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Big West working to rally public support
| Saturday, Feb 16 2008 9:35 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Feb 16 2008 9:34 PM
Big West has launched a P.R. offensive in its bid to expand, but community members remain apprehensive.
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Aerial photograph of Big West refinery.
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“We’re all waiting to see what the upcoming (environmental) report says,” said Fruitvale School District Superintendent Carl Olsen. “We’d like to see what the changes in that report reflect.”
Fruitvale has five schools near the refinery, the closest being Discovery Elementary about a mile away. Safety of students should be the primary concern in talk of expansion, he said.
Area resident David Wolf, a Kern County deputy district attorney, wants a detailed study of how many schools and neighborhoods would be affected by a spill of hydrofluoric acid at the refinery.
Industry tests have shown the chemical’s toxic cloud can migrate up to five miles. Contact with even small amounts can cause deep tissue burns that develop over days, and exposure to large concentrations can lead to death caused by lung damage.
Big West said last year it would use a modified form of the chemical to suppress creation of such a cloud.
“I’m not against progress,” Wolf said. “I like to see lower gas prices and new jobs in Bakersfield, but I’d like to see more about the safety of these schools.”
Michael Stump, another attorney and nearby resident, is also concerned about increased odors and truck traffic.
“Twenty years ago, when Coffee Road was alfalfa fields, maybe this was a good location for a refinery,” Stump said. “But now that the Board of Supervisors has allowed the community to grow, do we want to allow toxic, deadly chemicals around new schools?”
Shafter-based environmental group Association of Irritated Residents has objected to the project’s air quality impacts.
To allay concerns, Big West has mailed glossy fliers and newsletters to surrounding homes explaining safety inspections at the plant, the economic benefits of expansion and the company’s commitment to the environment.
It had a Los Angeles production company produce a six-minute video touting refinery plans to spend $6 million to reduce local greenhouse gases, plant 1,000 trees and install the most effective air pollution controls.
Those featured include Bakersfield Fire Capt. Quincy Sloan, Fruitvale School District Trustee Kevin Burton and Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce President Debbie Moreno.
Bakersfield Fire Chief Ron Fraze said the fire captain’s appearance in the video is not a city endorsement of the refinery’s plans, and he’s looking into the appropriateness of Sloan’s actions.
In addition, Big West takes great pains not to call its proposed project an expansion, instead describing it as a “modernization,” “upgrade” or the “Clean Fuels Project” because the new gasoline and diesel produced meets the state’s strict environmental standards.
Company officials said “expansion” implies the facility would take in larger amounts of crude. Instead, they want the community to understand that crude processing capacity would remain the same while the volume of fuel produced by the facility would increase.