FBI, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Open Investigation into Martinez Refinery Accident

In other news, city moves step closer to adopting overdue Housing Element; city prepares to celebrate Pride Month with Thursday flag raising; Sturgeon home opener is today after 0-2 start

As detailed in a flurry of media reports, agents from the FBI and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were going door to door late last week to interview residents affected by the Martinez Refining Co.’s Thanksgiving night “spent catalyst” release.

ABC7 posted video of agents canvassing Martinez as part of the MRC investigation. According to the ABC7 I-Team: “…we confirmed that the agents have been out in Martinez for two days looking for information.”

Martinez News and Views reached out to the EPA and received the following statement from spokesman Joshua Alexander: “Regarding your inquiry about Martinez Refinery, the EPA is communicating with local, state and federal agencies and does not comment on any ongoing investigations.” 

The Department of Justice’s Environmental Resources Division has also been circulating the following survey among community members asking for their experiences and observations in regard to the spent catalyst release. It can be accessed at this link or the QR code below:

https://dojenrd.gov1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0GPqcDwymRWD8bQ

Residents report that agents from as far away as North Carolina and Honolulu have come to Martinez as part of the investigation

ABC7 reported the following statement from refinery spokesman Brandon Matson:

We are aware of the Department of Justice's investigation and as a matter of policy do not comment on pending legal matters. We are cooperating with all relevant agencies, including with respect to any ongoing investigations related to the incident. We would, however, like to take this opportunity to once again apologize to the Martinez community for the spent catalyst release on November 24, 2022. We have thoroughly investigated the incident to identify appropriate corrective actions and we are committed to implementing them.

The Los Angeles Times also reported on the FBI/EPA investigation and wrote the following: “The entry of federal investigators has stunned Martinez residents who are still awaiting the county-ordered soil testing and investigations by other local agencies.”

In the wake of the stunning news regarding the arrival of federal agents, Martinez community members seeking to hold the refinery, owned by PBF Energy, accountable for the Thanksgiving accident and its ongoing operations issued their own statement through communications consulting firm Sunstone Strategies. It read in part:

Advocates from Healthy Martinez, a local community group, are demanding answers and accountability from PBF Energy. They report having been given very little information on the health effects of the incident, which the refinery initially described as non-hazardous. After PBF initially delayed reporting the release and then downplayed potential health risks, Contra Costa Health later classified this event as a major chemical release, advising residents to avoid eating food from their gardens or interacting with dust on surfaces. 

Resident Wendy Ke told Martinez News and Views that an agent shared with one of her neighbors that that the fact he was standing on her porch after being dispatched from North Carolina was not good.

Contra Costa County Health Services, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office have also been investigating how and why MRC dumped 20 to 24 tons of dust laden with heavy metals onto the surrounding community in November, while failing to activate the Community Warning System as required under local law (MRC has said it didn’t immediately notify the public or health authorities about the accident because it was unaware of the release until members of the community contacted the refinery to inquire about dust they found on their property).

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who also sits on the BAAQMD board that regulates emissions from refineries, sent Martinez News and Views the following statement on Saturday:

“Contra Costa Health Services has confirmed that the U.S. EPA and the FBI are investigating MRC’s chemical release.  These investigations are in addition to the ongoing investigations by the Contra Costa DA’s office and the BAAQMD.  The broad array of these investigations underscore the seriousness of MRC’s chemical release last November.  These investigations can lead to fines and penalties, including criminal violations.

The independent MRC Oversight Committee, which was established by Gioia and fellow supervisor Federal Glover through the Board of Supervisors’ Industrial Safety Ordinance/Community Warning System Ad Hoc Committee to conduct a “risk assessment’ and root cause analysis of the incident, is awaiting the results of soil sampling and testing to try to determine whether there are any long-term environmental or health impacts from the dust. Initial results are expected within the next few weeks.

Planning Commission approves Housing Element

The Martinez Planning Commission approved the city’s long-awaited and overdue Housing Element on Tuesday, sending it on to the City Council for final approval, which is expected in June. Assuming that the City Council adopts it, the Housing Element will next go to the sate Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review and possible certification.

Every city is required to adopt a Housing Element mapping out how it plans to meet the community’s housing needs over the next eight years, including producing sufficient low-income housing. Cities were expected to have their 2023-31 Housing Elements certified by the end of January, but Martinez, like many other cities, missed that deadline, and is being sued by housing rights nonprofits over that failure.

