By Jacob Klein
On Wednesday, June 2nd, nearly 200 people spoke on refinery emissions Rule 6-5 at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Board Meeting. Throughout more than five and a half hours of public comment, we heard from over 100 environmental activists, medical health professionals, and frontline community members. These advocates urged the BAAQMD Board Members to support the strongest version of Rule 6-5, which would require wet gas scrubbing technology to be installed on Catalytic Cracking Units, or “cat crackers”, at local refineries. This common-sense plan would reduce particulate matter emissions by 70%, significantly improving the health of impacted communities.
Unfortunately, the meeting ran out of time as board members had to leave for other commitments, meaning that we weren’t able to secure the vote. However, the vote is expected to occur at a special meeting on Wednesday, July 21st. In order to expedite the vote, chair Sup. Cindy Chavez has limited public comments to people who haven’t spoken previously and to only 30 seconds per person.
We are continuing to work with our partners to ensure that the BAAQMD Board votes for the strongest version of this rule. Communities for a Better Environment put together a Myths vs. Facts sheet that shows the truth about Rule 6-5. To learn more about this rule and its history, read the Sunflower Alliance’s alerts.
The fight is not over, but together we can make this happen! If you’d like to get involved in this effort, email organizer Jacob Klein at jacob.klein@sierraclub.org.
Photo credit: Martinez refinery by Jaegar Moore via Flickr Creative Commons.