Jul 17, 2008 9:26 pm US/Pacific
Richmond Approves Chevron Refinery Expansion
RICHMOND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
The Richmond City Council approved a controversial plan by Chevron to upgrade equipment at its Richmond refinery early Thursday morning.
After two nights of heated debate, the council voted 5-4 to approve the project. Council members cast their votes shortly after 2 a.m., with Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Councilmen Tony Thurmond, Jim Rogers and Tom Butt voting against it.
Council members also approved a separate agreement for Chevron to provide $61.6 million for public safety, low-income health care and other services. Butt contended the deal, submitted to council just 31 hours before it was voted upon, was crafted behind closed doors.
In the agreement, Chevron has promised to invest in providing the services over the next 10 years if the city continues to issue the necessary permits for its Energy and Hydrogen Renewal Project.
Environmental groups and some Richmond residents opposed the upgrades, saying it would increase pollution in the area.
The Richmond Alliance for Environmental Justice, a group of more than a dozen environmental organizations and community groups, issued a statement calling the council's approval of the project "a massive affront to Richmond residents and the Bay Area community."
The groups have said that the refinery's plans to upgrade several units would give it the capacity to process heavier, dirtier crude oil, which would lead to more toxic emissions.
Chevron officials acknowledged the improvements would allow them to refine a wider range of oil, but maintained overall emissions will actually decrease.
The upgrade, which will include replacing a unit from the 1930s and another unit from the 1960s, will make the plant more reliable and energy-efficient, according to Chevron.
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