Refinery Pledges to Work to "Regain Trust" as County Health Chief Decries "Unacceptable" Number of Incidents in Pointed Letter

Sharply worded letter from CEO of Contra Costa Health tells refinery that her agency "will not tolerate unsafe business practices," lays out nine expectations; MRC says it is committed to safety

In response to a sharply worded letter received today from Contra Costa County’s top health official referencing an “unacceptable number of hazardous materials releases and other incidents,” PBF Energy’s Martinez refinery pledged that it is “working hard to regain the trust of public officials and Martinez residents.”

The letter, signed by Contra Costa Health Chief Executive Officer Anna Roth, was personally delivered to refinery management by county supervisors Federal Glover, who represents Martinez, and John Gioia, who sits on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, during a site visit to the incident-plagued refinery. It marked the latest move by county officials to investigate and pressure the refinery to improve its operations following a string of spills, releases and unplanned flarings dating to the November 2022 spent catalyst release that dumped at least 20 tons of toxic dust on the community and led to months of worry over the safety of eating fruits and vegetables from backyard gardens (fears that were ultimately allayed by soil test results that showed no long-term risks).

Saying that “CCH will not tolerate unsafe business practices at the refinery,” Roth’s letter, which can be viewed by clicking this link, put PBF “on notice” with nine specific demands and expectations, including allowing Contra Costa Health (CCH) employees and agents on site at all times with access to any part of the facility upon request.

By Jan. 2 at 10 a.m., it also asked PBF for the following:

• All documentation relating to deferred maintenance of equipment at PBF

• A list of every employee and resident contractor working at PBF, including job titles and description of responsibilities

Refinery spokesman Brandon Matson this evening sent me the following response to the letter:

We had a constructive meeting with Contra Costa County Supervisors Federal Glover and John Gioia, who presented us with the letter from Contra Costa Health. The Martinez Refining Company is committed to responding to each of the information requests within the letter and has respectfully requested up to January 15^th to respond to allow for appropriate time to gather the data. We have been cooperating with Contra Costa Health and all inspections and investigations related to our refinery and will continue to do so. We are committed to operating the refinery safely and reliably and are working hard to regain the trust of public officials and Martinez residents.

The letter, and visit by the supervisors, comes on the heels of an “unannounced inspection” of the refinery by CCH on Tuesday The flurry of recent activity at the county level comes on the heels of a raucous City Council meeting last week in which outraged residents railed against the refinery and called for swift action.

The Martinez City Council has no regulatory oversight of the refinery, but that didn’t prevent its final meeting of the year from being dominated by that topic, at the expense of several other key issues that it does control. It was also noted at the meeting that the officials who do have regulatory oversight of the refinery — the county supervisors — were not present to address the concerns or residents and council members.

They clearly got the message, because on Thursday, Glover and Gioia, who comprise the supervisors’ Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) subcommittee that enforces refinery safety regulations, appeared publicly at a lectern with a microphone and county seal with the refinery as a backdrop.

The flurry of activity this week also marks a striking contrast from the plodding pace of various investigations that started in the wake of the spent catalyst release, most of which have not yet been completed. As incidents at the refinery continued through the summer, Gioia and Glover ordered an independent safety culture assessment to be conducted of the refinery, but that process is being conducted by the same outside contractor who is still wrapping up a root cause investigation into the spent catalyst release that happened more than a year ago. At the last Martinez Refining Company Oversight Committee meeting, the consultant, Scott Berger, said he anticipated visiting the refinery at the end of January at the earliest as part of the safety assessment.

Roth’s letter Thursday made clear that CCH staff will be moving on a much faster timeline to investigate the refinery’s operations and safety protocols.

Meanwhile, the District Attorney’s Office began investigation violations related to the spent catalyst incident, including the refinery’s failure to activate the Community Warning System, nearly a year ago but still hasn’t announced any specific charges or given any indication of if or when it might, other than a vague statement last month that it is now leading a “joint civil enforcement action” with various regulatory agencies, including CCH. The FBI and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have also been in town investigating the refinery, but no results from those inquiries have been announced, either.

The one definitive report on refinery safety that has been completed, a special safety audit conducted by CCH of the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Union responsible for the spent catalyst release, turned up no “ISO regulatory issues” and only “two opportunities for enhancement.”

But the refinery incidents have continued. At least week’s City Council meeting, CC Health presented a chart showing that Martinez Refining Co.’s facility has had more hazardous materials incidents this year than any of the county’s other four refineries, the most serious being a major flaring event on Dec. 15 that resulted in a Level 2 alert through the Community Warning System indicating possible off-site health impacts for sensitive populations. Residents complained of strong odors from the flaring and respiratory discomfort including scratchy throats.

MRC’s incidents tend to generate a much stronger community reaction than those involving the area’s other local refinery, Marathon Renewable Fuels located on Solano Avenue on the outskirts of Martinez. Two November fires at that facility, one of which was also a Level 2 CWS incident and left a worker seriously injured with burns over 80% of his body, resulted in little community uproar compared with those at MRC, most of which have been relatively minor Level 1 incidents where no off-site health impacts are anticipated. But in contrast to MRC, which abuts residential neighborhoods and lies near sensitive facilities such as schools and medical centers, Marathon lies in a heavily industrial area with a significant buffer from most residential areas.

Nevertheless, the two Marathon fires have sparked an investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which played a key role in investigating a major 2012 fire at Chevron’s Richmond refinery that dwarfed any of the incidents that have occurred thus far at MRC. Despite some local prodding, the Chemical Safety Board declined to investigate MRC’s spent catalyst release. The CSB tends to only investigate major chemical accidents like fires and explosions, and MRC has not experienced a significant, facility-wide fire emergency on the scale of what happened last month at Marathon. Its incidents also have not involved serious worker injuries such as occurred last month at Marathon.

Roth’s letter to MRC concluded with the following statement:

We look forward to collaborating with PBF on our mutual goal of making this facility the good neighbor it aspires to become.

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