'I Don't Want History to Repeat Itself." U.S. Rep. DeSaulnier Recalls Tragedy from 25 Years Ago at Town Hall Focused on Refinery Safety

Congressman questions whether problem corporate culture blamed for deaths of four workers at Avon refinery in 1999 has infected PBF Energy's Martinez plant; PBF defends safety culture

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U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, speaks during Monday’s town hall at John Muir Elementary School.

By Sam Richards

MARTINEZ — Mark DeSaulnier recounted the funerals he went to 25 years ago for workers killed in two separate accidents at the Avon refinery then operated by Tosco Corporation. He wasn’t all gushy in recounting the deaths of the five refinery workers, but he was intense in relating how that experience affected him, and how he doesn’t want anything like it to happen again.

“I don’t want history to repeat itself,” DeSaulnier, now a U.S. Congressman representing most of Central and East Contra Costa County, told a town hall meeting Monday night to discuss ongoing issues at the Martinez Refining Company refinery in Martinez, owned by PBF Energy. DeSaulnier said a “corporate culture” that didn’t sufficiently address safety issues was partly to blame for those deaths in 1999, and that he fears something similar may be happening with the former Shell refinery that changed hands in January 2020.

“This plant (MRC) sends warning signs up to me because of my history in this field,” DeSaulnier told an audience of about 160 people in the John Muir Elementary School Multipurpose Room. “The reason those five people died (at Tosco) was corporate culture.”

DeSaulnier made a point of saying that a former CEO of Tosco later helped form PBF Energy Inc., the parent company of MRC. He took a moment to speak directly to MRC representatives, in case there were any in Monday’s audience.

“I’m not saying you’re guilty of bringing in that culture (to MRC), but it sure sounds like it,” said DeSaulnier, noting that under Shell’s operation, the Martinez refinery was a “high performing” one in terms of safety.

Refinery spokesperson Brandon Matson issued the following statement to Martinez News and Views in response to DeSaulnier’s comments at the town hall:

PBF Energy’s founding CEO, who served in that role from the company’s inception in 2008 until 2010, then retired as Executive Chairman in 2016, formerly served as Tosco’s CEO. With the exception of Tom Nimbley, PBF Energy's current executive chairman, none of PBF Energy's current executives held senior officer positions in Tosco before it was acquired by Phillips Petroleum in 2001. 

Although disappointed by the string of incidents that followed 33 months of routine operations following our purchase of the refinery in February 2020, our leaders remain proud of MRC’s safety culture and are confident the steps being taken to improve training and operational reliability will be effective.

The safety culture at MRC is based on a performance program called “Goal Zero,” in which our employees and contract partners deeply care about each other, working safely, the environment, and our neighbors. With Goal Zero in place, the safety and wellbeing of every person inside and outside the fence line remain top focus areas for our employees and contractors.

Since 2015, the refinery’s workforce has been honored to win prestigious industry safety awards in seven of those years through 2022. Through Goal Zero, the heritage, tradition, and value of a safe workplace continues today and will be a foundation for further improvement.

Jillian Elliott of Martinez was one of several members of the watchdog group Healthy Martinez in attendance Monday night. During a question-and-answer session, Elliott asked DeSaulnier and other experts in attendance how refineries can be forced to play by the rules.

“What can be done to make refineries safer other than simply fining them?” Elliott said. “We’ve been waiting too long, and we’re still waiting.”

DeSaulnier told Monday’s audience that any California refinery that doesn’t maintain a strict culture of safety should be held accountable, including through the law.

“We have to write a statute, on evidence-based research, and if you’ve created a corporate culture, there’s got to be a disincentive, and that means being criminally indicted if you let that happen,” DeSaulnier said to applause. 

The Martinez refinery has experienced a series of unwelcome events starting in November 2022, when a release of spent catalyst coated nearby communities with metal-laden toxic dust. At that time, PBF was criticized for failing to properly alert local health and air quality regulators.  In July 2023, a release of petroleum coke dust coated areas surrounding the refinery, and questions were again raised about a delay in notifying local authorities.

Three months later,  PBF reported an unintentional release of petroleum coke dust from the facility, and in December, it reported a grass fire at its facility that spewed black smoke, but subsequent investigations revealed that the fire was initiated by spilled liquid hydrocarbons from a low-flaring stack. That incident came a few days after an unplanned flaring event released strong odors into the community, triggering a “Level 2” Community Warning System alert to the community, marking it as the most significant incident since the “spent catalyst” release.

Altogether, since PBF has operated the Martinez refinery, there have been 150 notifications made to Contra Costa County Health Services regarding various incidents at the facility.

Health Services conducted an unannounced inspection in December to examine certain safety practices at the refinery that turned up no red flags. That is being followed up by a more comprehensive review of safety practices.

