By Jacob Klein
After a second meeting that went over six hours long, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District passed the strongest version of Rule 6-5 that will regulate emissions from local refineries. The Board of Directors voted 19-3 (with two absent) after a multi-year process that included hours of meetings, hundreds of public comments, hundreds of written comments, and thousands of pages in reports.
This new regulation imposes a standard of a total Particulate Matter (PM) 10 limit of 0.010 gr/dcsf (grains per dry cubic foot of exhaust air) on fluidized catalytic cracking units (FCCUs) which will also help curtail other emissions including PM 2.5. In so doing, frontline communities, particularly communities of color, will experience alleviation of air pollution known to cause significant adverse health impacts.
Sierra Club is thrilled that this regulation passed and offers congratulations to our leading partners such as Communities for a Better Environment, Sunflower Alliance, 350 Bay Area, Climate Health Now, and so many others who have carried this work forward. We also thank the Air District Directors who eloquently expressed their support for public health and environmental justice and voted in favor of the stricter standard for emissions from FCCUs: Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga, Mayor Teresa Barrett, Councilmember John J. Bauters, Supervisor Cindy Chavez, Mayor Rich Constantine, Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter, Supervisor John Gioia, Supervisor Carole Groom, Supervisor Erin Hannigan, Supervisor David Haubert, Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Councilmember Davina Hurt, Director Tyrone Jue, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Supervisor Nate Miley, Vice Mayor Rob Rennie, Supervisor Kate Rice, Supervisor Shamann Walton, and Mayor Lori Wilson.
We encourage you to send emails to these directors to thank them for supporting community health.
To read more about the impact on the community, read CBE’s press release.
While the rule takes effect immediately, the two refineries impacted by this new regulation—Chevron in Richmond and PBF in Martinez—have until 2029 to implement the technology necessary to meet the standard.
Photo credit: Martinez PBF refinery (formerly owned by Shell) by Naotake Murayama via Flickr Creative Commons (CC by 2.0).