Valero Refining Company – California Settlement
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Valero Refining Company – California Settles for $81,962,602
In October 2024, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) reached a joint settlement with Valero Refining Company – California (Valero), which operates a petroleum refinery in Benicia, California (Refinery) and processes crude oil to produce refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel fuels that are sold primarily to the California market.
CARB and BAAQMD allege that Valero failed to comply with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements in connection with undisclosed emissions of air contaminants from equipment that generates and distributes hydrogen gas at the Refinery. Among the violations, CARB and BAAQMD allege that at various times Valero emitted organic compounds exceeding the regulatory limit of 15 lb/day and 300 parts per million.
To settle and resolve the alleged violations, Valero agreed to pay a total penalty of $81,962,602. Of the penalty amount, $80,800,000 shall be paid to BAAQMD, where it will be allocated according to BAAQMD’s recently adopted "Policy: Funding Community Benefits from Penalty Funds." Under BAAQMD’s policy, the majority of the penalty money would be allocated to support locally-developed air quality and community health improvement projects in the community of Benicia, where the violations occurred, and in other Bay Area overburdened communities. The remaining $1,162,602 shall be paid to CARB for deposit into the Air Pollution Control Fund for cost recovery.
In addition to paying over $81 million dollars in penalties, Valero will take actions to eliminate emissions from the Refinery’s main hydrogen vent, implement a hydrogen system vent abatement project to route other vent emissions to flares or blind vents to cease emissions into the atmosphere, and provide training on Air District regulations.
Valero fully cooperated with CARB and BAAQMD to resolve this matter.