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E-mail StoryRefinery expansion plans focus of hearing
| Monday, Dec 3 2007 9:25 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Feb 12 2008 2:11 PM
The first public hearing on the proposed expansion of the Big West of California oil refinery on Rosedale Highway will be held Wednesday.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold an informational meeting and public hearing on an air pollution permit needed in order for the $600 million project to increase gasoline and diesel output to move forward.
The EPA permit deals with gases such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide that are emitted from refinery equipment.
The refinery has been cited by local air regulators for the release of high levels of carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide on more than a dozen occasions in the past two years. However, EPA officials said Monday they did not find any cases where the refinery violated federal standards for those gases.
"That doesn't mean the local agency is not working on some issues," said Gerardo Rios, a supervisor with the EPA's permit office. "If a local enforcement office is taking action then they deal with it first. If they're not being effective, then we get involved."
The San Joaquin Valley issued the refinery at least 11 violations for carbon monoxide releases and eight for sulfur dioxide releases since January 2006, the district's violations records show.
Short-term exposure of high levels of sulfur dioxide in the air can make breathing difficult for people with asthma, while long-term exposures can contribute to respiratory illness and can aggravate heart disease, according to the EPA's Web site. In low concentration, carbon monoxide can cause fatigue and chest pain. At high levels, it can be lethal, preventing the body from taking in oxygen.
EPA's Rios said the agency recommended granting the air permit because the San Joaquin Valley air basin is in compliance with federal standards for gases like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, and an EPA study showed new emissions won't jeopardize that status.
The release of those gases has been due to electrical outages at the refinery, said Bill Chadick Big West's health, safety and environmental director.
An upgrade to the electrical supply for existing equipment at the refinery that will help curb future releases is already under way, he said. The expansion will also include added controls to prevent future releases.
The company's track record when it comes to safety has been in the spotlight ever since plans released earlier this year showed the expansion would involve the use of hydrofluoric acid, a highly toxic chemical that most other refineries in the state have stopped using. When spilled, liquid hydrofluoric acid can form a toxic cloud that has been shown in industry studies to travel up to five miles from the location of the release.
Bending to pressure, refinery officials later said they would use a safer form of the hydrofluoric acid that contains an additive that suppresses the acid's ability to vaporize.
Then in April, the county cited the refinery for venting a potentially lethal gas, hydrogen sulfide, into the air in late 2006. The gas migrated to nearby businesses and several residents living nearby reported getting ill, according to the county. While investigating the incidents, the county also discovered the refinery hadn't updated its safety plans in a timely manner.
"Why are we going to trust them with a more dangerous substance when they can't control the substances they've got?" asked David Wolf, a Kern County deputy district attorney who lives in northwest Bakersfield and has children that attend an elementary school near the refinery.
"They have a bad safety record and I think before they can expand, they should show us they can handle what they've got," Wolf said.
Along with the EPA permit, the expansion will also require two others -- a conditional use permit from the Kern County Planning Commission and a permit for from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District for new smog-forming emissions and particulate pollution the expansion will create.
The San Joaquin Valley air basin is not in attainment for national standards for smog and some types of particulate pollution.
As part of the permitting process, Kern County officials released an environmental impact report on the refinery expansion earlier. They later decided to postpone public hearings on the issue until the report had been revised by an outside consulting firm familiar with refinery processes.
The revised report is expected to be made public in mid-January, at which point the public comment period and public hearings will take place.
Air district officials said they are waiting to review the county's environmental impact report before they proceed with a decision on granting an air pollution permit.
How to go
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold the following meetings related to the refinery expansion on Wednesday at Discovery Elementary School, 9500 Vaquero Ave., Bakersfield:
An open house to provide information on the project will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
A public hearing to accept comments on EPA’s recommendation to approve an air pollution permit EPA has recommended granting takes place from 6 to 9 p.m.
Information will be provided in English and Spanish. More information on the project can be found on EPA’s Web site at www.epa.gov/region09/air/permit/big-west.