The fact that Young withstood the Valero PAC’s campaign is hugely significant, according to Matto Mildenberger, an assistant professor of political science at UC Santa Barbara, who focuses on oil politics.  ‘It means that Benicia voters are willing to take their climate future into their own hands and are going to resist efforts by oil companies to control local politics.'”] [See also KQED’s Oct 28 report on Valero PAC spending.]

Benicia Election Update with candidate quotes

KQED Election Updates, By Ted Goldberg, November 4, 2020

Benicia Councilman Steve Young, a candidate attacked by a political action committee funded mainly by the Valero Energy company, will be the city’s new mayor.

The Working Families for a Strong Benicia PAC raised more than $250,000 to defeat Young and support Councilwoman Christina Strawbridge. The committee said Young would put blue collar jobs, like those at Valero’s Benicia refinery, at risk.

But city’s voters were not swayed.

With Young leading the race with close to 52% of the vote, Strawbridge, who garnered about 31%, conceded the election Wednesday morning.

“I believe the voters reacted strongly against the negative ads and mailers that the Valero-funded PAC tried to use against me,” Young said.

“Hopefully, Valero will learn the obvious lesson from this result: Interference in Benicia elections will be rejected in the future as well,” Young said.


Strawbridge called Young’s election a “decisive victory.”

“Congratulations to him,” Strawbridge said, adding that the two lawmakers exchanged text messages Wednesday morning. “Even though it was a tough election, we have and will work together for Benicia.”

Since 2019, Valero has donated $240,000 to the political action committee targeting Young. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 549 donated some $50,000 as well.

The same PAC spent thousands to help Strawbridge and Lionel Largaespada win seats on the Benicia City Council, and to defeat Kari Birdseye, a former chair of the city’s Planning Commission that denied Valero’s crude-by-rail expansion project.

Young will take over from Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, a critic of Valero who has served in Benicia city government for two decades.

Patterson had become increasingly outspoken about efforts to place more regulations on the Valero plant, scene of the two worst refinery accidents in the Bay Area in the last three years.

The fact that Young withstood the Valero PAC’s campaign is hugely significant, according to Matto Mildenberger, an assistant professor of political science at UC Santa Barbara, who focuses on oil politics.

“It means that Benicia voters are willing to take their climate future into their own hands and are going to resist efforts by oil companies to control local politics,” Mildenberger said.

2020 elections, Benicia elections, Campaign finance, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero PAC

Valero’s pet labor union kicks in another $24,000 on Nov. 2 to help buy Benicia’s next Mayor

Total Independent Expenditure funding for 2020 now at $249,000

By Roger Straw, November 3, 2020

Reporting on forms required by Benicia ordinance, the Valero PAC that is attempting to buy the Benicia Mayor race detailed a new contribution of $24,000 on  November 2.

The new money comes from an independent expenditure committee (PAC) formed by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, forgers & Helpers Local 549.  It is interesting that this ultra-conservative labor group has been convinced to jump in with Valero, which is a non-union corporation.  It’s not the first time – this PAC contributed heavily to Valero’s 2018 smear campaign against Kari Birdseye.

I wonder how many of the Sacramento-based Brotherhood PAC decision-makers live in Benicia or even work at Valero?  I’d guess the decision was made by a small group of highly-paid executives who have rarely if ever set foot in Benicia.  And one might wonder where and who their FUNDING comes from??

Cumulative Valero PAC contributions to date: over $249,000.  (COMPARE: All candidates running for Benicia mayor and Council who pledge to run fair campaigns may not spend over $34,200 on their own campaigns.)

Cumulative Valero PAC spending to date: over $214,000.  (AGAIN COMPARE: All candidates running for Benicia mayor and Council who pledge to run fair campaigns may not spend over $34,200 on their own campaigns.)

REFERENCE: Valero PAC Financial Disclosures – City of Benicia website

Source: from the City of Benicia website, 2020 Campaign Finance Reports

FURTHER REFERENCE: BENICIA MUNICIPAL CODE ORDINANCES ON FAIR ELECTIONS