Although planning commissioners expressed confidence that the city has produced a “progressive” Housing Element with real potential to make a dent in the housing crisis raging up and down the state, they also acknowledged that it’s unlikely the state will sign off on the plan as presented. A flurry of state legislation designed to force cities to get aggressive about providing much-needed housing has empowered HCD to place strict demands on Housing Elements before certifying them. As a result, the majority of cities have had their Elements kicked back for revisions.

Perry Banner, a consultant with De Nova Planning Group who has assisted the city in crafting its plan, said at the meeting that not one of the Housing Elements he’s worked on with cities in recent years “made it through HCD unscathed on its first go.” He said the hope is that HCD will have two or three pages of comments on Martinez’s plan instead of 11 or 12, but “I’d be really surprised if the document went through and it got certified on HCD’s first go-around.”

That said, Planning Commission Chair Sean Trambley expressed confidence Tuesday that Martinez won’t find itself in the same situation as its next-door neighbor, Pleasant Hill, which weathered a storm of protest from residents earlier this month after it was forced by the state to make significant changes in its proposed Housing Element that included opening up vacant hillside lots in the Paso Nogal/Morello Avenue area to potential high-density, low-income housing.

“I think every step of the way we have directed staff to be aggressive,” he said. “… I certainly know that we are not in the same position as Pleasant Hill and a lot of other cities who are deliberately trying to slow-walk the process and make it as minimal as possible.”

Trambley, who was the runner-up to Brianne Zorn in last year’s mayoral election, said he was confident that the city would be ready to address any comments the state provides and “we’ll have a very progressive Housing Element here in Martinez for the first time.”

Earlier in the meeting, the Planning Commission approved new and amended regulations for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) to make them “consistent with state legislation and utilize best practices from around the state.” More information can be found in this staff report.

Pride Month flag raising is Thursday

The Pride Month flag-raising ceremony will be held at noon on Thursday, June 1, at City Hall. The flag-raising ceremony has become an annual tradition in the city in recent years to support the LGBTQ+ community and honor Pride Month.

The City Council adopted its proclamation in support of Pride Month at the May 17 council meeting. Among the residents on hand to receive the proclamation was a 16-year-old transgender youth named Quinn who was among a group of Alhambra High LGBTQ+ students who spoke passionately at a recent Martinez Unified school board meeting about the abuse they’ve endured on campus as the school board debated the raising of its own Pride flag at the district offices during June.

Residents receive the Pride Month proclamation from the City Council on May 17.

“This proclamation means so much to me and my queer friends,” Quinn told the council. “It makes Martinez feel like a safe space for us, and, more than that, it makes it feel like a place where we are celebrated. I want to thank you for this amazing step toward safety and equality and making queer youth just like me feel like this is our home.”

The school board voted unanimously to fly the Pride flag at the district offices following the emotional comments from Quinn and other students and their adult allies at its May 8 meeting. Trustee Carlos Melendez, who had been the lone board member to voice opposition to raising the flag, changed his position and voted “yes” with the rest of the board after coming under withering criticism at the meeting. I detailed the meeting and the comments by board members and members of the public in this post.

The city’s first Pride Celebration event, originally planned for June 10, has been rescheduled for Sept. 23 to allow for more time to planning.

Sturgeon home opener is today

The Martinez Sturgeon pro baseball team plays its home opener today at 2 p .m. at Waterfront Park (1204 Joe DiMaggio Drive) against the Dublin Leprechauns, and both teams will be hoping for a change of luck after depressing starts to the regular season. The Sturgeon opened the regular season with a 14-4 loss to the Marysville Drakes on Friday. Shortstop Cain Agis had the Sturgeon’s only hit of the game and two RBI. On Saturday, they fell to the San Rafael Pacifics 17-5. Jackson Kea doubled for the Sturgeon and scored two runs. In their first two games, the Sturgeon have produced more errors (6) than hits (5). The Leprechauns, meanwhile, arrive in Martinez after having been outscored 33-4 in their first two games.

Paid subscribers are invited to check out this overview story with photos on the Sturgeon written by freelance writer David Scholz. More information about the Sturgeon can be found at http://www.martinezsturgeon.com/