Dr. Philip Fine, executive director of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, told the gathering that his agency wants to partner more with the communities where refineries and other potentially dangerous industrial plants operate “so we’re all on the same page when something happens.” 

He said he plans to go to the BAAQMD board next week seeking permission to acquire more monitoring equipment, adding that some of that equipment would be placed near the MRC facility, and that the air district is working with Benicia and Martinez officials about possible locations for such monitoring equipment.

“You’ve been waiting too long for that,” Fine told the audience.

Nicole Heath, Contra Costa Health’s director of hazardous materials programs, spoke of assessing industrial plants’ safety culture, and of beefing up the county’s Industrial Safety Ordinance, which provides for various investigations to determine whether refineries and other facilities are doing the most they can to promote a culture of safety. Heath said she hopes some improvements to the ordinance will come before the county Board of Supervisors in the near future.

Fine also said there should be more thorough enforcement of rules already on the books.

Daphne Ogle of Martinez said she thought the town hall was useful, and that she learned a lot about the various safety processes at refineries. She said she was generally pleased with what she heard, and wished more people heard it.

“This was a pretty good turnout,” she said. “I actually wish there were thousands of us here.”

U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, left, is joined by fellow panelists, from left, Contra Costa County Deputy Health Officer Dr. Meera Sreenivasan, county Director of Hazardous Materials Programs Nicole Heath, Chemical Safety Board Investigator-in-Charge Melike Yersiz and Bay Area Air Quality Management District Executive Director Dr. Philip Fine.

A video of the town hall can be viewed at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/RepMarkDeSaulnier/videos/941583160500387

The county’s Martinez Refining Co. Oversight Committee held a meeting on the latest updates from the independent investigation into the spent catalyst release on Thursday. A video of that meeting had not been posted online as of Saturday morning. Martinez News and Views will provide an update from that meeting once the video is posted.

MRC officials are also scheduled to address the City Council on Wednesday to provide its latest quarterly presentation on operations at the refinery, including its lawsuit settlement with BAAQMD in which it agreed to comply with new air emissions regulations. The PowerPoint presentation can be viewed at this link: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2532606/PBF_MRC_Presentation_4.3.24.pdf

The following items were produce by Craig Lazzeretti

City hires new finance director

The city last week announced the hiring of June Du as its new finance director. Her first day is Monday. This is a critical addition to City Hall, as the city is grappling with growing budget challenges and a finance department that has been engulfed in turmoil for much of the past year.

The city put out the following news release announcing the hire:

The City of Martinez is pleased to announce the hiring of June Du as Finance Director. June brings over a decade of State and local government finance experience to Martinez.

Throughout her career, Du has excelled in the areas of cash management, payroll, operating budget, long-range financial planning, five-year capital improvement and major maintenance program budget management, as well as implementing financial policies.

As Finance Director, Du will be responsible for monitoring the fiscal health of the entire organization and will play a strategic role in the overall management of the City. She will oversee the planning, implementing, managing, and control of all financial-related activities for the City and will ensure that all aspects of the financial and accounting functions follow laws and regulations. In the near-term, June will focus on transitioning the division into a department, updating policies and procedures, and team building.

Du most recently served as Finance Director for the City of Los Altos, where she and her team earned budget excellence awards from the Government Finance Officers Association and California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. Du is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. She has a master’s degree in business administration and civil engineering, and a bachelor’s degree in economics.

“June’s extensive experience in municipal finance will undoubtedly serve our staff and community well,” stated City Manager Michael Chandler. “She will be a tremendous asset to the City during a critical growth period. The role of Finance Director is one of the most important jobs in an organization, and I am excited to see the value June will bring to our fiscal planning and operations. We are all thrilled to have her join our team.”

Du’s first day with the City will be Monday, April 1, 2024. She will officially be introduced to the community during the April 3rd City Council meeting, which starts at 7:00 p.m.

City Council meeting tidbits

A few other tidbits from the agenda for this Wednesday’s City Council meeting:

• The council is expected to approve an urgency ordinance repealing a requirement adopted in 2022 that “all newly construction residential buildings, hotels, offices and retail buildings to be construction as all-electric buildings without natural gas infrastructure.” This is because of a federal court ruling declaring that such ordinances, specifically one passed by Berkeley in 2019, are preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which regulates the standards for consumer appliances, and therefore not legal. More information is available in this staff report: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2532755/Staff_Report_-_Repeal_All-Electric_Ordinance_and_MMC_Chap_15-11.pdf

• In addition to the presentation by PBF Energy, the council will consider further changes to its draft 2023-31 Housing Element to address the latest comments by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). More information is available at this link: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2533186/Staff_Report_-_Revised_and_Restated_Resolution_No._145-23.pdf

• It will also receive a report and provide feedback on the proposed 2024 Special Events Calendar. The calendar can be viewed at the following link: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2532458/Attachment_A_-_Calendar_of_Special_Events.pdf

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